Baywatch star Michael Newman has tragically died at the age of 68.
Newman rose to fame in the ’90s after playing a lifeguard on the long-running series, starring alongside Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra.
The heartbreaking news was confirmed by Newman’s close friend, Matt Felker, who revealed the late actor died “from heart complications” on Sunday, October 20, according to PEOPLE.
The 45-year-old, who directed the recent Hulu docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, shared that Newman was “surrounded by his family and friends”.
“I got to see Mike the last time he was conscious and he looked [at] me and in typical Mike fashion said, ‘You’re just in time,'” Felker revealed to the outlet.
Newman endured an 18-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
He was first diagnosed at the age of 50 in 2006 and devoted his later years to fundraising for the Michael J Fox Foundation.
In a heartfelt interview with PEOPLE this August, the late actor opened up about his desire to raise awareness about the condition through his own experiences.
“This terminal disease has allowed me a lot of thinking time, which I maybe didn’t want, but it’s brought me wisdom,” he said. “My body has changed so slowly that I hardly notice it, yet I am constantly reminded that Parkinson’s has now become the center of my life.”
Newman revealed he took 10 medications a day and would often wake up “jittery,” adding: “I am cherishing the days that I get to be on this earth with family and friends. I’m taking life seriously.”
He said that his life mantra is, “It’s not a run-through,” and concluded: “All those things that you thought you were going to do with your children and grandchildren, pictures we were going to take, all the plans I had… stopped.”
Newman was the only member of the Baywatch cast who was actually a lifeguard. He was also a firefighter who balanced his on-screen career with his full-time career.
Once the show concluded in 2001, he returned to firefighting before hanging up his helmet 25 years later.
The late star is survived by his wife of 36 years, Sarah, their children Chris and Emily, and their one-year-old granddaughter, Charlie.
Our thoughts are with Newman’s family and friends at this time.
20 Pairs of People Who Made Us Believe That Time Travel Is Already Possible
Although each person is born with a unique set of genes, when kids are born, it’s impossible to avoid conversations about who they look the most like. And some people are lucky enough to find resemblances to their older ancestors, like a bolt from the blue. With children looking like an exact copy of their parents and grandparents, we’re almost ready to believe that it’s a result of some kind of reincarnation or wizardry.
And while scientists are still scratching their heads about our genes, we at Bright Side simply can’t help but wonder about what miracles nature is really capable of.
1. Princess Diana and her grandmother, Cynthia, made us wonder whether time travel already exists.
2. “A side by side of my 3x great-grandmother and my mother”
3. “I think I might be a clone and no one told me.”
4. This family’s genes are so strong.
5. “My dad and me, 1980 vs 2020”
6. “This is me in the mid-’90s and my son in 2020, not quite the same pose, but I like seeing the similarities!”
7. “My grandmother (1940) and me (2005) — I feel grateful to carry on her lovely genes.”
8. “I think it’s fun to look at my dad at 12 vs me at 12.”
9. “Me vs my mom’s yearbook photo (1977)”
10. “My son at a year old in 2004 and his great-great-grandfather at the same age in 1882”
11. “My whole life people have told me I look just like my mom when she was my age. I never saw it until I found this old picture of my mom.”
12. Nature’s miracles with genes will never cease to amaze us.
13. “My dad and me, both at the age of 14”
14. “Found this old picture of my great-grandma. I was amazed at how much I look like her!”
15. This mom and daughter look almost identical.
16. Seems like sometimes nature works like a 3D printer.
17. This granddaughter has features similar to her grandmother, and they both look so beautiful.
18. “My ancestor from the 1700s next to my dad — apparently my family’s looks haven’t changed much.”
19. “My dad’s mother and me, 70 years apart”
20. This bright smile passed through at least 2 generations.
Bonus: Princess Charlotte and Queen Elizabeth might not look alike, but the princess is surely the queen’s mini-me.
Have you seen this kind of resemblance in real life? Do you know any relatives that look like you?
Preview photo credit JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP / Getty Images, Max Mumby/Indigo / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
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