“Baywatch” actor Michael Newman.Photo:Starstock/Photoshot/Everett Collection
Starstock/Photoshot/Everett Collection
From 1989 to 2000,Mike Newmanspent his days on the beach and in front of cameras playing lifeguard Newmie Newman on the hit action seriesBaywatch. But after the show ended, he walked away from acting entirely.
The retired star, who recently opened up to PEOPLE about his 16-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease, is now sharing why he quit acting and never looked back.
Though Newman, 66, says he “took great pleasure” in acting, he acknowledges, “You don’t realize how hard it is to look natural in front of the lens and watch yourself improve and, sometimes,notimprove.”
But he never really got swept up in the allure of fame, saying of the entertainment industry: “If you didn’t have to be there, why would you be? Let’s be honest … there’s not too many actors that have survived the years of working in Hollywood.”
Newman tells PEOPLE he essentially started off as a “stuntman” onBaywatch, appearing for seven years before finally securing a spot in the opening credits. As the only real-life lifeguard in the cast — not to mention a working firefighter — he says he was “too useful” to get rid of.
Looking back on his many stunts over the years, he says, “There isn’t anything in the world that I can’t do, whether it’s sailing a boat or scuba diving or tackling a guy off a jet ski. I love doing all that stuff.”
“But,” he continues, “having to deal with the people who scratch your name out on the script and put their name on there? That kind of thing … you never get used to that.”
The cast of “Baywatch.".Hulton Archive; Getty
Hulton Archive; Getty
The originalBaywatchran for 11 seasons, focusing on a group of lifeguards patrolling the beaches of Los Angeles and, later, Hawaii.David Hasselhoff’s Mitch Buchannon led the team as an original cast member, withPamela Andersonbooking a star-making turn as C.J. Parker in season 3.
The series was initially canceled after running for just one season on NBC, but it found unexpected success in syndication and became was themost-watched television series in the worldat its peak. Many contemporary and future stars appeared on the show and its spinoffs, including Aloha State nativeJason Momoaas a lifeguard during two seasons ofBaywatch: Hawaii. (Dwayne JohnsonandZac Efroneven did a high-gloss send-up of the series in 2017’s comedic big-screen riff, also calledBaywatch.)
As for Newman, he appeared in a total of 150 episodes of the main series, all while making appearances in 1989’sBaywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier, 1998’sBaywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bayand three episodes of the short-lived spinoffBaywatch Nights.
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Baywatchis available to stream now on Amazon Prime and Peacock.
source: people.com
