Baywatch Facts
-Baywatch is the brainchild of producer Gregory J. Bonann. He was a lifeguard who often worked
with Michael Newman and came up with the series idea about lifeguards based on his experiences.
-Gregory promised Michael Newman that if he got his idea sold, and the show did well, he would get
him work on the pilot.
-Gregory pitched the idea around Hollywood for years without success until his sister married TV writer
Douglas Schwartz. Douglas later teamed with Michael Berk and sold Gregory's idea to NBC.
- NBC bought the two hour movie that most fans have never even seen, called Baywatch: Panic at
Malibu Pier. They couldn't see a series about lifeguards, deeming it too repetitive.
-Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier did well and NBC bought the series and after 22 episodes,
the show was cancelled due to lackluster ratings.
-One of the shows producers, Douglas Schwartz's uncle Sherwood Schwartz, who created classic hit shows as
Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch told Douglas that Baywatch was his Gilligan's Island.
Douglas bought the rights back for $10.
- The producers did not want to give up on the show and decided to revive the program in syndication.
The show's star, David Hasselhoff had tremendous European popularity and this enabled them to acquire foreign investors.
-One year after cancellation, Baywatch was back on the air.
-At its peak in the mid-90s, Baywatch was seen by over 1 billion viewers, was shown in over
144 countries in 23 different languages.
-The Guinness Book of World Records called it the Most Watched TV Show on the Planet.
-Producers originally wanted to use "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley for the Baywatch theme song,
but fortunately for all the fans, they couldn't afford the $100,000 licensing fee at that time.
-The show drew more female viewers than male. Statistics showed that female viewership was at a dominating
65 percent!
-Pamela Anderson's fame enabled her to sell her baby pictures worldwide for a pricey $450,000.
-Producer Douglas Schwartz's business cards were once stolen. Afterward, he began getting calls from actresses
who claimed to have been promised a part on the show. The thief, who was later caught, was using the cards to further
his social life.
-The cast shaved and waxed as needed, all actors were required to wear body makeup.
-The show's slow motion footage of the cast running out to victims was the idea of Douglas Schwartz.
-Unknowns before the show, many of the show's actors had gotten their start as models.
-Many of the show's actors had tatoos and in most seasons were covered with body makeup.
-Most of Baywatch's actresses had large breast implants.
-Douglas Schwartz has stated that the show has made about $450 million.
-California beaches can get very cold. Baywatch makes it look as if it's extremely sunny
and warm. The water is 57 degrees. Gena Lee Nolin and Yasmine Bleeth once came down with hypothermia.
-Baywatch re-launched David Hasselhoff's career, making him one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.
-The show made the actors, including Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, Yasmine Bleeth and Gena
Lee Nolin into household names.
