Baywatch alum Michael Newman has died aged 68 after battling Parkinson's

Michael Newmanwho became known for his role as lifeguard Mike “Newmie” Newman BaywatchHe died on Sunday October 20th. He was 68 years old.

People reports that Newman died Sunday “of heart complications,” adding that he was “surrounded by his family and friends.”

“The last time I saw Mike was when he was conscious and he looked at me and said in typical Mike fashion, 'You're just in time,'” Newman's friend said Matt Felker said the outlet.

Newman appeared on Baywatch for 10 seasons from 1989 to 2000. His character, Newmie, was loosely based on himself, as he was the only real lifeguard in the cast. At first he wasn't a lead actor in the NBC action drama, but after he started performing stunts and giving the writers advice on rescue scenes, he became invaluable.

“I was too useful for them to get rid of,” he said People in 2023. “I basically started out as a stuntman, and after being out of the opening credits for seven years, I was finally appointed and allowed to be at the forefront of the show.”

After its appearance in the year 150 Baywatch After a few episodes, Newman retired from acting, stating that he found “great joy” in his craft, but “you don't know how hard it is to look natural in front of the camera and watch yourself improve and sometimes also not improve.”

Ultimately, show business was not part of his long-term plans. “If you didn't have to be there, why would you be there?” he remarked. “Let's be honest… there aren't too many actors who have survived the years of working in Hollywood.”

While he enjoyed doing stunts BaywatchHe admitted that the dark side of the industry influenced his decision to leave the job. “Do you have to deal with the people who put your name in the script and put their name in there?” he said. “Something like that…you never get used to it.”

Newman was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2006 after his family and friends noticed he was becoming slower, even though he had always been very athletic. “Everything changes,” he said People deal with the illness. “All those things you thought you would do with your kids and grandkids, photos we wanted to take, all the plans I had…have been abandoned.”

Related: Original 'Baywatch' Cast: Where Are They Now?

The red swimsuits, tanned bodies and slow-motion running make Baywatch unforgettable – even decades after it first aired. Baywatch followed lifeguards on a beach in California (and later Hawaii) as they saved innocent people from drowning, sharks, and the occasional serial killer. The drama first premiered on NBC in 1989 and ran for (…)

“It’s a slow burn,” Newman added of the progression of his disease. “Parkinson’s disease doesn’t wait for you. It keeps plowing.”

Newman described the disease as a “scary” thing, noting that the symptoms “progress so slowly that you hardly notice them changing.”

Newman is survived by his wife Sarah, the couple's two children, son Chris and daughter Emily, and their granddaughter Charlie.