LIFE’S A BEACH
‘Personal fluffing’, Pammie’s kiss ban & star doing meth during filming… Inside the shocking secrets of Baywatch
New documentary reveals casting directors picked stars from Playboy
IT'S an iconic show famed for gorgeous stars, skimpy swimsuits and making Pamela Anderson a star - now a new tell-all docu-series is set to reveal all about the iconic 90s TV show.
The long-running series first aired in 1989 and followed the lives of the lifeguards who patrolled the beaches of Los Angeles County.
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At its peak, Baywatch, which also starred David Hasselhoff, Carmen Electra and Yasmin Bleeth, had an estimated 1.1 billion viewers around the world and it still holds the Guinness World Record for the most watched TV series.
It ran until 2001 and spawned several spin-offs - and even a 2017 film starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Zac Efron.
Now, a new four-part Disney+ series, After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun, takes fan back to the beach to unveil the secrets behind the hit show, including dozens of new cast interviews and never-before-seen footage.
Playboy partnership
Back in the Nineties, Baywatch casting directors often looked to the pages of Playboy magazine as part of its hunt for new female talent.
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The documentary tells how posing for the adult magazine would normally put the kibosh on getting acting roles but with Baywatch, the more Playboy they had done the more it boosted their TV careers.
Baywatch makers met Pamela Anderson, who first posed for Playboy in 1989, through the magazine’ founder Hugh Hefner, according to the film.
It has also been reported they asked her to audition for their show 12 times - and even persisted when she didn’t show up.
In 1992, Pammie landed the role of C.J Parker on the iconic show, cementing the blonde bombshell’s status as a sex symbol and helping to turn Baywatch into a worldwide hit.
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Pamela’s sex tape nearly got her the sack
In the four-part series, Baywatch co-creator and producer Michael Berk reveals Pammie was almost written off the show following the release of her now infamous 1995 sex tape with her then-husband Tommy Lee.
He recalls: “When Pam’s sex tape came out, the studio said, ‘Look, write her out of a couple of episodes, we’ve got to figure out what we’ll do with this, this is a disaster.”
Baywatch Star Reunites with Glam Makeover!
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But according to the TV screenwriter the hour-long home video, which was stolen from the couple's Malibu home and leaked, actually had the opposite effect and actually boosted Baywatch’s ratings and so she kept her job.
He says: “The next episode that aired, it shot up in the ratings. It got like twice the ratings.”
Speaking about the scandal in a previously unaired interview, which features in the documentary, Pamela, now 59, says: “It was stolen property. It was two crazily naked people in love. We were naked all the time and filming each other, being silly.
“But those tapes were not meant for anybody else to see. I have not seen it to this day, it was very hurtful.”
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Pamela’s kissing ban
While Pamela’s off screen antics with Tommy were good for ratings, his behaviour on set certainly wasn’t ideal.
Co-creator Michael Bergin says: “Pammie came to one day and said please rewrite this scene where I have to kiss David Chokachi. Tommy’s feeling is just feeling really insecure right now. It’s not a good time and don’t make me kiss David Chokachi.’"
Speaking to the Guardian last year, the actress told how the Mötley Crüe drummer would arrive on set every day, claiming “wife time”. “
She added: “Tommy was so jealous. I thought that’s what love is.”
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Michael reveals how Tommy once “trashed” Pamela's trailer when he arrived and she wasn't there - because she was filming a scene with David, now 56, who played hunky lifeguard Cody Madison.
Actor David says in the doc: “Tommy Lee took our scenes when we were girlfriend boyfriend on the show at face value.
"He got really upset. I felt bad for her because she was under a lot of pressure.”
Hollywood A-Lister missed out
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Leonardo DiCaprio is now an Oscar-winning movie star and as a 15-year-old, he was the favourite to play David Hasselhoff’s on-screen son Hobie Buchanan in Baywatch.
But after being bowled over by a 10-year-old Jeremy Jackson during his audition, The Hoff put his foot down.
Brought up by a single mum, the youngster told the Hoff: "I don't need a dad."
Speaking in an old interview he did Baywatch: The Documentary, which features in the new Disney+ series, David says: "It really got me." He adds: "I fought for him."
However in 2016, Michael Berk said: “We actually had DiCaprio ready to be cast but David thought he was too old to play his son.
“David thought it would make him look older. He had a lot of concerns of that type.”
Drug claims
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As Hobie, Jeremy Jackson played a pivotal role in the show and confesses in the TV docu-series that he was using meth during his final season on Baywatch.
He said: "I remember David saying 'Are you smoking pot or something?'
"And I was like, Jesus, they think I'm smoking pot? I could never tell them the truth. What would they think?"
He added: "When you haven't slept for five days and you've been smoking crystal meth, having somebody look you in the eyes and say 'Dude, are you okay?' is like the worst thing that can happen."
Jeremy, now 43, has previously revealed that problems with drugs contributed to his departure from the hit show.
Shrinking swimsuits
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The show is synonymous with the iconic high cut red swimsuit worn by the Baywatch babes. Yet, the documentary reveals it subtly changed during the years to help draw in fans
Actress Kelly Packard, who played April Giminski, says in the docu series: “Over the years, they went higher and higher and higher and it was ridiculous. You couldn’t even function in it.”
Angelica Bridges, who starred as Taylor Walsh, adds: “I remember looking at it, going ‘you want me to wear this? What?!’”
‘Personal fluffing’
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It wasn't just the women who bared all on Baywatch. Carmen says: “I think Baywatch was ahead of its time because men were featured and men looked hot.”
David Chokachi reveals in the documentary series that he used to do "a little personal fluffing" to help boost his package in his tiny Speedos.
He recalls: "The bummer was though a lot of the times it’s 6.30am, it’s freezing and it’s like ‘alright, get in the water’. The shrinkage is ridiculous.
“I had my own technique. I would basically try and find a towel or a jacket to hide under and do a little personal fluffing and then you know it created a little circulation and you could kind of represent yourself a little bit better.”
Model was scouted in his pants
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Another Baywatch hunk, Michael Bergin, got the role of Jack 'JD' Darius in 1997 after the model was spotted by casting directors in his pants for a Calvin Klein advert.
Unknown Michael, now 55, replaced Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg as the designer’s underwear model in 1995 and became a household name overnight, featuring in ad campaigns alongside British supermodel Kate Moss.
Michael Berk says in the doc: “Michael Bergin came in and he was very raw but very good looking.”
He adds: “Every woman in the office came to us and said, ‘you’ve got to cast him, he’s your guy.’”
The former model, who is now a successful estate agent in Beverly Hills, says: “Baywatch is absolutely something that changed my life.”
The documentary also reveals there was a friendly rivalry between the male cast on who had the best body.
Michael says: “Chokachi looked damned good in his Speedos but I think I looked a little better.”
He adds: “I guess you could call me Captain Underpants.”
And David Hasselhoff recalls how they even had something called "the rolling six pack" when they were filming on the beach.
The Knight Rider actor adds: “They said ‘rolling’ and everybody held it in and you’d do the scene then they’d shout ‘cut’ and you’d let it out.”
Carmen Electra ‘lied’ about her swimming experience
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Auditions can be nerve wracking enough but the four-part series reveals how actors didn’t just have to look good, they also had to take part in a test.
Speaking in the doc, Alexandra Paul, who played Lt. Stephanie Holden in the television series Baywatch from 1992 to 1997, says: “All of the actors had to start taking part in a swimming test before they were cast because actors will say they can do anything.”
She adds with a laugh: “There were a few actors who said, ‘oh yeah, I can swim’ when they couldn’t.”
Recalling her audition, Carmen Electra, who got her big break after landing the part of Lani McKenzie in the show in 1997, says: “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, modelled it around. Then, the producer said, ‘Can you swim?’ I said, ‘Of course, I’m great. I’m an amazing swimmer.’
“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.”
The former glamour model also says cast members also had to go through lifeguard “rookie school” including “running on burning hot sand” as well mastering the “technique” of the show’s infamous slo-mo run along the beach.
Carmen, now 52, says: “I still run in slow motion for people. It’s become this worldwide thing.”
She loves teaching it to people, adding: “I'm game and I love it. There was a technique to it."
Baywatch launchpad for Hollywood career
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As well as Pamela Anderson, Baywatch also launched the showbiz careers of others, including Aquaman star Jason Momoa who made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action spin-off drama series Baywatch: Hawaii, which ran from 1999 until 2001.
The documentary tells how thousands of hopefuls attended the open casting call in Jason’s native.
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Former casting director Fern Oreinstein says in the doc: "The minute Jason walked in we were like, 'ok, we've got our guy. He was the perfect Baywatch lifeguard. We hired him right away."
After Baywatch: Moment In The Sun is available to stream on Disney+
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