1 00:00:05,338 --> 00:00:11,052 [♪ theme music playing] 2 00:00:13,722 --> 00:00:15,140 [director] Going from the top. 3 00:00:15,682 --> 00:00:17,934 [Chokachi] With Baywatch, I was stepping onto this thing 4 00:00:18,018 --> 00:00:19,352 that was just like a rocket ship. 5 00:00:21,438 --> 00:00:23,189 [Hasselhoff] It wasn't easy doing Baywatch. 6 00:00:23,815 --> 00:00:25,316 It looked like a lot of fun. 7 00:00:25,775 --> 00:00:28,236 You want me to wear this? What? [chuckles] 8 00:00:28,319 --> 00:00:31,031 But you know what? It was tough. 9 00:00:31,197 --> 00:00:33,575 -♪ I'll be ready ♪ -♪ Oh, I'll be ready ♪ 10 00:00:33,950 --> 00:00:35,744 ♪ Never you fear… ♪ 11 00:00:36,202 --> 00:00:38,371 [Traci] I just thought Baywatch was just this show 12 00:00:38,455 --> 00:00:40,165 about White girls with blonde hair, blue eyes, 13 00:00:40,248 --> 00:00:42,751 with big boobs running up and down the beach that couldn't act. 14 00:00:42,917 --> 00:00:44,335 ♪ No, don't you fear ♪ 15 00:00:44,419 --> 00:00:49,340 [Alexandra] I didn't conform to what people thought of as Baywatch. 16 00:00:49,674 --> 00:00:51,259 Breasts were not a thing. 17 00:00:51,426 --> 00:00:54,262 -[♪ theme song concludes] -[♪ dramatic music playing] 18 00:00:54,429 --> 00:00:58,016 Pamela just exploded that first year. 19 00:01:00,393 --> 00:01:01,978 [Matthew] And then the sex tape came out, 20 00:01:02,062 --> 00:01:04,147 took her to the next level and took the show to the next level. 21 00:01:04,355 --> 00:01:07,942 [Tommy] It was a total invasion of our privacy. How is this happening? 22 00:01:08,068 --> 00:01:09,986 -[paparazzi] Pamela to the left. -[indistinct chatter] 23 00:01:10,111 --> 00:01:11,821 People were just hungry. 24 00:01:11,905 --> 00:01:13,990 They were eating that stuff alive. 25 00:01:14,574 --> 00:01:16,701 [Chokachi] And they just wanted to put you under a microscope 26 00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:19,537 and see where your flaws are and expose them. 27 00:01:19,662 --> 00:01:22,624 -[indistinct chatter] -Thousand Oak biceps. 28 00:01:22,832 --> 00:01:24,918 Michael Bergin was so hot. 29 00:01:25,043 --> 00:01:27,337 He appealed to my mom. He appealed to my grandmother. 30 00:01:27,420 --> 00:01:29,380 He appealed to my grandfather. You never know. 31 00:01:29,714 --> 00:01:31,174 [Jeremy] He with the best abs wins. 32 00:01:31,633 --> 00:01:33,343 Or she with the best boobs wins. 33 00:01:33,718 --> 00:01:36,596 The guys, they had to wear next to nothing. 34 00:01:37,180 --> 00:01:39,057 They said, "Rolling." Everybody'd hold it in. 35 00:01:42,393 --> 00:01:44,104 And then get cut, they'd let it out. [chuckles] 36 00:01:45,271 --> 00:01:47,315 [Jeremy] I was getting a little chubby in the midsection. 37 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:48,608 I was a little bit embarrassed. 38 00:01:50,610 --> 00:01:53,404 There was this whole thing about, "Was Baywatch racist?" 39 00:01:53,530 --> 00:01:54,781 [Traci] My manager said, 40 00:01:54,906 --> 00:01:56,908 "Congratulations, you just booked Baywatch." 41 00:01:57,033 --> 00:01:58,243 [squeals] I was so excited. 42 00:01:58,535 --> 00:02:00,787 It changed my life. It changed my career. 43 00:02:01,454 --> 00:02:02,789 It changed everything. 44 00:02:05,291 --> 00:02:07,168 [♪ music fades] 45 00:02:07,252 --> 00:02:10,630 [♪ uplifting music playing] 46 00:02:14,008 --> 00:02:18,138 L.A. Lifeguards became superstars because of Baywatch. 47 00:02:20,098 --> 00:02:22,433 No one had ever done a show about lifeguards before. 48 00:02:23,017 --> 00:02:26,187 It's a real gig, man. I mean, they're the firemen on the beach. 49 00:02:27,063 --> 00:02:28,940 [Angelica] Greg Bonann, one of the producers 50 00:02:29,023 --> 00:02:30,441 was also a lifeguard. 51 00:02:30,692 --> 00:02:33,444 And he really wanted the cast to be lifeguards. 52 00:02:33,528 --> 00:02:36,823 He really wanted us to completely embody that role. 53 00:02:37,615 --> 00:02:39,033 [Hasselhoff] I have met a lot of kids 54 00:02:39,117 --> 00:02:41,703 who became lifeguards because they watch the show. 55 00:02:41,828 --> 00:02:43,663 There's one right now. He's calling. 56 00:02:43,746 --> 00:02:45,165 [laughs] That's a lifeguard. 57 00:02:45,415 --> 00:02:48,126 "Hello? Yeah, I was a lifeguard because of Baywatch." 58 00:02:50,086 --> 00:02:52,005 [Gregory] "Some people stand in the darkness, 59 00:02:52,338 --> 00:02:54,048 afraid to step into the light." 60 00:02:54,674 --> 00:02:56,509 "Some people need to help somebody." 61 00:02:56,676 --> 00:02:58,595 Dude, I'm on a show about rescue. 62 00:02:58,678 --> 00:03:01,389 That's another reason why this show translated around the world. 63 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,184 People say it's the T&A. Well, you're darn right it was. 64 00:03:04,642 --> 00:03:08,146 But it was also because this show was about rescue 65 00:03:08,271 --> 00:03:10,982 and compassion and altruism. 66 00:03:11,900 --> 00:03:13,568 It's all mixed in together, man. 67 00:03:15,069 --> 00:03:17,822 [♪ music fades] 68 00:03:18,615 --> 00:03:21,868 [♪ serene music playing] 69 00:03:44,140 --> 00:03:45,350 [Newman] I'm a local boy. 70 00:03:47,227 --> 00:03:48,770 I grew up here in the Palisades. 71 00:03:55,318 --> 00:03:57,445 That beach has been very good to me down there. 72 00:03:58,905 --> 00:04:02,575 It was the same place that I shot the world's most popular television show. 73 00:04:08,081 --> 00:04:10,416 I've been a lifeguard since 1977. 74 00:04:11,459 --> 00:04:14,170 I just fit in the water. I always have. 75 00:04:15,129 --> 00:04:16,673 Both my parents were swimmers, 76 00:04:16,923 --> 00:04:19,676 and I was on a competitive swim team, 77 00:04:19,842 --> 00:04:22,679 so I was introduced to all these water skills. 78 00:04:24,180 --> 00:04:26,724 [Ingrid] Mike Newman is what people think about 79 00:04:26,808 --> 00:04:28,518 when they think about a lifeguard. 80 00:04:28,643 --> 00:04:32,188 He's a tall, good-looking, strong man. 81 00:04:32,939 --> 00:04:34,857 He is the image of a lifeguard. 82 00:04:38,278 --> 00:04:41,239 [Matthew] So, this-- Early days of Mike lifeguarding. 83 00:04:41,364 --> 00:04:42,824 This is way pre-Baywatch. 84 00:04:42,949 --> 00:04:45,368 As you can see, he's lived his entire life in a Speedo. 85 00:04:45,576 --> 00:04:46,828 Second nature to him. 86 00:04:47,578 --> 00:04:50,206 This is early on lifeguard competitions. 87 00:04:50,290 --> 00:04:53,334 You can see the guy is an absolute specimen. 88 00:04:53,668 --> 00:04:56,170 This is Newman in about '94 89 00:04:56,254 --> 00:04:58,464 and this is probably about the peak of Baywatch, 90 00:04:58,548 --> 00:05:00,091 when Pam came on. 91 00:05:00,174 --> 00:05:03,678 Mike was the Ironman Lifeguard World Champion in '94. 92 00:05:03,761 --> 00:05:06,389 As you can see, the guy is a beast. 93 00:05:06,931 --> 00:05:08,224 And then here's from that competition. 94 00:05:08,308 --> 00:05:11,311 Pam must have come out and give him some support. 95 00:05:11,561 --> 00:05:13,813 Prime Mike and prime Pamela right there. 96 00:05:16,190 --> 00:05:17,942 In a Speedo, no less. 97 00:05:20,028 --> 00:05:21,654 [Newman] I've made hundreds of rescues. 98 00:05:22,238 --> 00:05:24,949 When you can reach out and grab someone's hand 99 00:05:25,033 --> 00:05:27,702 when they knew they were gonna be dead in a few minutes 100 00:05:28,161 --> 00:05:31,331 and bring them back to shore, it's a great feeling. 101 00:05:31,414 --> 00:05:33,541 I mean, there's no better feeling in the world. 102 00:05:33,958 --> 00:05:36,878 [Matthew] So at first, Mike Newman wasn't an actual member of the show. 103 00:05:36,961 --> 00:05:39,088 He was just a consultant on the show to make sure 104 00:05:39,172 --> 00:05:41,549 that things looked appropriate and professional. 105 00:05:42,592 --> 00:05:45,636 Every time I would see Newman, that's what it would bring me to. 106 00:05:45,762 --> 00:05:48,431 It would bring me back to, "This shit is real." 107 00:05:49,682 --> 00:05:51,726 [Hasselhoff] I just knew that we were going to work 108 00:05:51,809 --> 00:05:55,897 on a show about lifeguards, and we're doing the best we can 109 00:05:56,397 --> 00:05:58,816 to represent them correctly. 110 00:05:59,859 --> 00:06:01,903 [Alexandra] All the actors started having to go through 111 00:06:01,986 --> 00:06:04,447 a swimming test before they were cast, 112 00:06:04,530 --> 00:06:06,741 because actors will say they can do anything. 113 00:06:06,824 --> 00:06:08,785 There were a few actors who said, "Oh, yeah, 114 00:06:08,868 --> 00:06:10,745 I can swim…" [chuckles] …when they couldn't. 115 00:06:10,912 --> 00:06:12,538 [indistinct chatter] 116 00:06:12,663 --> 00:06:14,040 [Carmen] I auditioned with Hasselhoff. 117 00:06:14,123 --> 00:06:15,541 He was right there in front of me. 118 00:06:15,708 --> 00:06:17,251 I was so nervous. 119 00:06:18,586 --> 00:06:20,254 I got through that phase. 120 00:06:20,338 --> 00:06:23,049 And then the next phase was putting on the red suit. 121 00:06:23,591 --> 00:06:26,260 So, I put on the red suit, modeled it around. 122 00:06:26,427 --> 00:06:29,472 Then the producer said, "Can you swim?" 123 00:06:29,847 --> 00:06:32,600 I said, "Of course, I'm great. I'm an amazing swimmer." 124 00:06:32,892 --> 00:06:35,395 And I remember standing on the edge of this pool, 125 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:36,729 and I said a prayer. 126 00:06:36,938 --> 00:06:39,607 And I just thought, "Dive like you're a dancer, 127 00:06:39,732 --> 00:06:41,984 tuck in your chin, and go for it." 128 00:06:42,151 --> 00:06:45,405 And I made it. I made it on the show. 129 00:06:47,365 --> 00:06:50,326 [Alexandra] On Baywatch, the priorities were the look. 130 00:06:50,785 --> 00:06:55,248 They took really good care to make the show look good, 131 00:06:55,873 --> 00:06:57,917 but also the rescues were important, 132 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,837 because Greg Bonann, the producer, was also a lifeguard. 133 00:07:01,003 --> 00:07:02,797 [♪ playful music playing] 134 00:07:02,922 --> 00:07:06,134 [Carmen] Our cast had to go through rookie school, 135 00:07:06,634 --> 00:07:08,344 run on the hot sand, 136 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:10,930 burning sand. 137 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:14,308 Being on Baywatch, we were jumping over waves, 138 00:07:15,101 --> 00:07:16,519 diving into the water. 139 00:07:16,686 --> 00:07:19,105 Sometimes you would feel like you're drowning. 140 00:07:19,522 --> 00:07:22,024 But you get up, and you cough a little, 141 00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:24,819 and you try it again. And you do it until you get it. 142 00:07:24,944 --> 00:07:26,279 [Erika] There were just some days 143 00:07:26,362 --> 00:07:30,283 where it was too tough. You would be absolutely frozen 144 00:07:30,366 --> 00:07:32,285 'cause it was like, 50 degrees outside. 145 00:07:32,743 --> 00:07:34,912 I was doing things I never imagined I would do, 146 00:07:35,371 --> 00:07:37,248 like tandem surfing. 147 00:07:37,582 --> 00:07:40,168 I remember going up in the air and I just said, 148 00:07:40,251 --> 00:07:42,044 "Make yourself look like a ballerina." 149 00:07:42,211 --> 00:07:46,215 And then, with perfect form, I looked to the camera and waved. 150 00:07:46,507 --> 00:07:50,136 And that is one of my proudest moments out there in the water. 151 00:07:50,386 --> 00:07:51,596 [♪ music fades] 152 00:07:51,679 --> 00:07:56,767 [♪ gentle music playing] 153 00:08:02,023 --> 00:08:04,817 [Matthew] Alexandra Paul was probably hands down 154 00:08:04,901 --> 00:08:07,320 the most credible actress to play a lifeguard. 155 00:08:08,529 --> 00:08:11,449 [Alexandra] I was competent, because I had been a junior lifeguard. 156 00:08:11,574 --> 00:08:14,452 I was a certified EMT at the time, too. 157 00:08:15,995 --> 00:08:21,292 I didn't conform to what people thought of as Baywatch. 158 00:08:22,126 --> 00:08:24,086 That actually worked to my advantage. 159 00:08:24,212 --> 00:08:27,548 I grew up on the East Coast and breasts were not a thing. 160 00:08:28,591 --> 00:08:32,762 I learned something really important that first season on the show. 161 00:08:33,179 --> 00:08:34,722 No matter what I do, 162 00:08:34,805 --> 00:08:38,643 I'm never going to do that sexy thing as well as the other actresses. 163 00:08:38,893 --> 00:08:41,145 So, I just said, "I'm gonna be more me." 164 00:08:41,521 --> 00:08:46,859 And by cutting my hair and my body became more sinewy and strong, 165 00:08:47,443 --> 00:08:50,279 I realized you can-- You just being yourself… 166 00:08:51,531 --> 00:08:53,407 is so empowering. 167 00:08:54,992 --> 00:08:57,537 [Matthew] Alexandra was not only a trained EMT, 168 00:08:57,620 --> 00:09:00,581 which most lifeguards are, she was also a triathlete. 169 00:09:00,665 --> 00:09:03,084 But not only a triathlete, an Ironman triathlete. 170 00:09:03,417 --> 00:09:07,296 She walked into a part basically being the part. 171 00:09:07,421 --> 00:09:09,048 [indistinct chatter] 172 00:09:09,215 --> 00:09:11,634 [Hasselhoff] She was tough. She made rescues. 173 00:09:11,717 --> 00:09:14,011 She was the real deal in real life, 174 00:09:14,178 --> 00:09:16,556 you know, and that's what was so cool about the show 175 00:09:16,639 --> 00:09:20,518 is we had the gorgeous ones and we had the real ones, 176 00:09:20,601 --> 00:09:21,769 but they were all real 177 00:09:22,103 --> 00:09:24,105 because they all went in the water, even Pamela. 178 00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:26,023 Well, I've been doing Baywatch now. 179 00:09:26,107 --> 00:09:27,316 It's my fourth episode on Baywatch, 180 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,193 so we've been swimming in the ocean a little bit, 181 00:09:29,277 --> 00:09:32,905 but I'm not used to these kind of waves, but it's so much fun. I'm hooked. 182 00:09:34,115 --> 00:09:36,534 [Matthew] Pamela Anderson played a character named CJ Parker. 183 00:09:36,617 --> 00:09:40,246 I think her character was pretty true to who she was. 184 00:09:40,371 --> 00:09:44,792 Very light, bubbly, likable, just cute. 185 00:09:45,126 --> 00:09:46,544 What, he said I was fat before? [laughs] 186 00:09:46,627 --> 00:09:48,212 [casting director] No, not at all. No, you just-- 187 00:09:48,296 --> 00:09:50,214 There's a sparkle in your eye now that you-- 188 00:09:50,339 --> 00:09:51,882 Oh, God!. And I'm dying of heat exhaustion. 189 00:09:51,966 --> 00:09:53,426 That's maybe that's why. [laughs] 190 00:09:53,551 --> 00:09:55,761 [Berk] Pamela's character was really crafted after her, 191 00:09:55,845 --> 00:09:58,055 you know, interviewing her, meeting her, saying, 192 00:09:58,180 --> 00:09:59,932 "Look, what kind of things do you do?" 193 00:10:00,099 --> 00:10:01,976 She said, "Well, I play the saxophone." [chuckles] 194 00:10:02,476 --> 00:10:05,855 So when we first meet CJ, she's on a rock playing the saxophone. 195 00:10:07,982 --> 00:10:10,443 I've got Baywatch now, where I play CJ Parker. 196 00:10:10,526 --> 00:10:12,028 This is my first season last year. 197 00:10:12,111 --> 00:10:13,529 Baywatch was fantastic. 198 00:10:13,613 --> 00:10:15,489 Bringing my dog to work every day. 199 00:10:15,573 --> 00:10:17,658 I couldn't believe that people paid me to go to work. 200 00:10:18,993 --> 00:10:21,621 -[indistinct shouting] -[paparazzi] Pam, show us the front. 201 00:10:21,829 --> 00:10:24,874 [Erika] They really hit the lottery with Pamela. 202 00:10:25,166 --> 00:10:28,294 She really epitomized what they wanted to do 203 00:10:28,377 --> 00:10:30,129 with Baywatch and where it ended up. 204 00:10:30,296 --> 00:10:31,631 She was perfect. 205 00:10:31,714 --> 00:10:33,883 Pamela Anderson for Baywatch just took a show 206 00:10:34,008 --> 00:10:35,509 that was about here and took it there. 207 00:10:35,635 --> 00:10:38,304 She had the ability to take that show to the next level. 208 00:10:38,429 --> 00:10:40,848 [Pamela] Well, I'd rather be a sex symbol than not a sex symbol. 209 00:10:40,931 --> 00:10:43,809 I don't know. [chuckles] I mean, that's a compliment, isn't it? 210 00:10:43,976 --> 00:10:46,937 -Every girl wants to be sexy. -[indistinct chatter] 211 00:10:48,064 --> 00:10:50,316 [paparazzi 1] Jennifer! Jennifer! Jennifer! 212 00:10:50,441 --> 00:10:51,817 [paparazzi 2] Hey, Britney, how you doing today? 213 00:10:51,942 --> 00:10:54,654 -[paparazzi 3] Justin, over here, Justin! -[paparazzi 4] Justin! 214 00:10:54,820 --> 00:10:56,864 -[indistinct chatter] -[Lewittes] In the 1990s, 215 00:10:57,073 --> 00:10:59,075 tabloid journalism exploded. 216 00:10:59,241 --> 00:11:02,745 The paparazzi were everywhere and the tabloids were growing. 217 00:11:02,828 --> 00:11:05,039 [Tobey] Get the fuck out of the way! I can't see! 218 00:11:05,247 --> 00:11:07,333 There are cars there, motherfucker! 219 00:11:07,416 --> 00:11:08,876 -Get out of the way! -[camera shutters clicking] 220 00:11:09,001 --> 00:11:10,920 [Lewittes] It was a new era of journalism. 221 00:11:11,253 --> 00:11:12,338 [paparazzi] Keanu! 222 00:11:12,463 --> 00:11:14,548 [Rick] It was a free-for-all of celebrities, 223 00:11:14,674 --> 00:11:19,178 of stories, of sensationalism. People were just hungry. 224 00:11:19,303 --> 00:11:21,389 They were eating that stuff alive. 225 00:11:22,556 --> 00:11:26,310 So we were giving you the taste, the feel, 226 00:11:26,435 --> 00:11:28,979 the rawness of Hollywood 227 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,025 and you're consuming it because it was just addicting. 228 00:11:34,068 --> 00:11:36,070 [paparazzi] Jessica, are you dating anybody? 229 00:11:36,195 --> 00:11:37,697 Jessica, do you miss Tony Romo? 230 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:39,365 [Carmen] When you're famous, 231 00:11:39,490 --> 00:11:41,367 everybody wants to know your personal business. 232 00:11:41,492 --> 00:11:45,287 Everyone wants to know what you're doing, how you live your life. 233 00:11:45,413 --> 00:11:47,289 [Chokachi] It's like no one lives this perfect life. 234 00:11:47,415 --> 00:11:50,126 And back then, they just wanted to put you under a microscope 235 00:11:50,251 --> 00:11:52,545 and see where your flaws are and expose them. 236 00:11:52,628 --> 00:11:54,588 I'm just like you. I'm just like you. 237 00:11:54,714 --> 00:11:56,465 [Chokachi] We're all human beings, you know? It's like, come on. 238 00:11:56,549 --> 00:11:57,967 We're-- Nobody's perfect. 239 00:11:58,676 --> 00:12:01,721 Because there were so many cast members on Baywatch, 240 00:12:01,804 --> 00:12:03,556 they were fodder for the tabloids. 241 00:12:03,639 --> 00:12:06,142 -[paparazzi 1] Pam! -[paparazzi 2] Pamela! Pamela! 242 00:12:06,225 --> 00:12:09,311 [Chris] Part of it was the fact that there were more television shows 243 00:12:09,395 --> 00:12:12,606 that had a tabloid interest than there had been in the past. 244 00:12:12,732 --> 00:12:14,525 In particular, it happened to Pamela Anderson 245 00:12:14,650 --> 00:12:17,278 because she lived a very exciting life. 246 00:12:17,361 --> 00:12:20,322 [♪ upbeat music playing] 247 00:12:20,573 --> 00:12:23,075 [Tommy] I was out, it was New Year's Eve, 248 00:12:23,492 --> 00:12:25,327 bring in the new year. Whoo! Right? 249 00:12:27,329 --> 00:12:31,167 And, it was a big booth and she was with all of her girlfriends. 250 00:12:31,292 --> 00:12:34,462 I licked her, she licked her girlfriend, her girlfriend licked her girlfriend, 251 00:12:34,587 --> 00:12:35,796 and she just kind of passed that energy 252 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:37,423 all the way around the table, and I was like, 253 00:12:37,506 --> 00:12:39,800 "That's cool. That's really cool." 254 00:12:40,009 --> 00:12:42,094 [reporter] First, she was Pamela Anderson. 255 00:12:42,219 --> 00:12:45,097 Then, after a four-day romance and a white bikini wedding, 256 00:12:45,222 --> 00:12:47,141 -she was Pamela Lee. -[paparazzi] Pamela! 257 00:12:47,224 --> 00:12:48,267 [indistinct chatter] 258 00:12:48,350 --> 00:12:49,685 [Chris] These two were meant to be together, 259 00:12:49,769 --> 00:12:51,312 Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. 260 00:12:51,395 --> 00:12:55,524 And that was just the beginning of a tumultuous 261 00:12:55,983 --> 00:13:00,488 and headline-filled relationship filled with ups and downs. 262 00:13:00,654 --> 00:13:03,324 [♪ somber music playing] 263 00:13:03,866 --> 00:13:06,076 [Berk] The relationship between Pam and Tommy Lee 264 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,412 complicated things. They complicated her life. 265 00:13:08,496 --> 00:13:10,581 You know, they complicated our lives. 266 00:13:10,706 --> 00:13:12,666 I like Tommy Lee. I liked them together. 267 00:13:12,750 --> 00:13:14,543 Pam loved Tommy. I mean, he was terrific. 268 00:13:14,668 --> 00:13:18,672 But there was this window of time that perhaps they were having problems 269 00:13:18,756 --> 00:13:21,300 in their marriage or issues or whatever it was. 270 00:13:21,884 --> 00:13:23,385 [Pamela] My marriage was hard on everybody… 271 00:13:23,511 --> 00:13:25,304 [laughs] …on Baywatch. 272 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:27,056 And that was kind of difficult on the set 273 00:13:27,139 --> 00:13:29,642 with the Testarossa spinning out in the driveways 274 00:13:29,725 --> 00:13:32,269 and punching out cabinets in the makeup trailer. 275 00:13:32,353 --> 00:13:33,771 And I think it was just hard on everybody. 276 00:13:33,938 --> 00:13:35,231 [indistinct chatter] 277 00:13:35,314 --> 00:13:37,274 [Pamela] Tommy was crazy. Tommy was pushing down photographers. 278 00:13:37,358 --> 00:13:38,734 We were getting sued all the time. 279 00:13:38,859 --> 00:13:40,569 -[indistinct shouting] -[Pamela] So it was a little bit 280 00:13:40,653 --> 00:13:42,530 of a scary time with the paparazzi. 281 00:13:43,113 --> 00:13:45,658 There's some very famous paparazzi footage 282 00:13:45,741 --> 00:13:47,243 of Pam and Tommy coming out of the Viper Room, 283 00:13:47,368 --> 00:13:50,287 which was a very popular nightclub and music club, 284 00:13:50,371 --> 00:13:52,581 on the Sunset Strip that was owned by Johnny Depp. 285 00:13:53,123 --> 00:13:57,127 This was a time where people were obsessed with Pam and Tommy. 286 00:13:57,294 --> 00:14:01,048 Tommy's this tall rocker guy. Pam's this sex bomb. 287 00:14:01,257 --> 00:14:03,217 [fans] Tommy Lee's right there. 288 00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:04,885 [Matthew] You got people following you. 289 00:14:04,969 --> 00:14:06,303 They're in your shit. 290 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,890 And, you know, you're having a good time and you come out and, you know, 291 00:14:09,974 --> 00:14:11,725 paparazzi bulbs in your face. You're pissed off. 292 00:14:12,476 --> 00:14:17,857 So, Tommy ended up grabbing a paparazzi and threw him to the ground. 293 00:14:17,982 --> 00:14:20,943 -[paparazzi] Hey! Tommy-- -You just fuck off, man. 294 00:14:21,026 --> 00:14:22,820 [Tommy's friend] Tommy, come on, get in, get in, get in. 295 00:14:25,072 --> 00:14:30,828 Paparazzi at the time would, on purpose, try to provoke talent to get the shot. 296 00:14:30,953 --> 00:14:33,497 [paparazzi] Where's your child this time of the morning? 297 00:14:33,581 --> 00:14:35,374 -Where's your baby? -He's with my mother. My mother. 298 00:14:35,499 --> 00:14:36,959 -Where is your baby? -[Matthew] So they're, like, 299 00:14:37,084 --> 00:14:38,794 starting to ridicule their parenting, 300 00:14:38,919 --> 00:14:41,797 and, you know, it's like going after a lion, you know? 301 00:14:41,881 --> 00:14:43,090 It's like the cubs. You just-- 302 00:14:43,215 --> 00:14:44,592 You don't fuck with people's kids. 303 00:14:45,384 --> 00:14:47,011 And it was a very heated exchange. 304 00:14:47,094 --> 00:14:48,929 You're a fucking asshole. You're a fucking asshole. 305 00:14:49,054 --> 00:14:51,515 -[paparazzi] You're a drug fiend. -[indistinct chatter] 306 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,183 Don't you dare speak about my kid. 307 00:14:53,684 --> 00:14:55,144 [Matthew] Looking back in hindsight, 308 00:14:55,227 --> 00:14:57,897 you can't really blame them. They've been provoked. 309 00:14:58,105 --> 00:15:02,401 And when you are being provoked, 310 00:15:02,484 --> 00:15:04,820 you're going to react. And they did. 311 00:15:05,070 --> 00:15:06,864 [paparazzi] Watch it, don't get hit! 312 00:15:09,199 --> 00:15:11,452 [♪ intense music playing] 313 00:15:13,621 --> 00:15:18,584 We had several big-ass speed bumps in our relationship. 314 00:15:18,667 --> 00:15:20,461 You know, things that weren't really, 315 00:15:20,544 --> 00:15:24,214 you know, nurturing to the relationship. 316 00:15:24,298 --> 00:15:28,636 They were, you know, they were just, wedges driving us apart. 317 00:15:30,554 --> 00:15:33,432 [Douglas] We always had issues with Tommy Lee being jealous 318 00:15:33,515 --> 00:15:36,393 of Pam's relationship with other actors on the show. 319 00:15:36,936 --> 00:15:38,979 [Chokachi] Pam and I had a great relationship on the series. 320 00:15:39,063 --> 00:15:41,190 It was almost like brother and sister, in a way. 321 00:15:41,315 --> 00:15:43,067 We never took ourselves too seriously. 322 00:15:43,150 --> 00:15:46,070 We knew we were doing a certain type of entertainment. 323 00:15:47,363 --> 00:15:48,822 [Berk] Pam came to me one day and said, 324 00:15:48,906 --> 00:15:52,868 "Please rewrite this scene where I have to kiss David Chokachi." 325 00:15:52,952 --> 00:15:55,329 "Tommy's just feeling really insecure right now, 326 00:15:55,412 --> 00:15:56,830 and it's just not a good time." 327 00:15:56,997 --> 00:15:59,416 "And don't make me kiss David Chokachi." 328 00:16:00,501 --> 00:16:02,336 Tommy Lee took our scenes when we were, like, 329 00:16:02,419 --> 00:16:06,757 boyfriend and girlfriend at face value and got really upset. I felt bad for her 330 00:16:06,882 --> 00:16:08,842 because she was under a lot of pressure 331 00:16:08,926 --> 00:16:12,388 from just, like, the outside, trying to get on-- 332 00:16:12,471 --> 00:16:14,431 See what her inside is about. 333 00:16:15,099 --> 00:16:17,434 [Berk] There was one incident 334 00:16:17,685 --> 00:16:19,853 where Tommy Lee came into her trailer, 335 00:16:19,937 --> 00:16:22,022 and she was out doing a scene with Chokachi, 336 00:16:22,106 --> 00:16:23,899 and he was just getting more and more upset 337 00:16:23,983 --> 00:16:26,568 that she wasn't coming, and he kind of trashed her trailer. 338 00:16:26,735 --> 00:16:28,404 I just felt bad for her. It's-- 339 00:16:28,696 --> 00:16:31,699 You know, it should've been a really great time in her life, 340 00:16:31,782 --> 00:16:34,368 and instead she was kind of cornered. 341 00:16:38,288 --> 00:16:40,916 [indistinct chatter] 342 00:16:41,083 --> 00:16:43,377 [Matthew] Pamela Anderson had a lot of turmoil 343 00:16:43,460 --> 00:16:45,087 around her relationship with Tommy Lee, 344 00:16:45,170 --> 00:16:47,715 so she was probably the number one target at the time. 345 00:16:47,798 --> 00:16:49,299 She had a lot of interest in her. 346 00:16:49,466 --> 00:16:51,051 And then the sex tape came out. 347 00:16:51,510 --> 00:16:54,596 [J.D.] Pam and Tommy created this sex tape on their boat, 348 00:16:54,722 --> 00:16:57,057 and somehow that sex tape got leaked. 349 00:16:57,558 --> 00:16:59,893 I think that's probably the first time celebrities 350 00:17:00,310 --> 00:17:03,814 were ever seen having sex naturally. [chuckles] 351 00:17:04,023 --> 00:17:06,900 It was a total invasion of our privacy 352 00:17:06,984 --> 00:17:09,194 and this is like sacred, you know? [chuckles hesitantly] 353 00:17:09,278 --> 00:17:12,531 This is not meant to be on the shelves 354 00:17:12,614 --> 00:17:14,241 of Tower Video right now. 355 00:17:14,533 --> 00:17:16,660 You know, how is this happening? 356 00:17:16,869 --> 00:17:18,454 How did this happen? And just-- 357 00:17:18,537 --> 00:17:20,122 you just start losing your mind and-- 358 00:17:20,247 --> 00:17:21,373 It was stolen property. 359 00:17:22,041 --> 00:17:25,419 That it was two crazily naked people in love. 360 00:17:25,502 --> 00:17:28,422 I mean, we were naked all the time and filming each other and being silly, 361 00:17:28,505 --> 00:17:31,633 but those tapes were not meant for anybody else to see. 362 00:17:31,759 --> 00:17:33,302 And I've not seen it to this day. 363 00:17:33,761 --> 00:17:35,554 It was very hurtful. 364 00:17:36,221 --> 00:17:38,640 [Matthew] For us to be able to get inside that world 365 00:17:38,766 --> 00:17:40,517 for the first time, it was fascinating. 366 00:17:40,684 --> 00:17:43,854 I think sex tapes would probably be the precursor to reality TV. 367 00:17:44,188 --> 00:17:45,397 It's our obsession with real life. 368 00:17:45,856 --> 00:17:48,400 We're taking people's personal lives and commercializing it, 369 00:17:48,484 --> 00:17:50,152 and commercializing their sexual acts. 370 00:17:50,444 --> 00:17:52,988 Prior to Pam and Tommy, if you had a sex tape, 371 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,283 your career, your life, your reputation was over. 372 00:17:56,366 --> 00:17:57,785 Just look at Rob Lowe. 373 00:17:57,951 --> 00:18:00,079 He had to go into hiding for years. 374 00:18:00,412 --> 00:18:02,081 And then, of course, after that, 375 00:18:02,164 --> 00:18:05,667 people like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian parlayed 376 00:18:05,751 --> 00:18:08,921 those sex tapes to added fame and celebrityhood. 377 00:18:09,088 --> 00:18:10,756 -[paparazzi 1] Pamela. -[paparazzi 2] Pamela in the middle. 378 00:18:10,839 --> 00:18:12,091 [Berk] When Pam's sex tape came out, 379 00:18:12,174 --> 00:18:15,803 the studio said, "Look, write her out of a couple of episodes." 380 00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:17,304 "Just write her out. We gotta figure out 381 00:18:17,387 --> 00:18:19,681 what we're gonna do with this. This is disaster." 382 00:18:20,140 --> 00:18:23,644 Next episode aired, like, got twice the ratings. 383 00:18:23,769 --> 00:18:25,187 Just shot up in the ratings. [chuckles] 384 00:18:25,354 --> 00:18:26,980 When Pam did the sex tape, 385 00:18:27,272 --> 00:18:29,817 the most important thing that happened is 386 00:18:29,942 --> 00:18:34,613 she crossed over from this untouchable star 387 00:18:34,696 --> 00:18:37,074 to somebody that many people wanted. 388 00:18:37,157 --> 00:18:38,242 She became a commodity. 389 00:18:38,325 --> 00:18:42,246 That tape made Pam a commodity, even larger than Baywatch. 390 00:18:42,329 --> 00:18:43,497 [indistinct chatter] 391 00:18:43,580 --> 00:18:45,791 [Pamela] When we went to London to promote Baywatch, 392 00:18:45,874 --> 00:18:47,918 photographers were falling over backwards and down the stairs, 393 00:18:48,043 --> 00:18:49,878 and I just looked behind me like, "Who are they shooting?" 394 00:18:49,962 --> 00:18:52,506 And it slowly dawns on you that it's you. 395 00:18:52,756 --> 00:18:56,009 [indistinct chatter] 396 00:18:58,470 --> 00:19:02,224 [screams] 397 00:19:02,349 --> 00:19:05,602 [Gregory] Baywatch wasn't Shakespeare. It was T&A. 398 00:19:06,019 --> 00:19:09,148 It was boats, jet skis. 399 00:19:09,398 --> 00:19:11,984 It was the great American adventure show. 400 00:19:12,317 --> 00:19:14,987 [Chris] This was a kind of bland soap opera 401 00:19:15,112 --> 00:19:18,198 with a gorgeous landscape. The stories were horrible, 402 00:19:18,532 --> 00:19:20,576 but they created a show that was successful worldwide, 403 00:19:20,659 --> 00:19:22,536 that could be dubbed into any language. 404 00:19:22,661 --> 00:19:23,954 [in German] Schlagt sie ein! Ist mir egal! 405 00:19:24,037 --> 00:19:25,205 [in French] La vitre, je m'en fous! 406 00:19:25,289 --> 00:19:26,540 [speaks in foreign language] 407 00:19:26,915 --> 00:19:28,167 [in English] We were the butt of jokes 408 00:19:28,250 --> 00:19:30,669 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno all the time. 409 00:19:31,295 --> 00:19:33,964 Okay, Tina, "Everybody out of the water." Take one. 410 00:19:34,131 --> 00:19:36,091 Everybody out of the water! 411 00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:37,718 -[yells] -[crowd laughing] 412 00:19:37,843 --> 00:19:40,345 [director] Baywatch audition, take two. Action! 413 00:19:40,429 --> 00:19:42,848 Look out! There's a shark on the way! 414 00:19:42,931 --> 00:19:43,974 [crowd laughing] 415 00:19:44,057 --> 00:19:46,518 And every time he said a joke, our ratings went up. 416 00:19:46,894 --> 00:19:49,730 Every time SNL did a sketch, our ratings would go up. 417 00:19:49,813 --> 00:19:51,732 I can't swim! 418 00:19:52,232 --> 00:19:53,525 So, we were thrilled. 419 00:19:53,609 --> 00:19:56,737 It's cool that we got to put a smile on people's faces, you know? 420 00:19:56,820 --> 00:20:01,074 And this show was the ultimate escapism for anybody who was looking 421 00:20:01,158 --> 00:20:02,618 to just be entertained for an hour. 422 00:20:02,826 --> 00:20:05,204 [♪ gentle music playing] 423 00:20:05,370 --> 00:20:08,165 [Berk] The great good fortune of Baywatch 424 00:20:08,290 --> 00:20:10,876 was that the beach was such a natural environment 425 00:20:11,001 --> 00:20:12,211 for people to be in bathing suits. 426 00:20:12,711 --> 00:20:15,339 [Alexandra] When I first got on the show, the bathing suit 427 00:20:15,464 --> 00:20:18,008 was sort of one size fits all for the women. 428 00:20:18,133 --> 00:20:21,136 Over the years, they went higher and higher and higher. 429 00:20:21,637 --> 00:20:22,763 And it was ridiculous. 430 00:20:22,888 --> 00:20:24,389 You couldn't even function in it. 431 00:20:24,514 --> 00:20:26,266 I remember looking at it going, 432 00:20:26,725 --> 00:20:28,769 "You want me to wear this? What?" 433 00:20:28,894 --> 00:20:31,772 [photographer] That's it, right there. Okay, beautiful. Nice job. 434 00:20:31,939 --> 00:20:34,233 [Carmen] I think Baywatch was ahead of its time, 435 00:20:34,816 --> 00:20:39,071 because men were featured and men looked hot. 436 00:20:39,154 --> 00:20:40,864 [Chris] The guys have the same incredible bodies 437 00:20:40,989 --> 00:20:42,115 as the women do. 438 00:20:42,241 --> 00:20:44,618 The guys take their shirts off all the time. 439 00:20:44,826 --> 00:20:47,788 You could do the laundry on their washboard stomachs. 440 00:20:48,038 --> 00:20:50,624 [♪ calming music playing] 441 00:20:55,128 --> 00:20:56,672 [Chokachi] The '90s were full of these dudes 442 00:20:56,755 --> 00:20:59,466 who were super ripped, you know, and just had, like, 443 00:20:59,591 --> 00:21:01,927 eight-packs and just, like, wearing underwear. 444 00:21:03,262 --> 00:21:06,390 [Matthew] David Chokachi was a young kid from New England. 445 00:21:06,556 --> 00:21:08,475 Had just got out of college. He was a jock. 446 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,270 He was a lacrosse player. Buff. He was handsome. 447 00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:13,605 He should've played Ken in the Barbie movie. 448 00:21:14,481 --> 00:21:17,526 He comes to California to be rich and famous. 449 00:21:17,609 --> 00:21:19,778 And he sees Baywatch, and he's like, 450 00:21:19,861 --> 00:21:21,321 "I wanna get on that show." 451 00:21:22,572 --> 00:21:24,825 I was with a small talent agency at the time, 452 00:21:24,908 --> 00:21:26,952 and they were like, "Hey, we got you this audition." 453 00:21:27,035 --> 00:21:28,829 "I don't know if it's any good, but you might wanna go." 454 00:21:28,912 --> 00:21:30,455 And then I looked at it, and I was like, 455 00:21:30,539 --> 00:21:33,875 "Holy shit. It's to replace David Charvet on the show." 456 00:21:34,501 --> 00:21:36,253 As soon as I stepped through the door, 457 00:21:36,336 --> 00:21:38,046 they were like, "You're Cody Madison." 458 00:21:38,171 --> 00:21:40,590 "You are the guy we've been searching for, for months." 459 00:21:41,633 --> 00:21:44,011 [Matthew] David Chokachi was down for everything. 460 00:21:44,469 --> 00:21:46,471 He loved doing the stunts, riding jet skis. 461 00:21:46,805 --> 00:21:48,890 David Chokachi is the American dream. 462 00:21:50,309 --> 00:21:52,853 [indistinct chatter] 463 00:21:52,978 --> 00:21:55,147 [Chokachi] I figured out early on in the show, like, 464 00:21:55,230 --> 00:21:56,732 "Wow, the more fit you are, 465 00:21:56,815 --> 00:21:58,525 the more episodes they're gonna write for you, 466 00:21:58,650 --> 00:22:00,736 the more fans you have, the more money you're gonna make." 467 00:22:00,819 --> 00:22:02,321 It was like a self-fulfilling thing. 468 00:22:03,405 --> 00:22:05,365 So, I just embraced it. 469 00:22:05,449 --> 00:22:08,785 I wanted to be super, super fit. I made sure I was. 470 00:22:09,536 --> 00:22:12,164 [♪ music fades] 471 00:22:12,331 --> 00:22:13,415 [♪ upbeat music playing] 472 00:22:13,498 --> 00:22:16,752 [Alexandra] Men can be sexualized just as much as women, 473 00:22:16,877 --> 00:22:18,545 and Chokachi is a perfect example 474 00:22:18,628 --> 00:22:20,297 of that in the opening credits. 475 00:22:21,048 --> 00:22:24,718 He's coming out of the water, his muscles are popping out. 476 00:22:24,801 --> 00:22:27,095 I think he puts his head back like this, 477 00:22:27,220 --> 00:22:31,058 and it's slow motion. You see his cock in his suit. 478 00:22:31,141 --> 00:22:35,020 And… you know, it was hot. 479 00:22:37,731 --> 00:22:41,234 [Chokachi] I got voted in as one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People, 480 00:22:41,318 --> 00:22:42,694 which was a big thing back then. 481 00:22:42,861 --> 00:22:44,571 And, like, Tom Cruise is on the cover. 482 00:22:45,947 --> 00:22:49,826 The physicality and that aspect of the show fed right into my strengths. 483 00:22:49,910 --> 00:22:52,829 -[crowd cheering, shouting] -[announcer 1] David Chokachi 484 00:22:52,954 --> 00:22:54,915 from Baywatch! 485 00:22:55,707 --> 00:22:58,919 [announcer 2] I'm glad he had clean underwear on, so… 486 00:22:59,252 --> 00:23:01,630 [♪ upbeat music playing] 487 00:23:02,297 --> 00:23:03,340 [Kelly] On the show, 488 00:23:03,507 --> 00:23:06,593 the men all had to wear next to nothing. 489 00:23:07,135 --> 00:23:09,888 And there was little left to the imagination. 490 00:23:10,180 --> 00:23:12,432 [Matthew] The producers threw those guys in Speedos. 491 00:23:12,641 --> 00:23:14,434 You know how horrible Speedos are? 492 00:23:14,601 --> 00:23:16,103 And you also are aware 493 00:23:16,186 --> 00:23:19,189 that the camera's going to be really, really tight on it. 494 00:23:19,689 --> 00:23:21,942 You can't hide anything. There's nothing to hide. 495 00:23:22,275 --> 00:23:24,611 They're almost treated as, like, what I would call a himbo. 496 00:23:24,736 --> 00:23:26,530 Like, "Oh, you're just a hot guy." 497 00:23:26,655 --> 00:23:28,949 [Chokachi] I was like, "Can I just wear the red trunks?" 498 00:23:29,032 --> 00:23:31,493 And they're like, "No, because the lifeguards did, 499 00:23:31,576 --> 00:23:32,869 back then, wear them." 500 00:23:33,078 --> 00:23:34,913 "They're just more effective in the water." 501 00:23:35,414 --> 00:23:37,374 "But you can't be eating any Twinkies." 502 00:23:37,457 --> 00:23:39,501 "You gotta be just totally fit." 503 00:23:39,709 --> 00:23:41,044 Which luckily I was. 504 00:23:45,882 --> 00:23:47,717 The bummer was, though, a lot of times, you know, 505 00:23:47,843 --> 00:23:49,803 it's 6:30 in the morning, it's freezing, 506 00:23:49,928 --> 00:23:51,304 and it's like, "All right, get in the water." 507 00:23:51,388 --> 00:23:53,598 You know, the shrinkage is ridiculous. [chuckles softly] 508 00:23:53,765 --> 00:23:57,477 I had my own technique. I would basically try and find 509 00:23:57,561 --> 00:23:59,479 a little towel or a jacket, hide under it, 510 00:23:59,563 --> 00:24:01,106 and do a little personal fluffing. 511 00:24:01,273 --> 00:24:04,109 And then, you know, it created a little circulation, 512 00:24:04,192 --> 00:24:07,070 and you kind of could represent yourself a little bit better. 513 00:24:07,571 --> 00:24:08,697 [chuckles] 514 00:24:09,990 --> 00:24:13,201 [Hasselhoff] David Chokachi looked great wearing his bathing suit. 515 00:24:13,869 --> 00:24:15,787 He was, like, ridiculous. 516 00:24:16,121 --> 00:24:18,707 You know, Michael Bergin was ridiculous, too. 517 00:24:18,874 --> 00:24:21,334 They were just good-looking guys. 518 00:24:22,085 --> 00:24:24,588 Chokachi looked damn good in his Speedo. 519 00:24:24,713 --> 00:24:26,923 But I think I looked a little bit better. 520 00:24:28,425 --> 00:24:30,760 I guess you could call me Captain Underpants. 521 00:24:32,596 --> 00:24:33,597 [director] Roll camera… 522 00:24:33,722 --> 00:24:35,599 [assistant director] Going for rolling, and speed… 523 00:24:35,724 --> 00:24:38,101 -[director] And, action! -[assistant director] Action. 524 00:24:38,727 --> 00:24:40,770 [Hasselhoff] When we were filming on the beach, 525 00:24:40,854 --> 00:24:43,315 we had a thing called the rolling six-pack. 526 00:24:44,107 --> 00:24:46,401 They said, "Rolling." Everybody'd hold it in. 527 00:24:47,277 --> 00:24:48,612 And then we do the scene, 528 00:24:48,987 --> 00:24:50,989 and they get cut, and they let it out. [chuckles] 529 00:24:51,072 --> 00:24:54,493 -[indistinct chatter] -Thousand Oak biceps. 530 00:24:54,743 --> 00:24:56,828 -[woman 1 giggles] Shut up. -[woman 2 laughs] 531 00:24:56,953 --> 00:24:59,331 -[indistinct chatter] -Okay, next. Next. 532 00:24:59,956 --> 00:25:01,458 [Chris] Did you have a six-pack? 533 00:25:01,583 --> 00:25:03,752 If you looked like you had incredible definition, 534 00:25:04,085 --> 00:25:05,378 come on over, you could be a star. 535 00:25:05,921 --> 00:25:07,631 [Wayne] You couldn't just have a dad bod. 536 00:25:07,797 --> 00:25:10,675 You couldn't just have the body that you were born with. 537 00:25:10,842 --> 00:25:13,136 You actually were taught that you could have a better body. 538 00:25:13,261 --> 00:25:14,554 You could be better. 539 00:25:15,138 --> 00:25:18,808 You know, being in shape became part of my psychic makeup 540 00:25:18,892 --> 00:25:21,561 and my physical makeup, my emotional makeup. 541 00:25:21,686 --> 00:25:23,230 I think it'd be impossible 542 00:25:23,355 --> 00:25:26,608 for it not to be pretty much branded, 543 00:25:26,775 --> 00:25:28,693 seared into your soul. [chuckles] 544 00:25:28,902 --> 00:25:32,447 [♪ tranquil music playing] 545 00:25:32,781 --> 00:25:35,242 [Jeremy] Whatever the cost was, I was willing to pay it 546 00:25:35,325 --> 00:25:37,786 to try to hold it together because I'm on a show 547 00:25:37,869 --> 00:25:39,454 that is all about that. 548 00:25:40,455 --> 00:25:42,457 I was getting a little chubby in the midsection, 549 00:25:42,541 --> 00:25:44,125 so I was a little bit embarrassed. 550 00:25:44,292 --> 00:25:46,836 I was getting prodded by producers and stuff 551 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:48,338 about my appearance. 552 00:25:48,421 --> 00:25:50,715 Skinny arms and chubby belly. 553 00:25:52,300 --> 00:25:54,678 [Jolana] I hired a trainer to come drag him out of bed 554 00:25:54,844 --> 00:25:56,805 when he was getting older, so that for him 555 00:25:56,888 --> 00:25:59,349 that he-- When he was on camera, he was gonna be… 556 00:25:59,599 --> 00:26:00,934 you know, like, really fit. 557 00:26:02,102 --> 00:26:03,853 [Jeremy] He with the best abs wins. 558 00:26:04,354 --> 00:26:06,189 Or she with the best boobs wins. 559 00:26:07,232 --> 00:26:09,025 [Wayne] Baywatch created a situation, 560 00:26:09,109 --> 00:26:10,735 which maybe was good or wasn't good, 561 00:26:10,860 --> 00:26:13,530 that everybody's body was so ideal 562 00:26:14,155 --> 00:26:16,741 that it actually pushed the fitness craze 563 00:26:16,825 --> 00:26:18,994 because you wanted to be like these people, 564 00:26:19,077 --> 00:26:20,412 or you didn't fit anymore. 565 00:26:20,495 --> 00:26:21,538 [photographer] Good! 566 00:26:24,416 --> 00:26:27,377 [Scott] ♪ Some people stand in the darkness ♪ 567 00:26:28,587 --> 00:26:30,338 [♪ keyboard synthesizer playing] 568 00:26:31,089 --> 00:26:33,717 [music producer laughs] There's the elevator version. 569 00:26:34,551 --> 00:26:36,636 [Matthew] So we were lucky enough to get Debbie Gibson 570 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,930 and Scott Grimes to work on their own rendition 571 00:26:39,014 --> 00:26:40,890 -of the Baywatch theme song. -[indistinct chatter] 572 00:26:41,016 --> 00:26:42,392 That song was a character. 573 00:26:42,517 --> 00:26:45,103 Like, when you heard the song start, you knew exactly what you were watching. 574 00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:48,648 ♪ Some people stand in the darkness ♪ 575 00:26:49,316 --> 00:26:52,736 ♪ Afraid to step into the light ♪ 576 00:26:53,361 --> 00:26:57,157 ♪ Some people need to help somebody ♪ 577 00:26:57,324 --> 00:27:00,410 ♪ When the edge of surrender's in sight ♪ 578 00:27:00,619 --> 00:27:02,829 ♪ Don't you worry ♪ 579 00:27:03,204 --> 00:27:07,584 To be doing the theme song for such an iconic show 580 00:27:07,667 --> 00:27:09,294 that I watched, right? 581 00:27:09,419 --> 00:27:12,255 And is an honor and a privilege to be able to do that. 582 00:27:12,922 --> 00:27:17,677 -♪ Forever and always ♪ -♪ Forever and always ♪ 583 00:27:18,803 --> 00:27:21,640 ♪ Forever and always ♪ 584 00:27:21,806 --> 00:27:25,226 Right around the time that Baywatch was fever pitch, 585 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,813 I was like, "Oh, my God, this is so cool 586 00:27:28,897 --> 00:27:31,775 that this show is incorporating this pop-rock song." 587 00:27:31,941 --> 00:27:33,568 It was like the best two and a half minutes 588 00:27:33,652 --> 00:27:35,904 of my life singing this-- [laughs] 589 00:27:36,237 --> 00:27:39,074 -♪ I'll be ready ♪ -♪ Oh, I'll be ready ♪ 590 00:27:39,157 --> 00:27:40,659 [Traci] Oh, yes, the Baywatch song, 591 00:27:40,784 --> 00:27:42,619 "I'll be ready, whenever you need." 592 00:27:42,786 --> 00:27:44,621 "Forever and always, I'm always here." 593 00:27:44,913 --> 00:27:47,957 It's the perfect theme song for Baywatch. 594 00:27:48,124 --> 00:27:50,168 The lyrics were perfect, the song was perfect. 595 00:27:50,752 --> 00:27:52,212 I love that theme. 596 00:27:53,171 --> 00:27:54,964 ♪ I'm always ready ♪ 597 00:27:55,048 --> 00:27:58,176 ♪ I won't let you out of my sight ♪ 598 00:27:59,344 --> 00:28:00,345 Beautiful, man. 599 00:28:01,721 --> 00:28:04,140 [Alexandra] The '90s were just such a great time. 600 00:28:04,224 --> 00:28:06,768 Even the fashion, the hairstyles, the makeup. 601 00:28:07,268 --> 00:28:09,646 There was a reference to Baywatch in almost everything 602 00:28:09,771 --> 00:28:10,855 that was a hit. 603 00:28:11,022 --> 00:28:12,107 Simpsons. 604 00:28:12,190 --> 00:28:13,608 I heard it on Baywatch. 605 00:28:13,775 --> 00:28:14,943 [Nicole] American Dad. 606 00:28:15,026 --> 00:28:17,862 Why were you keeping the exciting world of lifeguards from me? 607 00:28:17,987 --> 00:28:19,072 [Nicole] Friends. 608 00:28:19,155 --> 00:28:20,699 Hey, they're running. 609 00:28:21,658 --> 00:28:23,743 See, this is the brilliance of the show. 610 00:28:24,786 --> 00:28:26,496 I say always keep them running. 611 00:28:26,705 --> 00:28:27,956 [crowd laughing] 612 00:28:28,081 --> 00:28:30,834 [Alexandra] Chandler on Friends, I think, had a crush on Yasmine. 613 00:28:30,917 --> 00:28:32,752 Run, Yasmine! Run like the wind! 614 00:28:32,836 --> 00:28:33,920 [crowd laughing] 615 00:28:34,003 --> 00:28:35,672 And that's the kind of thing that helped Baywatch 616 00:28:35,797 --> 00:28:37,132 become even more iconic. 617 00:28:37,340 --> 00:28:41,052 The funny thing about the '90s was, on one hand, you have Debbie Gibson, 618 00:28:41,469 --> 00:28:43,930 -all bubbly, and she's famous. -[indistinct chatter] 619 00:28:44,055 --> 00:28:45,056 And at the same time, 620 00:28:45,140 --> 00:28:47,600 you've got Lisa Bonet getting ready to do Angel Heart. 621 00:28:47,726 --> 00:28:49,394 She's in The Cosby Show and then all of a sudden, 622 00:28:49,561 --> 00:28:52,063 she gets sexy and starts taking her clothes off. 623 00:28:52,188 --> 00:28:54,315 This was a time when wholesomeness 624 00:28:54,733 --> 00:28:56,401 was, like, kinda going out the door, 625 00:28:56,484 --> 00:28:58,611 but nobody was putting the brakes on. 626 00:28:58,737 --> 00:29:00,989 So, everybody was sliding to dirty. 627 00:29:01,114 --> 00:29:02,782 Everybody was sliding to sexy. 628 00:29:03,450 --> 00:29:05,535 You have Abercrombie & Fitch show up, 629 00:29:05,618 --> 00:29:08,455 all naked young boys running with naked young girls. 630 00:29:08,580 --> 00:29:10,582 You have all the Calvin Klein Obsession ads 631 00:29:10,915 --> 00:29:12,667 and the Calvin Klein underwear ads. 632 00:29:12,959 --> 00:29:16,296 [director] Can you unbutton the top button of those jeans? 633 00:29:20,300 --> 00:29:22,469 Now, why don't you push them down a little bit? 634 00:29:22,552 --> 00:29:25,013 No. I don't think so. 635 00:29:25,555 --> 00:29:28,892 Fashion, for whatever reason, always got away with doing more. 636 00:29:29,017 --> 00:29:32,312 The more they got away with, the more stuff they sold. 637 00:29:32,437 --> 00:29:36,232 And to be a Calvin Klein model in the '90s was a really big deal. 638 00:29:36,357 --> 00:29:39,027 Does sex sell? Absolutely it sells. [chuckles] 639 00:29:39,110 --> 00:29:40,487 We still like sex. 640 00:29:40,612 --> 00:29:45,200 Michael Bergin came in and he was very raw, 641 00:29:45,408 --> 00:29:47,577 but you know, just great-looking. 642 00:29:48,203 --> 00:29:51,748 [Matthew] Michael Bergin was a supermodel in a time 643 00:29:51,873 --> 00:29:55,168 that male and female models were stars in their own right. 644 00:29:55,335 --> 00:29:57,086 He would be the closest thing 645 00:29:57,170 --> 00:29:59,339 to the model version of JFK Junior. 646 00:29:59,464 --> 00:30:02,509 He also was ironically in a relationship with Carolyn Bessette. 647 00:30:02,717 --> 00:30:06,095 So at the time, I was up for the Calvin Klein underwear campaign 648 00:30:06,262 --> 00:30:08,640 and other names that were up for it 649 00:30:08,723 --> 00:30:13,645 were Brad Pitt, Anthony Kiedis, and Woody Harrelson. 650 00:30:13,978 --> 00:30:18,983 And then in March of 1995 I went from a nobody to, like, 651 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:20,944 everyone calling me a supermodel. 652 00:30:21,236 --> 00:30:25,323 There was nothing better as a teenage girl or a gay man 653 00:30:25,573 --> 00:30:27,116 walking down the street and seeing 654 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:30,078 a four-story Michael Bergin in a pair of underwear. 655 00:30:30,161 --> 00:30:31,371 What was better than that? 656 00:30:33,164 --> 00:30:38,586 Michael Bergin was so hot, East Coast vibes, ripped abs. 657 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:40,505 Those are my memories of him. 658 00:30:40,672 --> 00:30:43,508 [Wayne] Baywatch knew how to cast what was happening 659 00:30:43,591 --> 00:30:45,635 in the advertising moments in the world. 660 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,681 To take Michael Bergin off a wall and to put him on your TV set 661 00:30:49,764 --> 00:30:53,101 so that I could watch it every week, it's a win-win situation. 662 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:57,272 He was clean cut, he was handsome, he was sexy. 663 00:30:57,397 --> 00:30:59,816 He appealed to my mom, he appealed to my grandmother, 664 00:30:59,899 --> 00:31:01,901 he appealed to my grandfather, you never know. 665 00:31:02,986 --> 00:31:05,738 [Berk] Every woman in the office came to us and said, 666 00:31:05,905 --> 00:31:08,408 "You have got to cast him. He's the guy." 667 00:31:10,034 --> 00:31:12,787 Susie saw Michael Bergin in an ad. 668 00:31:12,912 --> 00:31:14,414 I think it was a Calvin Klein underwear ad, 669 00:31:14,497 --> 00:31:15,665 -right? -[Susan] Yeah, I think so. 670 00:31:15,748 --> 00:31:18,126 And I said, we have to get this guy in. 671 00:31:18,209 --> 00:31:19,210 -Right. -And-- 672 00:31:19,294 --> 00:31:20,378 So, then it was calling New York. 673 00:31:20,503 --> 00:31:22,005 -We had to find him. -Yeah. 674 00:31:22,171 --> 00:31:24,090 So, I auditioned for Baywatch. 675 00:31:24,173 --> 00:31:25,925 I don't think they were expecting much from me. 676 00:31:26,092 --> 00:31:27,218 And they were like, "Oh, my God." 677 00:31:27,385 --> 00:31:29,262 They were like, "He's the one." 678 00:31:29,929 --> 00:31:32,849 Baywatch is something that absolutely changed my life. 679 00:31:32,974 --> 00:31:36,311 [indistinct chatter] 680 00:31:36,644 --> 00:31:39,480 [♪ joyful music playing] 681 00:31:43,276 --> 00:31:45,945 [Berk] Thank goodness we came up with the name Baywatch, 682 00:31:46,779 --> 00:31:49,866 because it lent itself to such an iconic logo. 683 00:31:50,658 --> 00:31:52,827 Baywatch was very hard to market and promote. 684 00:31:53,286 --> 00:31:55,705 We were on different nights, different stations. 685 00:31:56,331 --> 00:31:59,167 So, we needed different elements to promote the show. 686 00:31:59,584 --> 00:32:01,210 And these were them. 687 00:32:02,045 --> 00:32:03,588 We got Baywatch: The Game. 688 00:32:03,713 --> 00:32:06,341 I've never played it. Who made this game? 689 00:32:06,507 --> 00:32:07,842 Baywatch stickers. 690 00:32:08,009 --> 00:32:09,177 Hot Wheels. 691 00:32:09,469 --> 00:32:10,762 This is Barbie. 692 00:32:10,845 --> 00:32:13,348 Or as Pam Anderson would say, "It's CJ." [chuckles] 693 00:32:13,514 --> 00:32:16,017 ♪ Baywatch Barbie looks out to sea ♪ 694 00:32:16,184 --> 00:32:17,727 ♪ A dolphin's in trouble ♪ 695 00:32:18,311 --> 00:32:19,729 -♪ Outside and free! ♪ -[child] Hurry! 696 00:32:19,812 --> 00:32:22,857 [Matthew] The creators and producers of Baywatch, 697 00:32:22,982 --> 00:32:25,985 these guys were just amazing business guys. 698 00:32:27,654 --> 00:32:29,906 [Berk] We made a deal with Coke for one year 699 00:32:30,323 --> 00:32:31,991 and then Pepsi for the next year 700 00:32:32,116 --> 00:32:36,454 and then Dr. Pepper to put their machines in our lifeguard headquarters. 701 00:32:36,955 --> 00:32:38,247 [Matthew] They had a billion viewers. 702 00:32:38,331 --> 00:32:40,291 What product wouldn't wanna be in the show? 703 00:32:40,750 --> 00:32:42,543 It's cheaper for them to give us a little bit of money 704 00:32:42,627 --> 00:32:45,630 than actually run an ad or buy a billboard. 705 00:32:45,755 --> 00:32:50,969 So, the bang for the buck on advertising was pretty genius. 706 00:32:51,094 --> 00:32:52,679 Even the actors were figuring it out. 707 00:32:52,971 --> 00:32:55,223 Oh, I got aggressive, man. I got aggressive. 708 00:32:55,473 --> 00:32:59,310 I personally reached out to Adidas. 709 00:32:59,394 --> 00:33:01,854 I would just pick up the phone. Dee-dee-dee-dee. 710 00:33:01,980 --> 00:33:04,399 Corporate office. "Who's in charge over there?" 711 00:33:04,482 --> 00:33:06,150 "Yeah, you know, what's up? My name's Jeremy Jackson." 712 00:33:06,275 --> 00:33:08,695 "I'm on this show called Baywatch, and they let me wear whatever I want 713 00:33:08,820 --> 00:33:10,279 and I really want to wear your clothes." 714 00:33:10,363 --> 00:33:11,990 David Hasselhoff was actually making fun of me, 715 00:33:12,073 --> 00:33:13,616 'cause I was always wearing that stuff. 716 00:33:13,700 --> 00:33:15,493 "What is up with you and all this Adidas?" 717 00:33:15,576 --> 00:33:17,286 And, you know, I was trying to plug this company 718 00:33:17,370 --> 00:33:19,455 that was giving me free stuff. And he called me out on it. 719 00:33:19,580 --> 00:33:20,790 And he wrote this little hook that said, 720 00:33:20,873 --> 00:33:23,084 "With the beat and the sound of my stripes hitting ground, 721 00:33:23,167 --> 00:33:24,210 I've got all I need." 722 00:33:24,293 --> 00:33:26,462 ♪ With the beat and the sound of my stripes hitting ground ♪ 723 00:33:26,546 --> 00:33:28,339 ♪ I've got all I need ♪ 724 00:33:28,631 --> 00:33:31,009 [Jeremy] That song was called "You Can Run." 725 00:33:31,175 --> 00:33:33,845 It was about the three stripes of Adidas hitting the ground. 726 00:33:34,012 --> 00:33:36,389 ♪ You can run Owi-oh-wi-oh ♪ 727 00:33:36,472 --> 00:33:39,434 It debuted on the European Billboard charts at number three. 728 00:33:40,184 --> 00:33:43,146 I broke some kind of a record for youngest person 729 00:33:43,229 --> 00:33:44,897 to debut at number three, 730 00:33:44,981 --> 00:33:47,358 and I was inducted into the World Music Hall of Fame. 731 00:33:47,650 --> 00:33:53,364 I really just think it was me… capitalizing on an opportunity, 732 00:33:53,614 --> 00:33:56,826 coming from not being able to get whatever clothes I could, 733 00:33:57,326 --> 00:34:00,121 not being able to rock whatever shoes I wanted. 734 00:34:00,204 --> 00:34:02,415 The other kids had the Jordans and I didn't have the Jordans, 735 00:34:02,540 --> 00:34:05,168 and I just took full advantage of that. 736 00:34:05,251 --> 00:34:06,544 [indistinct chatter] 737 00:34:06,669 --> 00:34:09,839 [Carmen] It was about using Baywatch in a different way. 738 00:34:09,922 --> 00:34:13,134 So the next thing you know, I'm getting paid appearances 739 00:34:13,217 --> 00:34:16,971 to show up at clubs all over the world because of all these things. 740 00:34:17,305 --> 00:34:19,223 And it was easy money. 741 00:34:19,390 --> 00:34:20,767 -[fan] Carmen! -[indistinct chatter] 742 00:34:20,933 --> 00:34:23,436 [Matthew] It was sort of the beginning of what we're doing with social media. 743 00:34:23,686 --> 00:34:28,316 And anything was an opportunity to cash in on. 744 00:34:28,608 --> 00:34:30,026 And the sky was the limit. 745 00:34:33,946 --> 00:34:36,699 [♪ soft music playing] 746 00:34:38,409 --> 00:34:40,453 [Ingrid] My name is Ingrid Walters, 747 00:34:41,079 --> 00:34:43,414 and I'm from Orange County, California. 748 00:34:46,459 --> 00:34:49,378 Even at a young age, I was a competitive swimmer. 749 00:34:52,590 --> 00:34:55,259 Then I was a lifeguard later on in life. 750 00:35:00,264 --> 00:35:02,225 When I would work at the beach, 751 00:35:02,433 --> 00:35:04,435 people used to come up to my lifeguard tower 752 00:35:04,519 --> 00:35:05,978 and just sort of stare. 753 00:35:06,145 --> 00:35:10,316 Some people would actually ask me if I could swim. 754 00:35:10,858 --> 00:35:13,611 And a lot of people would just say, 755 00:35:13,694 --> 00:35:15,655 "I've never seen a Black lifeguard before." 756 00:35:15,738 --> 00:35:17,031 [chuckles] 757 00:35:17,198 --> 00:35:19,909 I didn't take offense to it because they hadn't. 758 00:35:20,535 --> 00:35:21,744 [director] Roll, roll, please… 759 00:35:21,869 --> 00:35:24,372 [Matthew] Greg Bonann was one of the creators of Baywatch. 760 00:35:24,789 --> 00:35:26,374 And when he saw Ingrid, 761 00:35:26,457 --> 00:35:28,126 a woman of color that was a lifeguard 762 00:35:28,209 --> 00:35:30,044 and a top swimmer and a beautiful woman, 763 00:35:30,128 --> 00:35:31,963 he said, "Come on in. Come on my show." 764 00:35:32,338 --> 00:35:34,340 I think they were kind of getting a little bit of flack 765 00:35:34,465 --> 00:35:36,592 for not having any brown people. 766 00:35:36,676 --> 00:35:38,344 It was all White people on the show. 767 00:35:38,427 --> 00:35:41,681 And then he asked if I wanted to come and audition. 768 00:35:41,764 --> 00:35:44,642 There was this whole thing about, "Was Baywatch racist?" 769 00:35:45,184 --> 00:35:46,936 'Cause there were no Black lifeguards. 770 00:35:48,020 --> 00:35:50,648 [Kelley] I don't think that Baywatch was designed 771 00:35:50,940 --> 00:35:53,526 for Black representation. 772 00:35:53,693 --> 00:35:55,903 When you think about life on the beach, 773 00:35:56,028 --> 00:35:58,698 you probably aren't thinking about Black folks on the beach. 774 00:35:58,823 --> 00:36:02,285 That show was not designed for us to look and say, 775 00:36:02,368 --> 00:36:05,997 "Oh, look, this is something that, you know, we can aspire to." 776 00:36:09,250 --> 00:36:11,335 [Gregory] I don't think that the people who produced 777 00:36:11,460 --> 00:36:13,504 Baywatch were racist, but they knew 778 00:36:13,588 --> 00:36:17,133 that a blonde, blue-eyed notion of Southern California 779 00:36:17,300 --> 00:36:19,010 was what people wanted to see. 780 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:22,805 [Traci] At that time, there was not any diversity. 781 00:36:22,889 --> 00:36:26,767 It was just, you know, so hard to get a job in Hollywood. 782 00:36:27,059 --> 00:36:28,269 In the 1990s, 783 00:36:28,352 --> 00:36:31,355 we had a number of people who burst onto the scene, 784 00:36:31,731 --> 00:36:34,734 whether it was Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. 785 00:36:34,859 --> 00:36:38,279 On TV, the cast of Friends, the cast of Seinfeld. 786 00:36:38,362 --> 00:36:41,365 It's this kind of aspirational television. 787 00:36:41,782 --> 00:36:43,743 When you're talking about a scripted series 788 00:36:43,826 --> 00:36:45,953 like a Baywatch or like a Dallas, 789 00:36:46,078 --> 00:36:49,790 it's this fictionalized version of what you imagine 790 00:36:49,916 --> 00:36:52,293 the good life is, and the good life looks like. 791 00:36:52,543 --> 00:36:55,421 The one underlying common denominator 792 00:36:55,588 --> 00:36:57,924 was that they were all very, very White. 793 00:36:58,216 --> 00:37:00,051 [♪ dynamic music playing] 794 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,971 [Wayne] John Singleton said, "We lost the war on racism, 795 00:37:04,055 --> 00:37:06,015 but we won the war on pop culture." 796 00:37:06,182 --> 00:37:09,810 And while you people were watching all these White people running up 797 00:37:09,894 --> 00:37:11,270 and down the beach, 798 00:37:11,395 --> 00:37:14,273 Black was exploding. It was everywhere. 799 00:37:14,565 --> 00:37:16,651 Spike Lee was shooting Do The Right Thing. 800 00:37:16,859 --> 00:37:18,069 Rap was coming in. 801 00:37:18,152 --> 00:37:19,320 Arsenio Hall becomes 802 00:37:19,403 --> 00:37:21,948 one of the most famous talk show hosts on television. 803 00:37:22,073 --> 00:37:24,825 Wouldn't that be funny to see Black people riding around in helmets in their cars? 804 00:37:24,992 --> 00:37:26,577 [crowd laughing] 805 00:37:26,661 --> 00:37:27,745 Hi, officer. 806 00:37:29,413 --> 00:37:31,290 [Wayne] Suddenly, soul food restaurants were opening, 807 00:37:31,707 --> 00:37:33,459 White people were moving to Harlem, 808 00:37:33,542 --> 00:37:34,627 the world was shifting. 809 00:37:35,044 --> 00:37:36,671 [Kelley] You had The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. 810 00:37:36,754 --> 00:37:39,131 You had Martin, you had Living Single. 811 00:37:39,215 --> 00:37:40,675 You had In Living Color. 812 00:37:40,967 --> 00:37:42,760 You had a number of shows 813 00:37:42,927 --> 00:37:44,887 that were doing very well at major networks 814 00:37:45,054 --> 00:37:47,098 that were representing different aspects of Black life. 815 00:37:47,974 --> 00:37:51,310 [Matthew] These were windows into stories that we had never seen. 816 00:37:51,435 --> 00:37:52,687 We didn't know this culture. 817 00:37:52,812 --> 00:37:56,357 We just knew this little, tiny, rarefied version of society 818 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:59,193 that isn't accurate unless you stay in that bubble. 819 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:02,196 And it was eye-opening. 820 00:38:02,321 --> 00:38:04,740 [♪ chill rhythmic music playing] 821 00:38:08,411 --> 00:38:09,453 [Traci] I'm Traci Bingham, 822 00:38:09,578 --> 00:38:12,164 and my character on Baywatch is Jordan Tate. 823 00:38:13,749 --> 00:38:16,252 [Matthew] Traci hadn't really done much. 824 00:38:16,502 --> 00:38:18,671 It was sort of her first real acting role. 825 00:38:18,796 --> 00:38:21,549 She had done a guest starring spot on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. 826 00:38:21,757 --> 00:38:25,386 She was in the Marky Mark "Good Vibrations" music video. 827 00:38:25,761 --> 00:38:27,638 A lot of people don't know that I'm the girl. 828 00:38:27,722 --> 00:38:30,016 "The video hoe," as they call it, in the video. [laughs] 829 00:38:30,182 --> 00:38:32,810 I'm the girl making out with Mark Wahlberg. 830 00:38:33,019 --> 00:38:34,312 [fans] Traci! 831 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:35,771 [Matthew] Traci was the host 832 00:38:35,938 --> 00:38:38,399 of the Playboy: Babes of Baywatch special. 833 00:38:39,025 --> 00:38:40,609 That show was a really big show. 834 00:38:40,985 --> 00:38:43,779 Traci introduced all the actresses 835 00:38:43,904 --> 00:38:45,823 that had come from Baywatch and done Playboy, 836 00:38:45,906 --> 00:38:47,616 or come from Playboy and done Baywatch. 837 00:38:47,992 --> 00:38:51,037 Traci was just a very unique, exotic sort of beauty. 838 00:38:51,329 --> 00:38:53,205 And they needed someone like her. 839 00:38:54,332 --> 00:38:56,959 [Carmen] Traci's so much fun. She's a ball of energy. 840 00:38:57,168 --> 00:38:58,919 She's amazing. [laughs] 841 00:38:59,045 --> 00:39:01,047 I just thought Baywatch was just this show 842 00:39:01,130 --> 00:39:03,257 about White girls with blonde hair, blue eyes, 843 00:39:03,341 --> 00:39:06,260 with big boobs running up and down the beach that couldn't act. 844 00:39:06,552 --> 00:39:08,304 [Matthew] So, according to Traci, 845 00:39:08,471 --> 00:39:13,267 the NAACP was kinda up the ass of Baywatch for being very not diverse. 846 00:39:13,851 --> 00:39:15,811 Power concedes nothing without struggle. 847 00:39:17,229 --> 00:39:20,191 Boom. There you go. Hey, Traci. 848 00:39:20,733 --> 00:39:25,696 I went in there with big hair, fake lashes, tons of eyeliner, 849 00:39:25,780 --> 00:39:27,531 my boobs pushed up to my chin. 850 00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:29,742 I actually had, like, three pairs of socks 851 00:39:29,825 --> 00:39:31,494 on each side just to make my boobs look huge, 852 00:39:31,577 --> 00:39:33,329 'cause I thought that's what the show was really about. 853 00:39:33,412 --> 00:39:34,955 [indistinct chatter] 854 00:39:35,081 --> 00:39:37,583 [Kelley] I look at Traci Bingham and I think 855 00:39:37,666 --> 00:39:40,836 she looks like a Black version of Pamela Anderson. 856 00:39:41,962 --> 00:39:43,631 I don't think I'm alone in that thought. 857 00:39:44,715 --> 00:39:47,259 Both women are beautiful, and I'm not taking away 858 00:39:47,343 --> 00:39:49,678 from how gorgeous I think Traci Bingham is, 859 00:39:49,762 --> 00:39:53,724 but I think that in order for that show to have 860 00:39:53,849 --> 00:39:57,770 a Black female lifeguard, they felt like she needed 861 00:39:57,937 --> 00:40:00,981 to mirror what the White women look like. 862 00:40:01,357 --> 00:40:03,609 And that's exactly what they did. 863 00:40:05,194 --> 00:40:08,030 [Traci] I just knew I wanted to show 864 00:40:08,114 --> 00:40:11,784 that not just White women can look hot and sexy 865 00:40:11,867 --> 00:40:13,994 and, you know, over the top with the hair and the makeup. 866 00:40:14,078 --> 00:40:15,162 Anyone can do it. 867 00:40:15,246 --> 00:40:16,539 And so that's what I tried to do, 868 00:40:16,664 --> 00:40:18,666 and I believe to this day it worked. 869 00:40:20,126 --> 00:40:23,003 -[Susan] Oh, well, gotta have Traci. -Traci, yeah, Traci. 870 00:40:23,129 --> 00:40:25,464 Another one, thousands of girls came in, 871 00:40:25,589 --> 00:40:28,426 and I think she came in like three different times, 872 00:40:28,509 --> 00:40:30,010 three times for that role. 873 00:40:30,094 --> 00:40:31,303 [Susan] She was beautiful, 874 00:40:31,387 --> 00:40:32,972 -and she could act. -[Fern] Just really terrific. 875 00:40:33,055 --> 00:40:36,600 -[Susan] Yeah. -Knew right away she was our gal. 876 00:40:36,767 --> 00:40:39,270 I get a phone call from my manager, "Are you sitting down?" 877 00:40:39,395 --> 00:40:40,563 He said, "Well, congratulations, 878 00:40:40,646 --> 00:40:43,065 you just booked Baywatch." [squeals] I was so excited. 879 00:40:43,399 --> 00:40:45,693 Like, I could just cry, just thinking about it right now, 880 00:40:45,818 --> 00:40:48,696 because it just changed my life. It changed my career. 881 00:40:48,779 --> 00:40:51,115 It changed everything. It changed my perspective. 882 00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:53,200 I felt like I made it. I came to California. 883 00:40:53,325 --> 00:40:55,619 I wasn't in California that long, and I booked it. 884 00:40:55,744 --> 00:40:57,163 I booked that show. 885 00:40:57,329 --> 00:40:59,498 The first woman of color on that show. 886 00:41:03,419 --> 00:41:07,173 [♪ theme music playing] 887 00:41:11,552 --> 00:41:14,847 ♪ Some people stand in the darkness ♪ 888 00:41:15,347 --> 00:41:19,101 ♪ Afraid to step into the light ♪ 889 00:41:19,351 --> 00:41:23,314 ♪ Some people need to help somebody ♪ 890 00:41:23,522 --> 00:41:26,609 ♪ When the edge of surrender's in sight ♪ 891 00:41:26,775 --> 00:41:29,028 ♪ Don't you worry ♪ 892 00:41:29,987 --> 00:41:33,240 ♪ It's gonna be all right ♪ 893 00:41:35,493 --> 00:41:37,328 ♪ 'Cause I'm always ready ♪ 894 00:41:37,536 --> 00:41:40,664 ♪ I won't let you out of my sight ♪ 895 00:41:43,876 --> 00:41:48,047 -♪ I'll be ready ♪ -♪ Oh, I'll be ready ♪ 896 00:41:48,214 --> 00:41:51,926 -♪ Never you fear ♪ -♪ No, don't you fear ♪ 897 00:41:52,009 --> 00:41:56,347 -♪ I'll be ready ♪ -♪ Oh, I'll be ready ♪ 898 00:41:56,430 --> 00:42:00,100 -♪ Never you fear ♪ -♪ Oh, don't you fear ♪ 899 00:42:00,184 --> 00:42:04,104 -♪ I'll be ready ♪ -♪ Oh, I'll be ready ♪ 900 00:42:04,188 --> 00:42:08,275 -♪ Never you fear ♪ -♪ Oh, don't you fear ♪ 901 00:42:08,359 --> 00:42:11,278 -♪ Oh, I'll be ready ♪ -[vocalizing] 902 00:42:11,362 --> 00:42:15,533 -♪ Forever and always -♪ Forever and always 903 00:42:15,616 --> 00:42:19,954 -♪ Forever and always ♪ -♪ Forever and always ♪ 904 00:42:20,037 --> 00:42:26,210 ♪ Forever and always I'm always here ♪ 905 00:42:27,628 --> 00:42:30,256 [♪ theme music concludes]