page_title: Gregory J. Bonann
section_title: Lifeguarding
hierarchical_section_title: Gregory J. Bonann / Lifeguarding
caption_attribution_description: English: Lifeguard Gregory J. Bonann working on Will Rogers State Beach in 1989. Photo by Kim Carlsberg.
context_page_description: Gregory J. Bonann is an American lifeguard, television producer, director, writer, and showrunner. He is best known for co-creating the internationally syndicated television series, Baywatch, which ran for eleven seasons, and was listed in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records as the most widely viewed TV series in the world. His later work includes the syndicated action drama, SAF3, and A Chance For Children, a charitable foundation that benefits homeless and at-risk youth.
context_section_description: In 1970, Bonann began his lifeguard career as an LA City Ocean Lifeguard. After the completion of rookie academy, he was given his choice of post, and served in lifeguard tower #18 on Will Rogers State Beach, a short distance from his family home in West Los Angeles.
  Bonann became a Los Angeles County Lifeguard in 1975, when the city and county services merged. He served on the beaches of the Central Section, including Topanga, Will Rogers, Santa Monica, Venice, and Del Rey.
  In the summer of 1977, while working Will Rogers State Beach, Bonann performed a routine rescue of some children who were caught in a riptide.  The children's father was Stu Erwin, Jr., who worked for MTM Enterprises, a television production company run by Grant Tinker, the future chairman and CEO of NBC.  Bonann would go on to pitch his idea for a television show about lifeguards to Erwin and Tinker, who eventually helped him sell the show to NBC.
  In 1989, while scouting locations in Venice Beach, California with the Baywatch producers and writing staff, Bonann was approached by a teenager who had lost his friend in the water.  Bonann swam out and made three surface dives before finding the boy, who had been submerged for several minutes, and revived him using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while treading water. The boy was taken to UCLA Medical Center where he recovered.  Bonann received the Medal of Valor from Los Angeles County for performing that rescue.
  In 1994 the L.A. County Lifeguard services merged into the Los Angeles County Fire Department, making Bonann an L.A. County Firefighter within its Lifeguard Division.
  In 2001, Bonann became an Ocean Lifeguard for Honolulu City and County, Oahu, Hawaii.
  Bonann transferred to the Northern Section of Los Angeles County in 2013, including Malibu and Zuma beaches,. He has been a Junior Lifeguard Instructor at Zuma Beach for five years. In 2019 he began his 50th year on active status as a Los Angeles County Lifeguard.
  Bonann has been recognized by both the Belgian Life Saving Federation, and the International Life Saving Federation for his dedication to the field, and in 2000 he was awarded the Gold Medallion from the International Swimming Hall of Fame for his achievements and contributions.
caption: Lifeguard Gregory J. Bonann working on Will Rogers State Beach in 1989.  Photo by Kim Carlsberg.
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