Surf's Up For 'Baywatch's' Jose Solano

CONTEST
[ This Week's Hollywood Contest ]

Babewatch: "Baywatch" is the most watched television show on the planet Earth. Over 2.4 billion viewers tune in to catch the syndicated series. The California-based series was revamped this year as "Baywatch Hawaii" and is still seen on every continent except Antarctica, reaches 140 countries and translated into 32 different languages.

For six years, despite the diverse audience, the show lacked any minority cast members. Then in 1995, the producers introduced a new male lead. He was an unknown actor named Jose Solano.

The Way to San Jose
Jose Solano is teaching me the "Baywatch" way to pose for the camera. He crosses his arms and pushes his already sizeable arm muscles up against his chest. The act creates the illusion of even bigger biceps.

"You've got to sell it," he says with a laugh. He displays a perfect row of white teeth. A waiter takes our picture.

We're hanging out at the ultra-hip Urth Café on Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood. Although home to the best carrot cake in L.A., I've settled for a latte, and he orders a bottled water.

We sit at an outside table, facing busy Melrose. He wears a baseball cap, jeans, and a T-shirt.

Let's be honest, life has been pretty good to Solano. His sexy good looks have women around the world swooning and men wishing they were more like him. If that's not enough, Solano is riding a career wave. After finishing three seasons on the mega-hit "Baywatch," Solano is poised to become Hollywood's hottest young star.

The Poseidon Adventure
Solano is quick to admit that his "big break" is straight out of a Hollywood script. Lana Turner sitting at Schwab's Drug soda counter (or the Top Hat Café, depending on who tells the story ...) has nothing on Solano. The abbreviated version of the story goes something like this:

After serving in the Navy and finishing college, Solano was back home in the San Francisco Bay Area when his buddy persuaded him to enter YM Magazine's "Man of the Year" contest. He won. But, that's just the beginning.

Solano says, "it was the classic Hollywood story. A producer saw the pictures that were featured after I won and called me in for a few auditions."

One of the auditions was with David Hasselhoff. "I walked into the room and there was "Knight Rider." I thought, 'what is Knight Rider doing here?'"

Solano refers to the long running series starring Hassellhoff and a talking car named "K.I.T.T."

The reading went well, and before he could say "hang loose, dude," he found himself at a YMCA pool in Pacific Palisades, Calif. at 6:00 a.m. for a swim test. The producers had invited real lifeguards to evaluate the swimming skills of each actor.

"It was down to three seasoned actors. The other [actors] are swimming in the water -- jamming. I get in the water and I'm doing my puppy dog impersonation and trying not to drown, you know? I get out of the pool and the lifeguards are like 'Were you a lifeguard before?' I said 'What? What are you talking about?'"

It turns out, the lifeguards were impressed because he kept his head above water to keep his eyes focused on the "victim." Little did they know that Solano himself was trying not to become the victim.

It was fate. The next day producers called him and offered him a lead role on "Baywatch." Solano had never seen the show.

Breaking the Waves

"It was a dream, I thought I was dreaming. I kept saying 'pinch me' because I don't know if this is real."

That about sums up Solano's first day on the "Baywatch" set. Brand new to show business and acting in general, he said he wasn't nervous, just "green." There was so much to learn and little coaching.

"I was given very little direction," Solano tells me. "You're there, and it's, 'Boom. Step on this mark. Step on that mark. Rehearse once, good enough. Action.' One take, maybe two takes. Move onto the next scene."

With very little experience, it could have been over before it even started, but it wasn't. When Solano appeared on screen for the first time, he broke a million hearts.

He also broke a glass ceiling.

Solano says: "[The series] never had a regular character who was a minority: African American, Asian, Latino. My year was the first year. Breakthrough, man." He is proud of this fact, and it shows.

But while the character of Manny Gutierez caused a tidal wave in Latin markets, Solano managed to do the unexpected: He appealed to just about everybody else, too.

YM Magazine immediately named him one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World." He also starting popping up in other national glossies, including People Magazine and Cosmopolitan.

Television talk shows came calling, too. He's charmed "Oprah," chilled with Sinbad on "VIBE," and given a knock-out interview on "Donnie & Marie."

The Love Boat
Yes, ladies, he's single. And looking.

"Single, single, single, no girlfriend." Solano tells me emphatically.

And what does this former "Baywatch" hunk look for in a woman?

"Somebody who makes you laugh," Solano says. "Someone who makes you feel good when you are around them and someone who looks after you."

I ask him what he means by "looks after you." He picks up my sunglasses off the table.

He begins: "Say you're at lunch and you get up and leave your sunglasses. She sees them and picks them up for you -- little things like that."

Solano says he is also looking for "someone who appreciates life -- that's the key. Someone who lives in the moment and appreciates what's around them."

"But this is Hollywood," I remind him, "do you really expect to find that in this town?"

He replies, "Well, I'm here and I'm real, and there's got to be other people like that." No argument here.

Pier Pressure
I ask Solano what it was like working with some of the most beautiful and scantily clad women on television. He gives me big wide grin.

"I don't know how I got through it," he says smiling. "The only thing I can relate it to is like going into battle . . .You're fighting yourself to keep your composure. It's a tough job but somebody's got to do it."

What about Pamela Anderson? Does he remember meeting her for the first time?

He begins, "The scene was Yasmine Bleeth's character's birthday and all the lifeguards were going to surprise her. And we were all in a lifeguard tower, which are pretty small.

"All the actors are in this tower because we're all hiding from her. It was myself, David Chokachi, David Hassellhoff and like five of the bombshell girls -- and we are all squished together and I am pushed up against Pamela. I had never met her before. So, I said 'Hi Pamela, I'm Jose Solano.' She was very sweet, very down to earth."

There are worse ways to meet Pamela Anderson.

Surfbored
After three seasons on "Baywatch," Solano decided it was time to leave the beach.

Solano tells me that he "outgrew the show." He says, "It was time for me to move on. The next step is to display how far I've come in my acting."

And he has been studying diligently. Solano has been working with Sandy Marshall, one of the top acting coaches in Los Angeles.

At the beginning it was rough waters. For the first four months of the class, Solano says, Marshall was very hard on him. She didn't care if he was a "Baywatch" hunk; she wanted results. She got them.

Solano says he has finally reached a point where Marshall is complimenting him. He also feels much more confident with his work.

But, he adds: "You never stop learning. Al Pacino still takes acting lessons, Robert DeNiro … All the great actors still take lessons, it's so important."

Surf Report
So where will we see this young actor next? Well, he just wrapped a high-action (think Cuba Gooding, Jr.) international Pepsi commercial with Bond Girl Denise Richards.

He says that "Denise is a beautiful person and the camera loves her." That commercial is set to air soon, beginning in Canada.

And aside from numerous television guest appearances, Solano has also wrapped two feature films. Next month, Solano can be seen playing Jaime in the Showtime production "Resurrection Boulevard."

"(Jaime is) a very different character than Manny," he says. "You've got to watch it, the ending is a big surprise."

He also just finished, "On Edge," a film with Jason Alexander.

Despite his busy schedule, Solano still makes time to support several charitable organizations including Athletes & Entertainers for Kids, Radio Artists Against Drunk Driving, and D.A.R.E.

Plus, he plays basketball with fellow "Baywatch" star Michael Bergin for a celebrity basketball team, which visits schools and raises money for the sports programs.

Sunset Beach
I'm watching the time because I know Solano has acting class tonight. I tell him we better wrap things up. Before he goes, I ask him to autograph a picture. (Do you want this picture?)

After he's finished, Solano gives me a strong handshake and heads to his car. I turn and pick up the picture. At the top of his headshot, he has written:

"Seize the Day!"

Clearly, Solano is doing just that.

Fan Sites:

• Fine Guyz
• Latina magazine

What's the Buzz?

Quincy is in court. The jury is being selected in the palimony lawsuit against Actor Jack Klugman. Barbara Neugass alleges she was "turned out to pasture" after helping the actor raise two children. Proceedings are happening in Los Angeles.

Before I Go:

The Great One, Madeline Kahn has been in and out of the hospital over the past year fighting ovarian cancer. Kahn hopes to raise awareness about this terrible disease. To support the cause, visit www.ovarian.com or call (800) 873-9569.

Cards and letters can be sent to Kahn as well. You may send them to: Ms. Madeline Kahn c/o Jeff Hunter, William Morris Agency, 1325 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY, 10019.

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