David Hasselhoff says Michael Newman “saved my life at least 4 times” while filming Baywatch, in his tribute to late co-star

Baywatch fame Michael Newman passed away from heart complications on October 20, 2024. News of the 68-year-old actor's demise was confirmed on October 22, 2024, by Matt Felker who directed the latest Hulu docuseries about Baywatch.

Michael's co-star from the American action drama TV series, David Hasselhoff took to Instagram on October 23, 2024, to share a tribute for the late actor. Hasselhoff's tribute read:

"Newman was a warrior....he literally saved my life at least 4 times. He did the transfer from the scarab to jet skis several times perfectly. What an amazing man."

Sharing a picture of himself with Michael from one of their Baywatch shoots, Hasselhoff also mentioned that the late actor was never afraid of water and that he remembered directing Michael in a few episodes and complimented his acting. Toward the end of his tribute, Hasselhoff wrote that Michael "became a great actor" and that everyone would miss him.

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"All Mike wanted was to help find a cure" — Matthew Felker mentions in tribute for Michael Newman

In addition to David Hasselhoff, Matthew Felker also took to Instagram on October 23, 2024, to share a video compilation of Michael Newman's life. The video featured a link encouraging people to donate to the late actor's foundation "The Michael J. Fox Foundation" dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's and ensuring the development of improved therapies for the disease.

In his ode to Michael, Felker wrote:

"Mike would have loved this. I tried to make my entire series about him. All Mike wanted was to help find a cure. It was his driving force in his later years in life. He will forever a hero helping people."

The late actor was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2006 at age 50. In an interview with PEOPLE on August 28, 2024, he discussed living with the disease, noting that it gave him unexpected time for reflection, which brought him wisdom. He mentioned that his body's changes were gradual, making them hard to notice, but he was constantly reminded that Parkinson's had become central to his life.

Commenting on his Parkinson's diagnosis, the late actor said:

"Life is short. It is something I didn’t often give myself a chance to think about before my Parkinson’s diagnosis."

Additionally, he also talked about Matt Felker's docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun which featured personal accounts of the Baywatch cast. Sharing how much the opportunity meant to him, Michael Newman said that he hopes Felker's documentary "sheds light on the heroism of the life-guarding profession" and that it builds respect for the global fraternity of women and men who consider it an honor to risk their lives every day to save others.

Toward the end of the interview, Michael Newman said that he hopes his personal story "brings awareness to the importance of finding a Parkinson’s cure,"

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Michael Newman is survived by his wife Sarah and two children; daughter Emily and son Chris. He also has a 1-year-old granddaughter called Charlie. According to the NY Post, Michael was a full-time firefighter while he appeared on Baywatch and returned to firefighting after the show ended in 2001.