After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun (2024) s01e02 Episode Script
Show Me the Money
1
♪
Going from the top.
With Baywatch,
I was stepping onto this thing
that was just, like,
a rocket ship.
♪
It wasn't easy doing Baywatch.
It looked like a lot of fun
You want me to wear this?
What?
But you know what?
It was tough.
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
I just thought
Baywatch was just this show
about white girls
with blonde hair, blue eyes,
with big boobs
running up and down the beach
that couldn't act.
Oh, don't you fear ♪
I didn't conform to what
people thought of as Baywatch.
Breasts were not a thing.
♪
Pamela just exploded
that first year.
♪
And then
the sex tape came out.
It took her to the next level
and took the show
to the next level.
It was a total invasion
of our privacy.
How is this happening?
Pamela!
To the left! To the left!
People were just hungry.
They were eating
that stuff alive.
And they just wanted
to put you under a microscope
and see where your flaws are
and expose them.
I bow to no biceps.
Michael Bergin was so hot.
He appealed to my mom.
He appealed to my grandmother.
He appealed to my grandfather.
You never know.
He with the best abs wins,
or she with the best boobs
wins.
The guys, they had to wear
next to nothing.
They'd say, "Rolling."
Everybody'd hold it in.
And they'd go, "Cut,"
and they'd let it out.
I was getting a little
chubby in the midsection,
so I was
a little bit embarrassed.
There was this whole thing
about, was Baywatch racist?
My manager said,
"Congratulations.
You just booked Baywatch."
Ah! I was so excited.
It changed my life.
It changed my career.
It changed everything.
♪
♪
LA lifeguards became
superstars because of Baywatch.
♪
No one had ever done a show
about lifeguards before.
It's a real gig, man.
I mean, they're the firemen
on the beach.
Greg Bonann,
one of the producers,
was also a lifeguard.
And he really wanted
the cast to be lifeguards.
He really wanted us
to completely embody that role.
I have met a lot of kids
who became lifeguards
Because they watched the show.
There's one right now.
He's calling.
That's a lifeguard.
Hello?
"Yeah, I was a lifeguard
because of Baywatch."
♪
Some people stand
in the darkness,
afraid to step into the light.
Some people need
to help somebody.
Dude, I'm on a show
about rescue.
That's another reason
why this show
translated around the world.
People say it's the T&A.
Well, you're darn right
it was.
But it was also because
this show was about rescue
and compassion and altruism.
It's all
mixed in together, man.
♪
I'm a local boy.
I grew up here
in the Palisades.
That beach has been
very good to me down there.
It was the same place
that I shot
the world's most popular
television show.
I've been a lifeguard
since 1977.
I just fit in the water.
I always have.
Both my parents were swimmers.
And I was on
a competitive swim team,
so I was introduced
to all these water skills.
Mike Newman is
what people think about
when they think
about a lifeguard.
He's a tall,
good-looking, strong man.
He is the image
of a lifeguard.
♪
So this, early days
of Mike lifeguarding.
This is way pre Baywatch.
As you can see, he's lived
his entire life in a Speedo.
It's second nature to him.
This is early on
lifeguard competitions.
You could see the guy is
an absolute specimen.
This is Newman in about '94.
And this is probably about
the peak of Baywatch,
when Pam came on.
Mike was the Ironman Lifeguard
World Champion in '94.
And as you can see,
the guy is a beast.
And then here's from
that competition.
Pam must have come out
and gave him some support.
Prime Mike and prime Pamela
right there.
In a Speedo, no less.
I've made
hundreds of rescues.
When you can reach out
and grab someone's hand
when they knew they were gonna
be dead in a few minutes
and bring them back to shore,
it's a great feeling.
I mean, there's no better
feeling in the world.
So at first,
Mike Newman wasn't
an actual member of the show.
He was just a consultant
on the show to make sure
that things looked appropriate
and professional.
Every time I would see Newman,
that's what it would bring
me to.
It would bring me back to,
"This shit is real."
I just knew
that we were going to work
on a show about lifeguards,
and we're doing the best we can
to represent them correctly.
All the actors started
having to go through
a swimming test
before they were cast
because actors will say
they can do anything.
There were a few actors who
said, "Oh, yeah, I can swim,"
when they couldn't,
I auditioned with Hasselhoff.
He was right there
in front of me.
I was so nervous.
I got through that phase.
And then the next phase was
putting on the red suit.
So I put on the red suit,
modeled it around.
Then the producer said,
"Can you swim?"
I said, "Of course. I'm great.
I'm an amazing swimmer."
And I remember standing
on the edge of this pool.
And I said a prayer.
And I just thought,
dive like you're a dancer.
Tuck in your chin
and go for it.
And I made it.
I made it on the show.
On Baywatch,
the priorities were the look.
They took really good care
to make the show look good.
But also,
the rescues were important
because Greg Bonann,
the producer,
was also a lifeguard.
♪
Our cast had to go
through rookie school,
run on the hot sand,
burning sand.
Being on Baywatch,
we were jumping over waves,
diving into the water.
Sometimes you would feel
like you're drowning.
But you get up,
and you cough a little,
and you try it again.
And you do it until you get it.
There were just some
days where it was too tough.
You would be absolutely frozen
because it was, like,
50 degrees outside.
I was doing things
I never imagined I would do,
like tandem surfing.
I remember
going up in the air.
And I just said, make yourself
look like a ballerina.
And then, with perfect form,
I looked to the camera
and waved.
And that is
one of my proudest moments
out there in the water.
♪
Alexandra Paul
was probably, hands down,
the most credible actress
to play a lifeguard.
I was competent
because I had been
a junior lifeguard.
I was a certified EM
at the time too.
I didn't conform to what
people thought of as Baywatch.
That actually worked
to my advantage.
I grew up on the East Coast,
and breasts were not a thing.
I learned something
really important
that first season on the show.
No matter what I do, I'm never
gonna do that sexy thing
as well
as the other actresses.
So I just said,
I'm gonna be more me.
And by cutting my hair and
my body became
more sinewy and strong.
I realized you can
just being yourself
is so empowering.
Alexandra was
not only a trained EMT,
which most lifeguards are.
She was also a triathlete,
but not only a triathlete,
an Ironman triathlete.
She walked into a part
basically being the part.
OK, let's get it over here.
She was tough.
She made rescues.
She was the real deal
in real life, you know?
And that's what was so cool
about the show,
is we had the gorgeous ones,
and we had the real ones.
But they were all real
because they all went
in the water, even Pamela.
Well, I've been doing
Baywatch now.
It's my fourth episode
on Baywatch,
so we've been swimming
in the ocean a little bit.
But I'm not used
to these kind of waves.
But it's so much fun.
I'm hooked.
Pamela Anderson
played a character
named CJ Parker.
I think her character
was pretty true
to who she wasvery light,
bubbly, likable, just cute.
What, you say
I was fat before?
No, not at all.
No, you're just
there's a sparkle
in your eyes now that you
Oh, God, and I'm dying
of heat exhaustion.
Maybe that's why.
Pamela's character was really
crafted after her,
you know, interviewing her,
meeting her, and saying,
"Well, look, what kind
of things do you do?"
She said,
"Well, I play the saxophone.
So when we first meet CJ,
she's on a rock,
playing the saxophone.
I've got Baywatch now,
where I play CJ Parker.
This is my first season
last year.
Baywatch was fantastic.
Bringing my dog to work
every day.
I couldn't believe that
people paid me to go to work.
Pam, show us the front!
They really hit
the lottery with Pamela.
She really epitomized
what they wanted to do
with Baywatch
and where it ended up.
She was perfect.
Pamela Anderson for Baywatch
just took a show
that was about here
and took it there.
She had the ability to take
that show to the next level.
Well,
I'd rather be a sex symbol
than not a sex symbol.
I don't know.
I mean,
that's a compliment, isn't it?
Every girl wants to be sexy.
Jennifer!
Hey, Britney.
How you doing today?
Justin.
Over here, Justin. Justin!
Back up!
In the 1990s,
tabloid journalism exploded.
The paparazzi were everywhere,
and the tabloids were growing.
Get the fuck out of the way!
I can't see!
There are cars there,
motherfucker!
Get out of the way!
It was a new era
of journalism.
Keanu!
It was a free-for-all
of celebrities,
of stories, of sensationalism.
People were just hungry.
They were eating
that stuff alive.
So we were giving you
the taste, the feel,
the rawness of Hollywood.
And you were consuming it
because it was just addicting.
Jessica,
are you dating anybody?
Jessica, do you miss Tony Romo?
When you're famous,
everybody wants to know
your personal business.
Everyone wants to know
what you're doing,
how you live your life.
It's like, no one
lives this perfect life.
And back then,
they just wanted
to put you under a microscope
and see where your flaws are
and expose them.
I'm just like you.
I'm just like you.
We're all
human beings, you know?
It's like, come on.
Nobody's perfect.
Because there were
so many cast members
on Baywatch,
they were fodder
for the tabloids.
Pamela!
Part of it was the fact
that there were
more television shows
that had a tabloid interest
than there had been
in the past.
In particular,
it happened to Pamela Anderson
because she lived
a very exciting life.
I was out.
It was New Year's Eve.
Bring in the new year.
"Whoo-hoo!" Right?
♪
And there was a big booth.
And she was with
all of her girlfriends.
I licked her.
She licked her girlfriend.
Her girlfriend licked
her girlfriend.
And she just kind of
passed that energy
all the way around the table.
And I was like, that's cool.
That's really cool.
First,
she was Pamela Anderson.
Then, after a four-day romance
and a white bikini wedding,
she was Pamela Lee.
Pamela.
These two were meant
to be together,
Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.
And that was
just the beginning
of a tumultuous
and headline-filled
relationship
filled with ups and downs.
The relationship
between Pam and Tommy Lee
complicated things.
It complicated her life.
You know, they complicated
our lives.
I like Tommy Lee.
I liked them together.
Pam loved Tommy.
I mean, he was terrific.
But there was a window
of time that perhaps
they were having problems
in their marriage, or issues,
or whatever it was.
My marriage was
hard on everybody
On Baywatch.
And that was kind of difficult
on the set,
with the Testarossa
spinning out in the driveways
and punching out cabinets
in the makeup trailer.
And I think it was
just hard on everybody.
Tommy was crazy.
Tommy was
pushing down photographers.
We were getting sued
all the time.
So it was a little bit of
a scary time with paparazzi.
There's some very famous
paparazzi footage
of Pam and Tommy coming
out of the Viper Room,
which was
a very popular nightclub
and music club
on the Sunset Strip
that was owned by Johnny Depp.
This was a time
where people were
obsessed with Pam and Tommy.
Tommy is this tall rocker guy.
Pam's this sex bomb.
Tom
Tommy Lee's right there.
Tommy Lee's right there.
You've got people
following you.
They're in your shit.
And, you know,
you're having a good time.
And you come out,
and, you know,
paparazzi bulbs in your face.
You're pissed off.
So Tommy ended up
grabbing a paparazzi
and threw him to the ground.
Hey, Tommy!
Fuck off.
Tommy, come on.
Get in. Get in. Get in.
Son of a bitch.
Paparazzi at the time would,
on purpose,
try to provoke talent
to get the shot.
Where's your
child this time in the morning?
She's with my mother!
Where's your baby?
So they're, like, starting
to ridicule their parenting.
And, you know, it's like
going after a lion, you know?
It's like the cubs.
You justyou don't fuck
with people's kids.
And it was
a very heated exchange.
You're a fucking asshole.
You're a fucking asshole.
You're a drug fiend.
Don't you dare speak about
Looking back in hindsight,
you can't really blame them.
They've been provoked.
And when you are
being provoked,
you're going to react.
And they did.
Watch him, will ya?
Don't get hit!
♪
We had several
big-ass speed bumps
in our relationship, you know,
things that weren't really,
you know, nurturing
to ato the relationship.
They wereyou know,
they werethey were,
you know,
wedges driving us apart.
♪
We always had issues
with Tommy Lee
being jealous
of Pam's relationship
with other actors on the show.
Pam and I had
a great relationship
on the series.
It was almost like
brother and sister in a way.
We never took ourselves
too seriously.
We knew we were doing
a certain type
of entertainment.
Pam came to me
one day and said,
"Please rewrite this scene
"where I have to kiss
David Chokachi.
"Tommy's just feeling
really insecure right now,
"and it's just not a good time.
And don't make me kiss
David Chokachi."
Tommy Lee took our scenes
when we were, like, boyfriend
and girlfriend at face value
and got really upset.
I felt bad for her
because she was
under a lot of pressure
from just, like, the outside
trying to get on
see what her inside is about.
There was one incident
where Tommy Lee came
into her trailer.
And she was out
doing a scene with Chokachi.
And he was just getting
more and more upset
that she wasn't coming,
and he kind of trashed
her trailer.
I just felt bad for her.
It'syou know,
it should have been
it should have been a really
great time in her life.
And instead,
she was kind of cornered.
♪
Pamela Anderson
had a lot of turmoil
around her relationship
with Tommy Lee.
So she was probably number one
target at the time.
She had a lot of interest
in her.
And then the sex tape came out.
Pam and Tommy created
this sex tape on their boat.
And somehow,
that sex tape got leaked.
I think
that's probably the first time
celebrities were ever seen
having sex, naturally.
It was a total invasion
of our privacy.
This is, like,
sacred, you know?
What isthis is not meant
to be on the shelves
of Tower Video right now,
you know?
How is this happening?
How did this happen?
And just, you knowyou just
start losing your mind.
It was stolen property,
in that it was two
crazily-naked people in love.
I mean, we were naked
all the time
and filming each other
and being silly.
But those tapes were not meant
for anybody else to see.
And I've not seen it
to this day.
It was very hurtful.
For us to be able
to get inside that world
for the first time,
it was fascinating.
I think sex tapes
would probably be
the precursor to reality TV.
It's our obsession
with real life.
We're taking
people's personal lives
and commercializing it
and commercializing
their sexual acts.
Prior to Pam and Tommy,
if you had a sex tape,
your career, your life,
your reputation was over.
Just look at Rob Lowe.
He had to go into hiding
for years.
And then, of course,
after that,
people like Paris Hilton
and Kim Kardashian
parlayed those sex tapes
to added fame
and celebrityhood.
-Pamela.
-Pamela, in the middle.
When Pam's sex tape came out,
the studio said, look,
write her out
of a couple of episodes.
Just write her out.
We gotta figure out
what we're gonna do with this.
This is disaster.
The next episode aired.
Like, got twice the ratings.
Just shot up in the ratings.
When Pam did the sex tape,
the most important thing
that happened is,
she crossed over
from this untouchable star
to somebody
that many people wanted.
She became a commodity.
That tape made Pam a commodity,
even larger than Baywatch.
We went to London
to promote Baywatch.
Photographers were
falling over
backwards and down the stairs,
and I just looked
behind me like,
who are they shooting?
And it slowly dawns on you
that it's you.
Baywatch wasn't Shakespeare.
It was T&A.
It was boats, jet skis.
It was the great American
adventure show.
This was
a kind of bland soap opera
with a gorgeous landscape.
The stories were horrible.
But they created a show
that was successful worldwide
that could be dubbed
into any language.
We were the butt of jokes on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
all the time.
OK, Tina,
"Everybody out of the water."
Take one.
Everybody out of the water!
Baywatch audition,
take two.
- Action.
- Look out!
There's a shark on the way!
And every time he said
a joke, our ratings went up.
Every time SNL did a sketch,
our ratings would go up.
I can't swim!
So we were thrilled.
It's cool
that we got to put a smile
on people's faces, you know?
And this show was
the ultimate escapism
for anybody who was looking
to just be entertained
for an hour.
The great good fortune
of Baywatch
was that the beach was
such a natural environment
for people to be
in bathing suits.
When I first got on
the show, the bathing suit was
sort of one size fits all
for the women.
Over the years, they went
higher and higher and higher.
And it was ridiculous.
You couldn't even
function in it.
I remember looking at it,
going,
you want me to wear this?
What?
That's it right there.
OK, beautiful.
Nice shot.
I think
Baywatch was ahead of its time
because men were featured,
and men looked hot.
The guys have
the same incredible bodies
as the women do.
The guys take
their shirts off all the time.
You could do the laundry
on their washboard stomachs.
♪
The '90s were
full of these dudes
who were super ripped,
you know, and just had,
like, eight packs
and just, like,
wearing underwear.
David Chokachi was
a young kid from New England.
Had just got out of college.
He was a jock.
He was a lacrosse player.
Buff. He was handsome.
He should have played Ken
in the Barbie movie.
He comes to California
to be rich and famous.
And he sees Baywatch,
and he's like,
"I want to get on that show."
And I was with a small
talent agency at the time.
And they were like,
"hey, we got you this audition.
I don't know if it's any good,
but you might want to go."
And then I looked at it,
and I was like, holy shit,
it's to replace
David Charvet on the show.
As soon as I stepped
through the door,
they were like,
"You're Cody Madison.
You are the guy we've been
searching for for months."
David Chokachi was
down for everything.
He loved doing the stunts,
riding jet skis.
David Chokachi is
the American dream.
♪
I figured out
early on in the show, like,
wow, the more fit you are,
the more episodes they're
gonna to write for you.
The more fans you have,
the more money
you're gonna make.
It was, like,
a self-fulfilling thing.
So I just embraced it.
I wanted to be
super, super fit.
I made sure I was.
Men can be sexualized
just as much as women,
and Chokachi is
a perfect example of that
in the opening credits.
He's coming out of the water.
His muscles are popping out.
I think he puts
his head back like this.
And in slow-motion,
you see his cock in his suit.
And, you know, it was hot.
I got voted in
as one of People's
50 Most Beautiful People,
which was a big thing
back then.
And, like, Tom Cruise
is on the cover.
The physicality
and that aspect of the show
fed right into my strengths.
David Chokachi from Baywatch!
On the show,
the men all had to wear
next to nothing.
And there was little left
to the imagination.
The producers threw
those guys in Speedos.
You know how horrible
Speedos are?
And you also are aware
that the camera is going to be
really, really tight on it.
You can't hide anything.
There's nothing to hide.
They're almost treated
as, like,
what I would call a himbo.
Like, oh,
you're just a hot guy.
I was like, can't I
just wear the red trunks?
And they're like, no
because the lifeguards
did back then wear them.
They're just more effective
in the water.
But you can't be eating
any Twinkies.
You've got to be
just totally fit,
which, luckily, I was.
♪
The bummer was, though,
a lot of times,
you know,
it's 6:30 in the morning.
It's freezing.
And it's like,
all right, get in the water.
You know,
the shrinkage is ridiculous.
I had my own technique.
I would basically try and find
a little towel or a jacket
and hide under it and do
a little personal fluffing.
And then, you know, it created
a little circulation.
And you kind of could represent
yourself a little bit better.
David Chokachi looked great
wearing his bathing suit.
He was, like, ridiculous.
You know, Michael Bergin
was ridiculous too.
They were just
good-looking guys.
Chokachi looked
damn good in a Speedo,
but I think I looked
a little bit better.
I guess you could call me
Captain Underpants.
-And action!
-Action.
When we were
filming on the beach,
we had a thing called
the rolling six pack.
They said, "Rolling."
Everybody'd hold it in.
And then we'd do the scene.
And they'd go, "Cut,"
and they'd let it out.
I bow to no biceps.
Shut up.
OK, next. Next.
Did you have a six pack?
If you looked like
you had incredible definition,
come on over.
You could be a star.
You couldn't just
have a dad bod.
You couldn't just have
the body
that you were born with.
You actually were taught that
you could have a better body.
You could be better.
You know,
being in shape became part
of my psychic makeup
and my physical makeup,
my emotional makeup.
I think it'd be impossible
for it not to be
pretty much branded,
seared into your soul.
Whatever the cost was,
I was willing to pay it
to try to hold it together
because I'm on a show
that is all about that.
I was getting a little chubby
in the midsection,
so I was
a little bit embarrassed.
I was getting prodded
by producers and stuff
about my appearance,
skinny arms and chubby belly.
♪
I hired a trainer
to come drag him out of bed
when he was getting older
so thatfor him,
that when he was on camera,
he was gonna be,
like, really fit.
He with the best abs wins,
or she
with the best boobs wins.
Baywatch created a situation
which maybe was good
or wasn't good, that
everybody's body was so ideal
that it actually pushed
the fitness craze
because you wanted
to be like these people
or you didn't fit anymore.
-Good.
-OK, we're good.
Here's the elevator version.
So we were lucky
enough to get Debbie Gibson
and Scott Grimes to work
on their own rendition
of the Baywatch theme song.
That song was a character.
Like, when you heard
the song start,
you knew exactly what
you were watching.
Some people stand
in the darkness ♪
Afraid to step
into the light ♪
Some people need
to help somebody ♪
When the edge of surrender's
in sight ♪
Don't you worry ♪
To be doing the theme song
for such an iconic show
that I watched, right, and
is an honor and a privilege
to be able to do that.
Forever and always ♪
Forever and always ♪
I'm always here ♪
Forever and always ♪
Right around the time
that Baywatch was fever pitch,
I was like, oh, my God.
This is so cool that
this show is incorporating
this pop-rock song.
It was, like, the best
2 1/2 minutes of my life,
singing this.
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Oh, yes,
the Baywatch song.
"I'll be ready
whenever you need.
Forever and always,
I'm always here."
It's the perfect theme song
forfor Baywatch.
The lyrics were perfect.
The song was perfect.
I love that theme.
I'm always ready ♪
I won't let you
out of my sight ♪
Beautiful, man.
The '90s were
just such great time,
even the fashion,
the hairstyles, the makeup.
There was a reference
to Baywatch
in almost everything
that was a hit.
Simpsons.
I heard it on Baywatch.
American Dad.
Why were you keeping
the exciting world
of lifeguards from me?
Friends.
Hey, they're running.
See, this is
the brilliance of the show.
I say always keep them running.
Chandler on Friends, I think,
had a crush on Yasmin.
Run, Yasmin!
Run like the wind!
And that's the kind of thing
that helped Baywatch
become even more iconic.
The funny thing about
the '90s was, on one hand,
you have Debbie Gibson,
all bubbly.
And she's famous.
And at the same time,
you've got Lisa Bonet getting
ready to do Angel Heart.
She's in The Cosby Show.
And then all of a sudden,
she gets sexy
and starts taking
her clothes off.
This was a time
when wholesomeness
was, like, kind of going
out the door.
But nobody was
putting the brakes on,
so everybody was
sliding to dirty.
Everybody was sliding to sexy.
You'd have
Abercrombie & Fitch show up,
all naked young boys running
with naked young girls.
You have all the Calvin Klein
Obsession ads
and the Calvin Klein
underwear ads.
Can you unbutton
the top button of those jeans?
Now, why don't you push them
down a little bit?
No, I don't think so.
Fashion,
for whatever reason,
always got away
with doing more.
The more they got away with,
the more stuff they sold.
And to be a Calvin Klein model
in the '90s
was a really big deal.
Does sex sell?
Absolutely it sells.
We still like sex.
Michael Bergin came in,
and he was very raw,
but, you know,
just great-looking.
Michael Bergin was
a supermodel in a time
that male and female models
were stars in their own right.
He would be the closest thing
to the model version
of JFK Jr.
He also was ironically
in a relationship
with Carolyn Bessette.
So at the time, I was up
for the Calvin Klein
underwear campaign.
And other names
that were up for it
were Brad Pitt,
Anthony Kiedis,
and Woody Harrelson.
And then in March of 1995,
I went from nobody
to, like, everyone calling me
a supermodel.
There was nothing better
as a teenage girl or a gay man
walking down the street
and seeing a four-story
Michael Bergin
in a pair of underwear.
What was better than that?
Michael Bergin was so hot.
East Coast vibes, ripped abs.
Those are my memories of him.
WAYNE: Baywatch knew
how to cast
what was happening
in the advertising moments
in the world.
To take Michael Bergin
off a wall
and to put him on your TV set
so that I can watch it
every week,
it's a win-win situation.
He was clean cut.
He was handsome.
He was sexy.
He appealed to my mom.
He appealed to my grandmother.
He appealed to my grandfather.
You never know.
Every woman
in the office came to us
and said,
"You have got to cast him.
He's the guy."
Susie saw
Michael Bergin in an ad.
I think it was a Calvin Klein
underwear ad, right?
Yeah, I think so.
And I said,
we have to get this guy in.
Right, so then it was
calling New York.
- We had to find him.
- Yeah.
So I auditioned for Baywatch.
I don't think they were
expecting much from me.
And they were like,
"Oh, my God."
They're like, "He's the one."
Baywatch is something that
absolutely changed my life.
♪
Thank goodness we
came up with the name Baywatch
because it lent itself
to such an iconic logo.
Baywatch was very hard
to market and promote.
We were on different nights,
different stations,
so we needed different
elements to promote the show.
And these were them.
We've got Baywatch the game.
I've never played it.
Who made this game?
Baywatch stickers.
Hot Wheels.
This is Barbie.
Or as Pamela Anderson
would say, it's CJ.
Baywatch Barbie
looked out to sea ♪
A dolphin's in trouble ♪
I'll set you free ♪
Hurry!
The creators
and producers of Baywatch,
these guys were just
amazing business guys.
We made a deal with Coke
for one year,
and then Pepsi
for the next year,
and then Dr. Pepper
to put their machines
in our lifeguard headquarters.
They had a billion viewers.
What product wouldn't want
to be on the show?
It's cheaper for them to give
us a little bit of money
than actually run an ad
or buy a billboard.
So the bang for the buck
on advertising
was pretty genius.
Even the actors were
figuring it out.
Oh, I got aggressive, man.
I got aggressive.
I personally reached out
to Adidas.
I would just pick up the phone.
Deet-deet-deet-deet.
Corporate office.
"Who's in charge over there?
"Yeah, you know, what's up?
My name is Jeremy Jackson.
"I'm on this show
called Baywatch,
"and they let me wear
whatever I want.
And I really want
to wear your clothes."
David Hasselhoff was
actually making fun of me
because I was always
wearing that stuff.
"What is up with you
and all this Adidas?"
And, you know,
I was trying to plug
this company that was
giving me free stuff,
and he called me out on it.
And he wrote this little hook
that said,
"With the beat and the sound
of my stripes hitting ground,
I've got all I need."
With the beat and the sound
of the stripes hitting ground ♪
I got all I need ♪
That song was called
"You Can Run".
It's about the three stripes
of Adidas hitting the ground.
You can run ♪
It debuted on
the European Billboard charts
at number three.
I broke some kind of a record
for youngest person to debut
at number three,
and I was inducted into
the World Music Hall of Fame.
I really just think it was me
capitalizing on an opportunity,
coming from not being able
to get
whatever clothes I could,
not being able to rock
whatever shoes I wanted.
The other kids had the Jordans,
and I didn't have the Jordans.
And I just took
full advantage of that.
It was about using
Baywatch in a different way.
So the next thing you know,
I'm getting paid appearances
to show up at clubs
all over the world
because of all these things.
And it was easy money.
Carmen!
It was sort of the beginning
of what we're doing
with social media.
And anything was an opportunity
to cash in on.
And the sky was the limit.
My name is Ingrid Walters,
and I'm from Orange County,
California.
♪
Even at a young age,
I was a competitive swimmer.
♪
And I was a lifeguard
later on in life.
♪
When I would work
at the beach,
people used to come up
to my lifeguard tower
and just sort of stare.
Some people would actually
ask me if I could swim.
And a lot of people
would just say,
"I have never seen
a Black lifeguard before."
I didn't take offense to it
because they hadn't.
Roll, roll, please.
Greg Bonann was one
of the creators of Baywatch.
And when he saw Ingrid,
a woman of color
that was a lifeguard
and a top swimmer
and a beautiful woman,
he said, come on in.
Come on my show.
I think they were kind of
getting a little bit of flak
for not having
any brown people.
It was all white people
on the show.
And then he asked if I wanted
to come and audition.
There was
this whole thing about,
was Baywatch racist?
Because there were
no Black lifeguards.
I don't think
that Baywatch was designed
for Black representation.
When you think about
life on the beach,
you probably aren't thinking
about Black folks
on the beach.
That show was not designed
for us to look and say,
oh, look, this is something
that, you know,
we can aspire to.
I don't think
that the people
who produced Baywatch
were racist,
but they knew that a blonde,
blue-eyed notion
of Southern California
was what people wanted to see.
At that time,
there was not any diversity.
It was just, you know, so hard
to get a job in Hollywood.
In the 1990s,
we had a number of people
who burst onto the scene,
whether it was Britney Spears
and Justin Timberlake,
on TV, the cast of Friends,
the cast of Seinfeld.
It's this kind of
aspirational television.
When you're talking
about a scripted series
like a Baywatch
or like a Dallas,
it's this
fictionalized version
of what you imagine
the good life is
and the good life looks like.
The one underlying
common denominator
was that they were all
very, very white.
John Singleton said,
"We lost the war on racism,
"but we won the war
on pop culture.
"And while
you people were watching
"all these white people
running up and down the beach,
Black was exploding."
It was everywhere.
Spike Lee was shooting
Do The Right Thing.
Rap was coming in.
Arsenio Hall becomes
one of the most famous
talk show hosts on television.
Wouldn't that be funny to see
Black people riding around
in helmets in their cars?
Hi, officer.
Suddenly, soul food
restaurants were opening.
White people were
moving to Harlem.
The world was shifting.
You had
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
You had Martin.
You had Living Single.
You had In Living Color.
You had a number of shows
that were doing very well
at major networks
that were representing
different aspects
of Black life.
These were windows
into stories
that we had never seen.
We didn't know this culture.
We just knew this little tiny,
rarefied version of society
that isn't accurate
unless you stay in that bubble.
And it was
it was eye-opening.
♪
I'm Traci Bingham,
and my character on Baywatch
is Jordan Tate.
Traci hadn't really done much.
It was sort of
her first real acting role.
She had done
a guest-starring spot
on The Fresh Prince
of Bel-Air.
She was in the Marky Mark
"Good Vibrations" music video.
A lot of people don't know
that I'm the girl,
the "video ho" as they call it,
in the video.
I'm the girl making out
with Mark Wahlberg.
Traci!
Traci was the host
of the Playboy
Babes of Baywatch special.
That show was
a really big show.
Traci introduced
all the actresses
that had come from Baywatch
and done Playboy
or come from Playboy
and done Baywatch.
Traci was just a very unique,
exotic sort of beauty,
and they needed
someone like her.
Traci's so much fun.
She's a ball of energy.
She's amazing.
I just thought
Baywatch was just this show
about white girls
with blonde hair, blue eyes,
with big boobs
running up and down the beach
that couldn't act.
So according to Traci,
the NAACP was kind of
up the ass of Baywatch
for being very not diverse.
Power concedes nothing
without struggle.
Boom. There you go.
Hey, Traci.
I went in there
with big hair,
fake lashes, tons of eyeliner,
my boobs pushed up to my chin.
Actually, I had, like,
three pairs of socks
on each side just to make
my boobs look huge
because I thought that's what
the show was really about.
I look at Traci Bingham,
and I think she looks like
a Black version
of Pamela Anderson.
I don't think
I'm alone in that thought.
Both women are beautiful,
and I'm not taking away
from how gorgeous
I think Traci Bingham is.
But I think
that in order for that show
to have a Black
female lifeguard,
they felt like
she needed to mirror
what the white women
looked like.
And that's exactly
what they did.
I just knew
I wanted to show
that not just white women
can look hot
and sexy and, you know,
over-the-top with the hair
and the makeup.
Anyone can do it.
And so that's what
I tried to do.
And I believe to this day
it worked.
-Traci.
-You guys got Traci.
Yeah, Traci, another one.
Thousands of girls came in.
And I think she came in,
like, three different times.
Three times for that role.
She was beautiful,
and she could act.
-Just really terrific.
-Yeah.
Knew right away
she was our gal.
I get a phone call
from my manager.
"Are you sitting down?"
He said,
"Well, congratulations.
You just booked Baywatch."
Ah! I was so excited.
Like, I could just cry
just thinking
about it right now because
it just changed my life.
It changed my career.
It changed everything.
It changed my perspective.
I felt like I made it.
I came to California.
I wasn't in California
that long, and I booked it.
I booked that show, the first
woman of color on that show.
♪
♪
Some people stand
in the darkness ♪
Afraid to step
into the light ♪
Some people need
to help somebody ♪
When the edge of surrender's
in sight ♪
Don't you worry ♪
It's gonna be all right ♪
'Cause I'm always ready ♪
Won't let you
out of my sight ♪
♪
I'll be ready ♪
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
Oh, don't you fear ♪
I'll be ready ♪
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
Ooh, don't you fear ♪
I'll be ready ♪
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
Oh, don't you fear ♪
I'll be ready ♪
Forever and always ♪
Oh, forever and always ♪
Forever and always ♪
I'm always here ♪
♪
Going from the top.
With Baywatch,
I was stepping onto this thing
that was just, like,
a rocket ship.
♪
It wasn't easy doing Baywatch.
It looked like a lot of fun
You want me to wear this?
What?
But you know what?
It was tough.
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
I just thought
Baywatch was just this show
about white girls
with blonde hair, blue eyes,
with big boobs
running up and down the beach
that couldn't act.
Oh, don't you fear ♪
I didn't conform to what
people thought of as Baywatch.
Breasts were not a thing.
♪
Pamela just exploded
that first year.
♪
And then
the sex tape came out.
It took her to the next level
and took the show
to the next level.
It was a total invasion
of our privacy.
How is this happening?
Pamela!
To the left! To the left!
People were just hungry.
They were eating
that stuff alive.
And they just wanted
to put you under a microscope
and see where your flaws are
and expose them.
I bow to no biceps.
Michael Bergin was so hot.
He appealed to my mom.
He appealed to my grandmother.
He appealed to my grandfather.
You never know.
He with the best abs wins,
or she with the best boobs
wins.
The guys, they had to wear
next to nothing.
They'd say, "Rolling."
Everybody'd hold it in.
And they'd go, "Cut,"
and they'd let it out.
I was getting a little
chubby in the midsection,
so I was
a little bit embarrassed.
There was this whole thing
about, was Baywatch racist?
My manager said,
"Congratulations.
You just booked Baywatch."
Ah! I was so excited.
It changed my life.
It changed my career.
It changed everything.
♪
♪
LA lifeguards became
superstars because of Baywatch.
♪
No one had ever done a show
about lifeguards before.
It's a real gig, man.
I mean, they're the firemen
on the beach.
Greg Bonann,
one of the producers,
was also a lifeguard.
And he really wanted
the cast to be lifeguards.
He really wanted us
to completely embody that role.
I have met a lot of kids
who became lifeguards
Because they watched the show.
There's one right now.
He's calling.
That's a lifeguard.
Hello?
"Yeah, I was a lifeguard
because of Baywatch."
♪
Some people stand
in the darkness,
afraid to step into the light.
Some people need
to help somebody.
Dude, I'm on a show
about rescue.
That's another reason
why this show
translated around the world.
People say it's the T&A.
Well, you're darn right
it was.
But it was also because
this show was about rescue
and compassion and altruism.
It's all
mixed in together, man.
♪
I'm a local boy.
I grew up here
in the Palisades.
That beach has been
very good to me down there.
It was the same place
that I shot
the world's most popular
television show.
I've been a lifeguard
since 1977.
I just fit in the water.
I always have.
Both my parents were swimmers.
And I was on
a competitive swim team,
so I was introduced
to all these water skills.
Mike Newman is
what people think about
when they think
about a lifeguard.
He's a tall,
good-looking, strong man.
He is the image
of a lifeguard.
♪
So this, early days
of Mike lifeguarding.
This is way pre Baywatch.
As you can see, he's lived
his entire life in a Speedo.
It's second nature to him.
This is early on
lifeguard competitions.
You could see the guy is
an absolute specimen.
This is Newman in about '94.
And this is probably about
the peak of Baywatch,
when Pam came on.
Mike was the Ironman Lifeguard
World Champion in '94.
And as you can see,
the guy is a beast.
And then here's from
that competition.
Pam must have come out
and gave him some support.
Prime Mike and prime Pamela
right there.
In a Speedo, no less.
I've made
hundreds of rescues.
When you can reach out
and grab someone's hand
when they knew they were gonna
be dead in a few minutes
and bring them back to shore,
it's a great feeling.
I mean, there's no better
feeling in the world.
So at first,
Mike Newman wasn't
an actual member of the show.
He was just a consultant
on the show to make sure
that things looked appropriate
and professional.
Every time I would see Newman,
that's what it would bring
me to.
It would bring me back to,
"This shit is real."
I just knew
that we were going to work
on a show about lifeguards,
and we're doing the best we can
to represent them correctly.
All the actors started
having to go through
a swimming test
before they were cast
because actors will say
they can do anything.
There were a few actors who
said, "Oh, yeah, I can swim,"
when they couldn't,
I auditioned with Hasselhoff.
He was right there
in front of me.
I was so nervous.
I got through that phase.
And then the next phase was
putting on the red suit.
So I put on the red suit,
modeled it around.
Then the producer said,
"Can you swim?"
I said, "Of course. I'm great.
I'm an amazing swimmer."
And I remember standing
on the edge of this pool.
And I said a prayer.
And I just thought,
dive like you're a dancer.
Tuck in your chin
and go for it.
And I made it.
I made it on the show.
On Baywatch,
the priorities were the look.
They took really good care
to make the show look good.
But also,
the rescues were important
because Greg Bonann,
the producer,
was also a lifeguard.
♪
Our cast had to go
through rookie school,
run on the hot sand,
burning sand.
Being on Baywatch,
we were jumping over waves,
diving into the water.
Sometimes you would feel
like you're drowning.
But you get up,
and you cough a little,
and you try it again.
And you do it until you get it.
There were just some
days where it was too tough.
You would be absolutely frozen
because it was, like,
50 degrees outside.
I was doing things
I never imagined I would do,
like tandem surfing.
I remember
going up in the air.
And I just said, make yourself
look like a ballerina.
And then, with perfect form,
I looked to the camera
and waved.
And that is
one of my proudest moments
out there in the water.
♪
Alexandra Paul
was probably, hands down,
the most credible actress
to play a lifeguard.
I was competent
because I had been
a junior lifeguard.
I was a certified EM
at the time too.
I didn't conform to what
people thought of as Baywatch.
That actually worked
to my advantage.
I grew up on the East Coast,
and breasts were not a thing.
I learned something
really important
that first season on the show.
No matter what I do, I'm never
gonna do that sexy thing
as well
as the other actresses.
So I just said,
I'm gonna be more me.
And by cutting my hair and
my body became
more sinewy and strong.
I realized you can
just being yourself
is so empowering.
Alexandra was
not only a trained EMT,
which most lifeguards are.
She was also a triathlete,
but not only a triathlete,
an Ironman triathlete.
She walked into a part
basically being the part.
OK, let's get it over here.
She was tough.
She made rescues.
She was the real deal
in real life, you know?
And that's what was so cool
about the show,
is we had the gorgeous ones,
and we had the real ones.
But they were all real
because they all went
in the water, even Pamela.
Well, I've been doing
Baywatch now.
It's my fourth episode
on Baywatch,
so we've been swimming
in the ocean a little bit.
But I'm not used
to these kind of waves.
But it's so much fun.
I'm hooked.
Pamela Anderson
played a character
named CJ Parker.
I think her character
was pretty true
to who she wasvery light,
bubbly, likable, just cute.
What, you say
I was fat before?
No, not at all.
No, you're just
there's a sparkle
in your eyes now that you
Oh, God, and I'm dying
of heat exhaustion.
Maybe that's why.
Pamela's character was really
crafted after her,
you know, interviewing her,
meeting her, and saying,
"Well, look, what kind
of things do you do?"
She said,
"Well, I play the saxophone.
So when we first meet CJ,
she's on a rock,
playing the saxophone.
I've got Baywatch now,
where I play CJ Parker.
This is my first season
last year.
Baywatch was fantastic.
Bringing my dog to work
every day.
I couldn't believe that
people paid me to go to work.
Pam, show us the front!
They really hit
the lottery with Pamela.
She really epitomized
what they wanted to do
with Baywatch
and where it ended up.
She was perfect.
Pamela Anderson for Baywatch
just took a show
that was about here
and took it there.
She had the ability to take
that show to the next level.
Well,
I'd rather be a sex symbol
than not a sex symbol.
I don't know.
I mean,
that's a compliment, isn't it?
Every girl wants to be sexy.
Jennifer!
Hey, Britney.
How you doing today?
Justin.
Over here, Justin. Justin!
Back up!
In the 1990s,
tabloid journalism exploded.
The paparazzi were everywhere,
and the tabloids were growing.
Get the fuck out of the way!
I can't see!
There are cars there,
motherfucker!
Get out of the way!
It was a new era
of journalism.
Keanu!
It was a free-for-all
of celebrities,
of stories, of sensationalism.
People were just hungry.
They were eating
that stuff alive.
So we were giving you
the taste, the feel,
the rawness of Hollywood.
And you were consuming it
because it was just addicting.
Jessica,
are you dating anybody?
Jessica, do you miss Tony Romo?
When you're famous,
everybody wants to know
your personal business.
Everyone wants to know
what you're doing,
how you live your life.
It's like, no one
lives this perfect life.
And back then,
they just wanted
to put you under a microscope
and see where your flaws are
and expose them.
I'm just like you.
I'm just like you.
We're all
human beings, you know?
It's like, come on.
Nobody's perfect.
Because there were
so many cast members
on Baywatch,
they were fodder
for the tabloids.
Pamela!
Part of it was the fact
that there were
more television shows
that had a tabloid interest
than there had been
in the past.
In particular,
it happened to Pamela Anderson
because she lived
a very exciting life.
I was out.
It was New Year's Eve.
Bring in the new year.
"Whoo-hoo!" Right?
♪
And there was a big booth.
And she was with
all of her girlfriends.
I licked her.
She licked her girlfriend.
Her girlfriend licked
her girlfriend.
And she just kind of
passed that energy
all the way around the table.
And I was like, that's cool.
That's really cool.
First,
she was Pamela Anderson.
Then, after a four-day romance
and a white bikini wedding,
she was Pamela Lee.
Pamela.
These two were meant
to be together,
Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.
And that was
just the beginning
of a tumultuous
and headline-filled
relationship
filled with ups and downs.
The relationship
between Pam and Tommy Lee
complicated things.
It complicated her life.
You know, they complicated
our lives.
I like Tommy Lee.
I liked them together.
Pam loved Tommy.
I mean, he was terrific.
But there was a window
of time that perhaps
they were having problems
in their marriage, or issues,
or whatever it was.
My marriage was
hard on everybody
On Baywatch.
And that was kind of difficult
on the set,
with the Testarossa
spinning out in the driveways
and punching out cabinets
in the makeup trailer.
And I think it was
just hard on everybody.
Tommy was crazy.
Tommy was
pushing down photographers.
We were getting sued
all the time.
So it was a little bit of
a scary time with paparazzi.
There's some very famous
paparazzi footage
of Pam and Tommy coming
out of the Viper Room,
which was
a very popular nightclub
and music club
on the Sunset Strip
that was owned by Johnny Depp.
This was a time
where people were
obsessed with Pam and Tommy.
Tommy is this tall rocker guy.
Pam's this sex bomb.
Tom
Tommy Lee's right there.
Tommy Lee's right there.
You've got people
following you.
They're in your shit.
And, you know,
you're having a good time.
And you come out,
and, you know,
paparazzi bulbs in your face.
You're pissed off.
So Tommy ended up
grabbing a paparazzi
and threw him to the ground.
Hey, Tommy!
Fuck off.
Tommy, come on.
Get in. Get in. Get in.
Son of a bitch.
Paparazzi at the time would,
on purpose,
try to provoke talent
to get the shot.
Where's your
child this time in the morning?
She's with my mother!
Where's your baby?
So they're, like, starting
to ridicule their parenting.
And, you know, it's like
going after a lion, you know?
It's like the cubs.
You justyou don't fuck
with people's kids.
And it was
a very heated exchange.
You're a fucking asshole.
You're a fucking asshole.
You're a drug fiend.
Don't you dare speak about
Looking back in hindsight,
you can't really blame them.
They've been provoked.
And when you are
being provoked,
you're going to react.
And they did.
Watch him, will ya?
Don't get hit!
♪
We had several
big-ass speed bumps
in our relationship, you know,
things that weren't really,
you know, nurturing
to ato the relationship.
They wereyou know,
they werethey were,
you know,
wedges driving us apart.
♪
We always had issues
with Tommy Lee
being jealous
of Pam's relationship
with other actors on the show.
Pam and I had
a great relationship
on the series.
It was almost like
brother and sister in a way.
We never took ourselves
too seriously.
We knew we were doing
a certain type
of entertainment.
Pam came to me
one day and said,
"Please rewrite this scene
"where I have to kiss
David Chokachi.
"Tommy's just feeling
really insecure right now,
"and it's just not a good time.
And don't make me kiss
David Chokachi."
Tommy Lee took our scenes
when we were, like, boyfriend
and girlfriend at face value
and got really upset.
I felt bad for her
because she was
under a lot of pressure
from just, like, the outside
trying to get on
see what her inside is about.
There was one incident
where Tommy Lee came
into her trailer.
And she was out
doing a scene with Chokachi.
And he was just getting
more and more upset
that she wasn't coming,
and he kind of trashed
her trailer.
I just felt bad for her.
It'syou know,
it should have been
it should have been a really
great time in her life.
And instead,
she was kind of cornered.
♪
Pamela Anderson
had a lot of turmoil
around her relationship
with Tommy Lee.
So she was probably number one
target at the time.
She had a lot of interest
in her.
And then the sex tape came out.
Pam and Tommy created
this sex tape on their boat.
And somehow,
that sex tape got leaked.
I think
that's probably the first time
celebrities were ever seen
having sex, naturally.
It was a total invasion
of our privacy.
This is, like,
sacred, you know?
What isthis is not meant
to be on the shelves
of Tower Video right now,
you know?
How is this happening?
How did this happen?
And just, you knowyou just
start losing your mind.
It was stolen property,
in that it was two
crazily-naked people in love.
I mean, we were naked
all the time
and filming each other
and being silly.
But those tapes were not meant
for anybody else to see.
And I've not seen it
to this day.
It was very hurtful.
For us to be able
to get inside that world
for the first time,
it was fascinating.
I think sex tapes
would probably be
the precursor to reality TV.
It's our obsession
with real life.
We're taking
people's personal lives
and commercializing it
and commercializing
their sexual acts.
Prior to Pam and Tommy,
if you had a sex tape,
your career, your life,
your reputation was over.
Just look at Rob Lowe.
He had to go into hiding
for years.
And then, of course,
after that,
people like Paris Hilton
and Kim Kardashian
parlayed those sex tapes
to added fame
and celebrityhood.
-Pamela.
-Pamela, in the middle.
When Pam's sex tape came out,
the studio said, look,
write her out
of a couple of episodes.
Just write her out.
We gotta figure out
what we're gonna do with this.
This is disaster.
The next episode aired.
Like, got twice the ratings.
Just shot up in the ratings.
When Pam did the sex tape,
the most important thing
that happened is,
she crossed over
from this untouchable star
to somebody
that many people wanted.
She became a commodity.
That tape made Pam a commodity,
even larger than Baywatch.
We went to London
to promote Baywatch.
Photographers were
falling over
backwards and down the stairs,
and I just looked
behind me like,
who are they shooting?
And it slowly dawns on you
that it's you.
Baywatch wasn't Shakespeare.
It was T&A.
It was boats, jet skis.
It was the great American
adventure show.
This was
a kind of bland soap opera
with a gorgeous landscape.
The stories were horrible.
But they created a show
that was successful worldwide
that could be dubbed
into any language.
We were the butt of jokes on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
all the time.
OK, Tina,
"Everybody out of the water."
Take one.
Everybody out of the water!
Baywatch audition,
take two.
- Action.
- Look out!
There's a shark on the way!
And every time he said
a joke, our ratings went up.
Every time SNL did a sketch,
our ratings would go up.
I can't swim!
So we were thrilled.
It's cool
that we got to put a smile
on people's faces, you know?
And this show was
the ultimate escapism
for anybody who was looking
to just be entertained
for an hour.
The great good fortune
of Baywatch
was that the beach was
such a natural environment
for people to be
in bathing suits.
When I first got on
the show, the bathing suit was
sort of one size fits all
for the women.
Over the years, they went
higher and higher and higher.
And it was ridiculous.
You couldn't even
function in it.
I remember looking at it,
going,
you want me to wear this?
What?
That's it right there.
OK, beautiful.
Nice shot.
I think
Baywatch was ahead of its time
because men were featured,
and men looked hot.
The guys have
the same incredible bodies
as the women do.
The guys take
their shirts off all the time.
You could do the laundry
on their washboard stomachs.
♪
The '90s were
full of these dudes
who were super ripped,
you know, and just had,
like, eight packs
and just, like,
wearing underwear.
David Chokachi was
a young kid from New England.
Had just got out of college.
He was a jock.
He was a lacrosse player.
Buff. He was handsome.
He should have played Ken
in the Barbie movie.
He comes to California
to be rich and famous.
And he sees Baywatch,
and he's like,
"I want to get on that show."
And I was with a small
talent agency at the time.
And they were like,
"hey, we got you this audition.
I don't know if it's any good,
but you might want to go."
And then I looked at it,
and I was like, holy shit,
it's to replace
David Charvet on the show.
As soon as I stepped
through the door,
they were like,
"You're Cody Madison.
You are the guy we've been
searching for for months."
David Chokachi was
down for everything.
He loved doing the stunts,
riding jet skis.
David Chokachi is
the American dream.
♪
I figured out
early on in the show, like,
wow, the more fit you are,
the more episodes they're
gonna to write for you.
The more fans you have,
the more money
you're gonna make.
It was, like,
a self-fulfilling thing.
So I just embraced it.
I wanted to be
super, super fit.
I made sure I was.
Men can be sexualized
just as much as women,
and Chokachi is
a perfect example of that
in the opening credits.
He's coming out of the water.
His muscles are popping out.
I think he puts
his head back like this.
And in slow-motion,
you see his cock in his suit.
And, you know, it was hot.
I got voted in
as one of People's
50 Most Beautiful People,
which was a big thing
back then.
And, like, Tom Cruise
is on the cover.
The physicality
and that aspect of the show
fed right into my strengths.
David Chokachi from Baywatch!
On the show,
the men all had to wear
next to nothing.
And there was little left
to the imagination.
The producers threw
those guys in Speedos.
You know how horrible
Speedos are?
And you also are aware
that the camera is going to be
really, really tight on it.
You can't hide anything.
There's nothing to hide.
They're almost treated
as, like,
what I would call a himbo.
Like, oh,
you're just a hot guy.
I was like, can't I
just wear the red trunks?
And they're like, no
because the lifeguards
did back then wear them.
They're just more effective
in the water.
But you can't be eating
any Twinkies.
You've got to be
just totally fit,
which, luckily, I was.
♪
The bummer was, though,
a lot of times,
you know,
it's 6:30 in the morning.
It's freezing.
And it's like,
all right, get in the water.
You know,
the shrinkage is ridiculous.
I had my own technique.
I would basically try and find
a little towel or a jacket
and hide under it and do
a little personal fluffing.
And then, you know, it created
a little circulation.
And you kind of could represent
yourself a little bit better.
David Chokachi looked great
wearing his bathing suit.
He was, like, ridiculous.
You know, Michael Bergin
was ridiculous too.
They were just
good-looking guys.
Chokachi looked
damn good in a Speedo,
but I think I looked
a little bit better.
I guess you could call me
Captain Underpants.
-And action!
-Action.
When we were
filming on the beach,
we had a thing called
the rolling six pack.
They said, "Rolling."
Everybody'd hold it in.
And then we'd do the scene.
And they'd go, "Cut,"
and they'd let it out.
I bow to no biceps.
Shut up.
OK, next. Next.
Did you have a six pack?
If you looked like
you had incredible definition,
come on over.
You could be a star.
You couldn't just
have a dad bod.
You couldn't just have
the body
that you were born with.
You actually were taught that
you could have a better body.
You could be better.
You know,
being in shape became part
of my psychic makeup
and my physical makeup,
my emotional makeup.
I think it'd be impossible
for it not to be
pretty much branded,
seared into your soul.
Whatever the cost was,
I was willing to pay it
to try to hold it together
because I'm on a show
that is all about that.
I was getting a little chubby
in the midsection,
so I was
a little bit embarrassed.
I was getting prodded
by producers and stuff
about my appearance,
skinny arms and chubby belly.
♪
I hired a trainer
to come drag him out of bed
when he was getting older
so thatfor him,
that when he was on camera,
he was gonna be,
like, really fit.
He with the best abs wins,
or she
with the best boobs wins.
Baywatch created a situation
which maybe was good
or wasn't good, that
everybody's body was so ideal
that it actually pushed
the fitness craze
because you wanted
to be like these people
or you didn't fit anymore.
-Good.
-OK, we're good.
Here's the elevator version.
So we were lucky
enough to get Debbie Gibson
and Scott Grimes to work
on their own rendition
of the Baywatch theme song.
That song was a character.
Like, when you heard
the song start,
you knew exactly what
you were watching.
Some people stand
in the darkness ♪
Afraid to step
into the light ♪
Some people need
to help somebody ♪
When the edge of surrender's
in sight ♪
Don't you worry ♪
To be doing the theme song
for such an iconic show
that I watched, right, and
is an honor and a privilege
to be able to do that.
Forever and always ♪
Forever and always ♪
I'm always here ♪
Forever and always ♪
Right around the time
that Baywatch was fever pitch,
I was like, oh, my God.
This is so cool that
this show is incorporating
this pop-rock song.
It was, like, the best
2 1/2 minutes of my life,
singing this.
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Oh, yes,
the Baywatch song.
"I'll be ready
whenever you need.
Forever and always,
I'm always here."
It's the perfect theme song
forfor Baywatch.
The lyrics were perfect.
The song was perfect.
I love that theme.
I'm always ready ♪
I won't let you
out of my sight ♪
Beautiful, man.
The '90s were
just such great time,
even the fashion,
the hairstyles, the makeup.
There was a reference
to Baywatch
in almost everything
that was a hit.
Simpsons.
I heard it on Baywatch.
American Dad.
Why were you keeping
the exciting world
of lifeguards from me?
Friends.
Hey, they're running.
See, this is
the brilliance of the show.
I say always keep them running.
Chandler on Friends, I think,
had a crush on Yasmin.
Run, Yasmin!
Run like the wind!
And that's the kind of thing
that helped Baywatch
become even more iconic.
The funny thing about
the '90s was, on one hand,
you have Debbie Gibson,
all bubbly.
And she's famous.
And at the same time,
you've got Lisa Bonet getting
ready to do Angel Heart.
She's in The Cosby Show.
And then all of a sudden,
she gets sexy
and starts taking
her clothes off.
This was a time
when wholesomeness
was, like, kind of going
out the door.
But nobody was
putting the brakes on,
so everybody was
sliding to dirty.
Everybody was sliding to sexy.
You'd have
Abercrombie & Fitch show up,
all naked young boys running
with naked young girls.
You have all the Calvin Klein
Obsession ads
and the Calvin Klein
underwear ads.
Can you unbutton
the top button of those jeans?
Now, why don't you push them
down a little bit?
No, I don't think so.
Fashion,
for whatever reason,
always got away
with doing more.
The more they got away with,
the more stuff they sold.
And to be a Calvin Klein model
in the '90s
was a really big deal.
Does sex sell?
Absolutely it sells.
We still like sex.
Michael Bergin came in,
and he was very raw,
but, you know,
just great-looking.
Michael Bergin was
a supermodel in a time
that male and female models
were stars in their own right.
He would be the closest thing
to the model version
of JFK Jr.
He also was ironically
in a relationship
with Carolyn Bessette.
So at the time, I was up
for the Calvin Klein
underwear campaign.
And other names
that were up for it
were Brad Pitt,
Anthony Kiedis,
and Woody Harrelson.
And then in March of 1995,
I went from nobody
to, like, everyone calling me
a supermodel.
There was nothing better
as a teenage girl or a gay man
walking down the street
and seeing a four-story
Michael Bergin
in a pair of underwear.
What was better than that?
Michael Bergin was so hot.
East Coast vibes, ripped abs.
Those are my memories of him.
WAYNE: Baywatch knew
how to cast
what was happening
in the advertising moments
in the world.
To take Michael Bergin
off a wall
and to put him on your TV set
so that I can watch it
every week,
it's a win-win situation.
He was clean cut.
He was handsome.
He was sexy.
He appealed to my mom.
He appealed to my grandmother.
He appealed to my grandfather.
You never know.
Every woman
in the office came to us
and said,
"You have got to cast him.
He's the guy."
Susie saw
Michael Bergin in an ad.
I think it was a Calvin Klein
underwear ad, right?
Yeah, I think so.
And I said,
we have to get this guy in.
Right, so then it was
calling New York.
- We had to find him.
- Yeah.
So I auditioned for Baywatch.
I don't think they were
expecting much from me.
And they were like,
"Oh, my God."
They're like, "He's the one."
Baywatch is something that
absolutely changed my life.
♪
Thank goodness we
came up with the name Baywatch
because it lent itself
to such an iconic logo.
Baywatch was very hard
to market and promote.
We were on different nights,
different stations,
so we needed different
elements to promote the show.
And these were them.
We've got Baywatch the game.
I've never played it.
Who made this game?
Baywatch stickers.
Hot Wheels.
This is Barbie.
Or as Pamela Anderson
would say, it's CJ.
Baywatch Barbie
looked out to sea ♪
A dolphin's in trouble ♪
I'll set you free ♪
Hurry!
The creators
and producers of Baywatch,
these guys were just
amazing business guys.
We made a deal with Coke
for one year,
and then Pepsi
for the next year,
and then Dr. Pepper
to put their machines
in our lifeguard headquarters.
They had a billion viewers.
What product wouldn't want
to be on the show?
It's cheaper for them to give
us a little bit of money
than actually run an ad
or buy a billboard.
So the bang for the buck
on advertising
was pretty genius.
Even the actors were
figuring it out.
Oh, I got aggressive, man.
I got aggressive.
I personally reached out
to Adidas.
I would just pick up the phone.
Deet-deet-deet-deet.
Corporate office.
"Who's in charge over there?
"Yeah, you know, what's up?
My name is Jeremy Jackson.
"I'm on this show
called Baywatch,
"and they let me wear
whatever I want.
And I really want
to wear your clothes."
David Hasselhoff was
actually making fun of me
because I was always
wearing that stuff.
"What is up with you
and all this Adidas?"
And, you know,
I was trying to plug
this company that was
giving me free stuff,
and he called me out on it.
And he wrote this little hook
that said,
"With the beat and the sound
of my stripes hitting ground,
I've got all I need."
With the beat and the sound
of the stripes hitting ground ♪
I got all I need ♪
That song was called
"You Can Run".
It's about the three stripes
of Adidas hitting the ground.
You can run ♪
It debuted on
the European Billboard charts
at number three.
I broke some kind of a record
for youngest person to debut
at number three,
and I was inducted into
the World Music Hall of Fame.
I really just think it was me
capitalizing on an opportunity,
coming from not being able
to get
whatever clothes I could,
not being able to rock
whatever shoes I wanted.
The other kids had the Jordans,
and I didn't have the Jordans.
And I just took
full advantage of that.
It was about using
Baywatch in a different way.
So the next thing you know,
I'm getting paid appearances
to show up at clubs
all over the world
because of all these things.
And it was easy money.
Carmen!
It was sort of the beginning
of what we're doing
with social media.
And anything was an opportunity
to cash in on.
And the sky was the limit.
My name is Ingrid Walters,
and I'm from Orange County,
California.
♪
Even at a young age,
I was a competitive swimmer.
♪
And I was a lifeguard
later on in life.
♪
When I would work
at the beach,
people used to come up
to my lifeguard tower
and just sort of stare.
Some people would actually
ask me if I could swim.
And a lot of people
would just say,
"I have never seen
a Black lifeguard before."
I didn't take offense to it
because they hadn't.
Roll, roll, please.
Greg Bonann was one
of the creators of Baywatch.
And when he saw Ingrid,
a woman of color
that was a lifeguard
and a top swimmer
and a beautiful woman,
he said, come on in.
Come on my show.
I think they were kind of
getting a little bit of flak
for not having
any brown people.
It was all white people
on the show.
And then he asked if I wanted
to come and audition.
There was
this whole thing about,
was Baywatch racist?
Because there were
no Black lifeguards.
I don't think
that Baywatch was designed
for Black representation.
When you think about
life on the beach,
you probably aren't thinking
about Black folks
on the beach.
That show was not designed
for us to look and say,
oh, look, this is something
that, you know,
we can aspire to.
I don't think
that the people
who produced Baywatch
were racist,
but they knew that a blonde,
blue-eyed notion
of Southern California
was what people wanted to see.
At that time,
there was not any diversity.
It was just, you know, so hard
to get a job in Hollywood.
In the 1990s,
we had a number of people
who burst onto the scene,
whether it was Britney Spears
and Justin Timberlake,
on TV, the cast of Friends,
the cast of Seinfeld.
It's this kind of
aspirational television.
When you're talking
about a scripted series
like a Baywatch
or like a Dallas,
it's this
fictionalized version
of what you imagine
the good life is
and the good life looks like.
The one underlying
common denominator
was that they were all
very, very white.
John Singleton said,
"We lost the war on racism,
"but we won the war
on pop culture.
"And while
you people were watching
"all these white people
running up and down the beach,
Black was exploding."
It was everywhere.
Spike Lee was shooting
Do The Right Thing.
Rap was coming in.
Arsenio Hall becomes
one of the most famous
talk show hosts on television.
Wouldn't that be funny to see
Black people riding around
in helmets in their cars?
Hi, officer.
Suddenly, soul food
restaurants were opening.
White people were
moving to Harlem.
The world was shifting.
You had
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
You had Martin.
You had Living Single.
You had In Living Color.
You had a number of shows
that were doing very well
at major networks
that were representing
different aspects
of Black life.
These were windows
into stories
that we had never seen.
We didn't know this culture.
We just knew this little tiny,
rarefied version of society
that isn't accurate
unless you stay in that bubble.
And it was
it was eye-opening.
♪
I'm Traci Bingham,
and my character on Baywatch
is Jordan Tate.
Traci hadn't really done much.
It was sort of
her first real acting role.
She had done
a guest-starring spot
on The Fresh Prince
of Bel-Air.
She was in the Marky Mark
"Good Vibrations" music video.
A lot of people don't know
that I'm the girl,
the "video ho" as they call it,
in the video.
I'm the girl making out
with Mark Wahlberg.
Traci!
Traci was the host
of the Playboy
Babes of Baywatch special.
That show was
a really big show.
Traci introduced
all the actresses
that had come from Baywatch
and done Playboy
or come from Playboy
and done Baywatch.
Traci was just a very unique,
exotic sort of beauty,
and they needed
someone like her.
Traci's so much fun.
She's a ball of energy.
She's amazing.
I just thought
Baywatch was just this show
about white girls
with blonde hair, blue eyes,
with big boobs
running up and down the beach
that couldn't act.
So according to Traci,
the NAACP was kind of
up the ass of Baywatch
for being very not diverse.
Power concedes nothing
without struggle.
Boom. There you go.
Hey, Traci.
I went in there
with big hair,
fake lashes, tons of eyeliner,
my boobs pushed up to my chin.
Actually, I had, like,
three pairs of socks
on each side just to make
my boobs look huge
because I thought that's what
the show was really about.
I look at Traci Bingham,
and I think she looks like
a Black version
of Pamela Anderson.
I don't think
I'm alone in that thought.
Both women are beautiful,
and I'm not taking away
from how gorgeous
I think Traci Bingham is.
But I think
that in order for that show
to have a Black
female lifeguard,
they felt like
she needed to mirror
what the white women
looked like.
And that's exactly
what they did.
I just knew
I wanted to show
that not just white women
can look hot
and sexy and, you know,
over-the-top with the hair
and the makeup.
Anyone can do it.
And so that's what
I tried to do.
And I believe to this day
it worked.
-Traci.
-You guys got Traci.
Yeah, Traci, another one.
Thousands of girls came in.
And I think she came in,
like, three different times.
Three times for that role.
She was beautiful,
and she could act.
-Just really terrific.
-Yeah.
Knew right away
she was our gal.
I get a phone call
from my manager.
"Are you sitting down?"
He said,
"Well, congratulations.
You just booked Baywatch."
Ah! I was so excited.
Like, I could just cry
just thinking
about it right now because
it just changed my life.
It changed my career.
It changed everything.
It changed my perspective.
I felt like I made it.
I came to California.
I wasn't in California
that long, and I booked it.
I booked that show, the first
woman of color on that show.
♪
♪
Some people stand
in the darkness ♪
Afraid to step
into the light ♪
Some people need
to help somebody ♪
When the edge of surrender's
in sight ♪
Don't you worry ♪
It's gonna be all right ♪
'Cause I'm always ready ♪
Won't let you
out of my sight ♪
♪
I'll be ready ♪
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
Oh, don't you fear ♪
I'll be ready ♪
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
Ooh, don't you fear ♪
I'll be ready ♪
Oh, I'll be ready ♪
Never you fear ♪
Oh, don't you fear ♪
I'll be ready ♪
Forever and always ♪
Oh, forever and always ♪
Forever and always ♪
I'm always here ♪