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.
A couple found their wedding ring, which had been lost for almost 10 years, thanks to Hurricane Milton. The storm turned up the ring after all that time.
A wedding band (stock image). Photo: Getty
Amid the destruction from Hurricane Milton in Florida, a couple found something special. Laura and Basil Yorio from Palm Bay had to leave their home before the hurricane hit on Wednesday, Oct. 9, as a Category 3 storm. When they returned, Laura was surprised to find Basil’s wedding ring in their yard. He had lost it nine years earlier during a construction project.
“It was just sitting there, a little buried in the dirt,” Laura said, thinking at first it was a key ring
The jewelry Laura found sticking out of the ground turned out to be Basil’s missing wedding ring, which had “disappeared” during a construction project nine years ago. Despite years of lawn care and searching, the ring never showed up—until now.
Laura shared a photo of the silver ring with WOFL, showing how it was hidden in the grass. “We’ve been over this yard a thousand times in the last nine years,” she said. “We even have a landscaper who comes every week. Still, nothing.”
Laura believes the hurricane caused the ring to finally surface. She added, “We know a lot of people are dealing with really tough things right now, so I feel a little guilty being happy, but it was something good that came out of all this.”
How to Help the Victims of Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton hit near Siesta Key on Wednesday, causing major damage. As of Friday, at least 16 people have died, according to CNN and NBC News. Five of those deaths happened because of a tornado in St. Lucie County. In total, 19 tornadoes hit the state as the hurricane moved inland, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
About 1.5 million people in Florida still don’t have power as of Saturday, Oct. 12, according to PowerOutage.us.
Since the hurricane, hundreds of people have been rescued, including 135 from a senior living home in Tampa, 500 from an apartment building in Clearwater, and more from a Holiday Inn in Plant City.
This comes after Hurricane Helene, which struck the Big Bend region on Sept. 26, killing over 200 people.
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