When putting together the global sensation that is Baywatch, Hasselhoff focused on three components: heart, humor, action. Of course, the beautiful California beaches also played a big part in putting the hit series together.
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Before the first slow-mo run in the sand could ever air, David Hasselhoff and series creator Gregory Bannon went out to explore the many beaches of California to look for potential locations for the series. Walking along the Santa Monica beach, both Hasselhoff and Bannon came upon a group of boys asking for help.
“A couple of young kids who were from East L.A., who had never seen the Ocean, snuck out from school and had gotten stuck in a riptide,” said David Hasselhoff.
Luckily for the kids, Bannon himself was a lifeguard with years of experience under his belt. Without a moment’s hesitation, Bannon jumped into action and saved the drowning boy’s life.
Santa Monica beach, where the rescue took place, would later become the filming location for the series for the next several years.
As fate would have it, Hasselhoff would later run into the boy that had been trapped in the riptide that day many years later. Working as a security guard in a Beverly Hills jewelry store, he approached Hasselhoff to thank him and Bannon for being there that day to save his life.
