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.
Yesterday I was washing and cleaning the car, and then I found an earring under the seat
Yesterday, while I was cleaning the car, I found an earring under the seat. It shocked me so much that I felt sick to my stomach and even threw up right there.
I took the earring inside and confronted my husband with it, asking him angrily: “What is this!?” He responded calmly, saying: “You’re not foolish, you know what it is”.
I explained that I found it in our car, and he suddenly got defensive, claiming he must have dropped it while giving a colleague a ride. He swore it wasn’t what I suspected.
The next day, I went to his workplace and questioned his colleagues to find out who the earring belonged to. When I reached the blonde woman he often has coffee with (who insists she’s just a colleague), I asked if it was hers. She swore it wasn’t hers, reassured me that my husband loves me and would never cheat.
I’m confused and torn. I don’t know what to believe anymore. I’m considering taking the kids and going to my mom’s place.
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