Baywatch

Regarding "County Charging for Beach Costs" (Times, Nov. 15), Los Angeles County officials have begun relieving their budget woes by demanding bigger contributions from coastal cities for lifeguard service. If the county is that short of money, why do the county lifeguard Baywatch boats tow for free? If you break down or run out of gas on the freeway, the county will not tow you for free to the nearest service station. Run out of gas or break down on your boat, and Baywatch will tow you for free to the gas dock even though you are safely at anchor and in no immediate danger and there is a commercial tow boat available within a reasonable time that can deliver fuel or provide a tow. Baywatch is supposed to charge for this service, but they rarely do. They use taxpayer's money to compete with commercial operators who pay license fees and taxes just like the rest of us. Baywatch also does salvage work, something the U.S. Coast Guard will not touch for liability reasons.

Carmen Electra has slipped into her iconic "Baywatch" swimsuit a decade and a half after wearing it on the busty lifeguard drama. How's that for #throwbackthursday? The actress and former Playboy model last donned the red one-piece when she was 25, but now, at 40, she's wearing it again and showing off her gams for InTouch magazine. She admits, though, she was hesitant to put it on. "Once I got it on, I felt amazing," Electra told the mag. "It was a million times better than I thought it would be. " PHOTOS: Elton John Oscars viewing party Electra, born Tara Leigh Patrick , posed for the beach shoot wearing nude heels and toting a bright red rescue can that we so often saw on the series, which also starred David Hasselhoff , Jeremy Jackson and Electra's pal Pamela Anderson.

We seem to be in the middle of yet another new wave of Internet hype. Esther Dyson's new book, "Release 2.0," envisions a utopia made possible by online technologies. Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab recently told an audience in Brussels that the Internet will bring about world peace by breaking down national borders. He also compared France and Germany to Third World countries, because of the Europeans' lack of enthusiasm for cyberspace. It's time for a reality check.

Former "Baywatch" babe Pamela Anderson is looking for a summer renter with $50,000 a month to spare for her place in a gated community in Malibu. The teak-sided house, built in 1959, is entered through a gated courtyard planted with lavender and olive trees. Some 2,750 square feet of living space includes an open plan living room and kitchen, a home theater and furnishings such as a baby grand piano. There are three bedrooms, 21/2 bathrooms and a sauna. Outdoor amenities include a rooftop deck and a swimming pool.

From the life imitating art file: Gregory J. Bonann, co-creator and producer of the upcoming NBC fall series "Baywatch," made a daring, real-life ocean rescue 100 yards off Venice Beach Tuesday morning saving a teen-age boy who had become caught in a riptide. Bonann, a sports television documentary producer and a 20-year veteran lifeguard for Los Angeles County, was giving a tour of the Los Angeles County Beaches and Harbors facilities and its Baywatch rescue unit to the writing staff of the television series when he was approached by a frantic teen-ager who explained that his friend had been swept out to sea. Bonann swam out, found the youth who had been submerged for several minutes and administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while treading water.

The best smile in the business belongs not to Julia Roberts but to Pamela Anderson (now Lee) ("Give Us Something to Smile About," by Kenneth Turan, Aug. 6). Granted that she is not a big-screen star, but that is only a matter of time. Her first feature film is due out early next year and she is carrying it virtually alone, an incredible vote of confidence for a studio to be putting in a debut performance. Anderson may be famous for her busty role on "Baywatch," but I say her future is in her face and personality--both of which rise to their peak when she turns on that explosively genuine, infectious, how-can-you-help-but-love-her smile!

The Scene: Tuesday night's premiere of "Jeffrey" at the Westwood Playhouse. The comedy about love in the age of AIDS was a big hit off Broadway last year and has arrived in Los Angeles for an eight-week run. After the performance, guests moved to an outdoor courtyard for dessert and a chance to rehash the show, which received good word-of-mouth from all quarters.

Eric Atkeson's eyes dart across a sun-drenched stretch of beach, looking for ever-so-slight signs of trouble. His gaze fixes on three young boys splashing around in the water, just a bit farther out than he's comfortable with. His words trail off in mid-sentence, and suddenly he's making a beeline for the boys and an adult near them. One lecture later and the boys have moved a little closer to shore. Atkeson, 51, heads back to his lifeguard tower at Manhattan Beach, weathered crows feet smiling at the corners of his eyes.

I am a male reader who thinks that Susan Spano's critique of the "Baywatch" television show is too harsh ("Picturing American Women Through the Eyes of the World's 'Baywatch' Fans," Her World, May 7). I am not blind to the faults of "Baywatch." In fact, I quit watching after the first two or three years because of them. I guess that the actresses' sexual attractiveness is somewhat overemphasized. Several technical details also evolved to become inaccurate (the real lifeguards don't use speedboats--they use slower boats)

David Hasselhoff isn't big on sitting still. He jumps out of his chair and admires his new ornately carved desk ("Isn't it great?"). He shows off pictures of his two young daughters ("I'm totally addicted to them. I have to look at them"). He proudly points out a framed MAD magazine "Baywatch" spoof on the wall ("It's so irreverent, it's incredible").

SACRAMENTO — Halsey M. Minor, the Cnet co-founder and a high-tech business pioneer of the 1990s, tops the state of California's latest list of its 500 biggest income-tax delinquents. Minor and his wife, Shannon, both of San Francisco, owe California $10.5 million, tax officials reported Friday. Minor did not respond to telephone messages seeking comment. Minor's wasn't the only quickly recognizable name on the state list. Former Playboy model and "Baywatch" actress Pamela D. Anderson of Woodland Hills owes $524,241 in state income taxes, the list says.

Gregory J. Bonann not only co-created "Baywatch" but he also lives the lifestyle from his Malibu beach compound, part of which he just sold for $5.25 million. The secondary house, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms in 2,618 square feet, features a master bathroom with an indoor shower that opens to an outdoor shower and beach access. The rooms open to beachfront decks. There is a patio with a hot tub, a three-car garage and six more parking spots on the property. Bonann, 59, was a creator, executive producer and director of "Baywatch" (1989-2001)

First, there was Pamela Anderson shimmying in all her sex-kitten glory this spring on "Dancing With the Stars." Then there was the Victoria's Secret "Bombshell" campaign followed by the racy, headline-sparking Miss USA 2010 lingerie photos. It's official: The va-va-voom look is back in a way that hasn't been seen since Anderson was a "Baywatch" beauty in the 1990s. And why not? Anderson's signature style of big, glamorous makeup is a look that's been seducing men throughout history, reaching back in time to Cleopatra's drawn-on cat eyes and the Old Testament's painted seductresses.

What do you tell someone who still wants to see how Joan Van Ark is holding up, chat with Dr. Kildare and Wyatt Earp or look into the, um, eyes of a bevy of still-buoyant "Baywatch" babes? Stand in line. That and 20 bucks buys you a Vaseline-free lens into pop culture's past at the Hollywood Show, where time is elastic, even if its famous faces and figures are not. The quarterly autograph and memorabilia show -- a retro nirvana for TV Land, VH1 and Turner Classic Movies fans and celebrity signature collectors -- unites vintage Tinseltown idols and survivors with the people who made them as-seen-on-TV commodities.

Eric Atkeson's eyes dart across a sun-drenched stretch of beach, looking for ever-so-slight signs of trouble. His gaze fixes on three young boys splashing around in the water, just a bit farther out than he's comfortable with. His words trail off in mid-sentence, and suddenly he's making a beeline for the boys and an adult near them. One lecture later and the boys have moved a little closer to shore. Atkeson, 51, heads back to his lifeguard tower at Manhattan Beach, weathered crows feet smiling at the corners of his eyes.

SHE was known, in the opening credits, as Pamela Denise Anderson. Note the girl-next-door quality of the middle name, how it conjures the bombshell as a former tomboy on the Canadian prairie, her mother ordering her inside for dinner: "Pamela Denise, put down the BB gun and get in here for supper!" When did she lose the Denise? OK, I digress, for "Baywatch" is finally out on DVD. No, I didn't realize it either. But it's here, all right, the first two seasons in syndication.

Beach-goers take them for granted. The babes overshadow them on TV shows. The lifeguard towers that rim the coast serve ostensibly as observation platforms to ensure public safety, yet these lone sentinels in the sand remain an indigenous and indelible icon of our landscape. Only a few were in place at the turn of the century; today, 156 stand in L.A. County alone.

Danielle Fishel is opening up about a rather awkward encounter with "Full House" patriarch Bob Saget that happened while she and others from the "T.G.I.F. " crew - ABC's '90s Friday-night lineup comedies - were en route to the Magic Kingdom. "One time we were all on a private jet going to Disney World, and my mom, dad and brother were also with me," the "Boy Meets World" actress said in a Q&A with Maxim. "We had these four seats facing each other with curtains, so we had our own little private family area.

Dirk Nowitzki, who grew up in Germany, told reporters during the NBA's Western Conference semifinals that he has a free-throw ritual to help him relax. The Dallas Mavericks forward said he hums the song "Looking for Freedom" by his boyhood idol, David Hasselhoff. Hasselhoff, who on Friday attended Game 2 of the Mavericks' conference finals series against the Phoenix Suns at Dallas, thought he was hearing things when he found out about it.