Exclusive | Baywatch alum Nicole Eggert pays tribute to co-star Michael Newman after his death: Beacon of strength

“Baywatch” alum Nicolę Eggert is speaking out following the death of her co-star Michael Newman, who died at age 68 on Sunday.“Michael ‘Newmie’ Newman was an inspiration to all.From his knowledge, skill and willingness to share to his long fight with Parkinson’s disease, he was a beacon of strength,” Eggert, 52, told the Post in a statement Tuesday.“The beaches will never be the same and my heart goes out to his family at this time of tremendous loss,” she continued.

“May he rest easy and forever continue to catch waves.”Newman died after an 18-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.His close friend, Matt Felker, who recently directed the Hulu docuseries about “Baywatch,” announced his passing.Newman — who was a lifeguard in real life — died “from heart complications” on Sunday evening “surrounded by his family and friends.”“I got to see Mike the last time he was conscious and he looked [at] me and in typical Mike fashion said, ‘You’re just in time,’” Felker told PEOPLE.Newman was 50 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2006.

“This terminal disease has allowed me a lot of thinking time, which I maybe didn’t want, but it’s brought me wisdom,” Newman told PEOPLE in August.“My body has changed so slowly that I hardly notice it, yet I am constantly reminded that Parkinson’s has now become the center of my life.”“I am cherishing the days that I get to be on this earth with family and friends,” he went on.

“I’m taking life seriously.” He shared that the words he lives by are, “It’s not a run-through.”Eggert has been dealing with her own health issues.In January, she revealed she was diagnosed with stage 2 cribriform carcinoma breast cancer in December 2023.The actress recalls gaining 25 pounds in three months and having “terrible pain” in her left breast in October, but she assumed it was just early signs of menopause.“This journey’s been rough for me.

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