Michael Newman, a full-time firefighter known for his long-running role as “Newmie” on Baywatch, has died after a nearly two-decade battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 68.
Newman, who was the only actual lifeguard on the show, was “surrounded by his family and friends” when he died “from heart complications” Sunday (Oct 20) evening, friend Matt Felker told People.
“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,'” shared Felker, who directed the recent Hulu docuseries After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun.
Newman’s role as fictional lifeguard Mike “Newmie” Newman spanned 150 Baywatch episodes between 1989 and 2000, a tenure rivalled only by that of star David Hasselhoff.
He received his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2006, sharing in the docuseries that his “body has changed so slowly that I hardly notice.”
Despite the slow physical changes, Newman said the disease, for which he took 10 medications daily, had “become the centre” of his life.
“This terminal disease has allowed me a lot of thinking time,” he told People back in August, “which I maybe didn’t want, but it’s brought me wisdom.”
Following his diagnosis, Newman worked with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to raise money for the chronic degenerative brain condition.
“I also hope that the telling of my personal story brings awareness to the importance of finding a Parkinson’s cure,” he said.
Newman made his screen debut in the 1989 TV movie Baywatch: Panic At Malibu Pier, and reprised the role in other spin-offs of the lifeguard-centric drama, including Baywatch Nights and Baywatch: White Thunder At Glacier Bay.
Newman’s other credits include an episode of Zig And Zag’s Dirty Deeds and the 1999 movie Enemy Action.
Newman is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Sarah, as well as their two adult children, Chris and Emily, and their granddaughter, Charlie. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
