Hollywood is mourning the death of a beloved Baywatch alum.
Michael Newman—who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2006—died from heart complications on Oct. 20 while “surrounded by his family and friends,” his friend Matthew Felker told People. The actor was 68.
“Few of us are lucky enough to have someone like Mike Newman enter and change their life,” Felker wrote on Instagram Oct. 21 alongside videos of the two. He explained the two met five years ago when Felker was beginning work as the director of the Baywatch documentary miniseries, After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun. “Mike was able to see the series come to fruition.”
According to Felker, Newman—who played the character Newmie on the show from 1989 to 2000—”was not only a real life hero. He was a competitor through and through.”
“I got to see Mike before he passed away,” Felker wrote. “He was unconscious mostly… when I showed up he was awake almost like a miracle and looked at me and said ‘you’re just in time’ and laughed. That was Mike. He found humor all the way until the end.”
