Michael Newman (lifeguard)
Michael Newman (born 1955)[citation needed] was a Los Angeles County lifeguard for 20 years and a firefighter. He is known for his role on the hit TV series Baywatch playing a fictional lifeguard sharing his real name.[1] He became an actor on the show after having been originally hired as a consultant.
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Early life
Newman started his career as a lifeguard at the age of 10 when he joined the junior lifeguards. He excelled at swimming and water sports and attended Pacific Palisades High School. He later attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he majored in advertising.
Newman took the firefighter's exam while waiting to be hired as a lifeguard. He soon found the two to be compatible. He has an older brother who is a Los Angeles County Lifeguard.
Baywatch
In 1989, Newman joined his friend and fellow lifeguard, Greg Bonann, as a technical consultant on Bonann's television show, Baywatch. Newman also made frequent appearances on the show as an actor, making him the only real lifeguard featured on the show. He remained on the show through its entire run, becoming a regular cast member in the opening credits in 1996. The exposure from the show made him an international star over the years. Newman even had his own official fan club at the height of his popularity.
Many of the rescue scenes on the show were reenacted from actual rescues Newman participated in as a lifeguard.
In 1996, Newman won the National Ironman Championship.
Newman currently lives in Pacific Palisades, California with his wife, Sarah, and their two children, a son, Chris and a daughter, Emily, where he sells real estate.
In November 2011, Newman revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease after seeking medical attention for a hand tremor.[2]
Notes
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External links
- Michael Newman profile at IMDB
- Michael Newman profile at TV.com
- Baywatch database (fansite) entry
- The other Mike, a true lifeguard, misses the old days August 17, 1999 article from Honolulu Star-Bulletin
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2010
- 1957 births
- Living people
- American male television actors
- People from Los Angeles, California
- University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
- Advertising people
- American real estate brokers
- American triathletes
- Lifeguards
- People with Parkinson's disease
- Male triathletes
- American sportsmen
