(Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in Westside Current on November 24 and is printed with permission.)
Michael Newman, a Pacific Palisades resident, was well-known for his role on Baywatch.
By SANDRA CLARK
A true hero both on and off camera, Baywatch actor, legendary lifeguard, and firefighter Mike “Newmie” Newman dedicated his life to service. On November 16, family, friends, and the community gathered at Will Rogers State Beach to celebrate the loving father, devoted grandfather, friend and Pacific Palisades resident.
The event included a paddle-out and a traditional fire department and lifeguard flag ceremony at the beach, the same location where numerous episodes of the hit television series Baywatch were filmed and home to Newman’s longtime Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard station.
Director Matthew Felker with legendary lifeguard Mike Newman became close friends while filming Felker’s Hulu documentary series After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun credit Matthew Felker.
“This is where Newmie and I shot a lot of episodes, did a lot of rescues. I can feel his presence,” Baywatch star David Chokachi told Westside Current. Chokachi paddled out to honor his co-star and friend, who passed away on October 20 at the age of 68 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
“To do it here at this beach is super special because I spent hours here working with that guy. If we weren’t shooting scenes, he would say, ‘Hey, let’s go for a paddle, let’s go train,’” Chokachi shared. “I took some time out there, swimming around, seeing if I could feel him. I swear to God, I could feel him. I don’t know if ‘ethereal’ is the right word, but I will always feel that guy when I am in the ocean or near the beach.”
“It was magical, it was really magical,” said Newman’s daughter, Emily. “At the beginning, we had a full flag ceremony. There were bagpipers, the Coast Guard did a flyover with guys jumping out, and Baywatch boats were shooting water out of cannons. His legend, his legacy lives on. It doesn’t feel like he’s gone, because he’s not. He’s still very present in all of our lives.”
Emily attended the event with her husband Corey Bright, young daughter Charlie, and her brother Chris, who followed in his father’s footsteps as a lifeguard. Newman’s wife of 36 years, Sara, read a touching poem at the memorial, where a pod of dolphins swam nearby, adding to the heartfelt atmosphere.
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Newman started as a stuntman on Baywatch, performing stunts that no one else could do. His expertise as a professional lifeguard became invaluable to writers and fellow actors. Baywatch Star David Hasselhoff, in a tribute on Instagram said that Newman “saved my life at least four times.” Newman continued to work as a firefighter while filming the hit television show that ran from 1989 to 1999.
Newman was born April 26, 1957, and died of complications from Parkinson’s disease on October 20. In a January 2024 PEOPLE story, he discussed his diagnosis and said, “Everything changes,” he told PEOPLE. “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.”
The 6’5” 250-pound athlete, was a former Iron Man Competitor. After his diagnosis, he told PEOPLE that the disease was a “sinister” thing. The symptoms, he describes as “marching forward so slowly that you barely notice that they’re changing.” He told PEOPLE that his primary treatment was his rigorous exercise routine.
PEOPLE wrote that “After largely keeping out of the public eye in the past decade, he’s now choosing to tell his story in hopes that it might help others. Participating in Felker’s documentary came with the condition that they would work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Cedars-Sinai to raise funds for fighting Parkinson’s. “This may not help me,” he said. “But it’s going to help someone down the road.”