Hollywood Stars’ Involvement in Aquatics and Water Safety

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education Volume 4 | Number 2 Article 11 5-1-2010 Hollywood Stars’ Involvement in Aquatics and Water Safety Stathis Avramidis Leeds Metropolitan University, Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare Recommended Citation Avramidis, Stathis (2010) "Hollywood Stars’ Involvement in Aquatics and Water Safety," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 4 : No. 2 , Article 11. DOI: 10.25035/ijare.04.02.11 Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol4/iss2/11 This Education Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Avramidis: Hollywood Stars’ Involvement in Aquatics and Water Safety International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 2010, 4, 208-222 © 2010 Human Kinetics, Inc. Hollywood Stars’ Involvement in Aquatics and Water Safety Stathis Avramidis The aim of this educational review article was to identify cases of Hollywood stars who have been involved in aquatics. A literature search was conducted using the terms drowning, Hollywood, actor, rescue, aquatics, swimming, and lifeguard. It was found that several Hollywood film stars (n = 33; males = 20, females = 13) have worked as lifeguards (n = 12), performed lifeguard rescues (n = 2) or lifesaving rescues (n = 4), were aquatics athletes (n = 6), or suffered drowningrelated incidents (n = 9). A brief overview of those actors and their involvement in aquatics is presented. Participation in aquatics and drowning-related incidents has been the subject of extensive research in numerous studies worldwide. More precisely, it has been shown that participation in aquatic activities has increased steadily over the last decades (Euraire, 1996; Fawcett, 2001; Kester, 1996; Sillitoe & Thorpe, 1986; Smith, 1992). As might be expected, incidents related to drowning often affect healthy people during times of pleasure and leisure (Petridou & Klimentopoulou, 2006) while engaged in aquatic activities (Department of National Heritage, 1993; Lifesaving Society, 2000; Manolios & Mackie, 1988). In the year 2000, 409,272 fatal drownings were reported, making drowning the second leading cause of unintentional injury death globally (this total includes only accidental drowning and submersion; World Health Organization, n.d.). Despite the plethora of literature evidence on the topic of aquatics and drowning, no published work has reviewed the aquatic sporting activity, water safety, or drowning-related incidents associated with Hollywood film stars or other celebrities. For example, one might wonder whether there have been any Hollywood film stars who have been linked to aquatics, lifesaving, lifeguarding, and drowningrelated incidents. Have any Hollywood celebrities ever acted as rescuers, victims, or bystanders during aquatic emergencies? What were the circumstances and the locations of such celebrity-related aquatic emergencies? Although the personal lives and professional activities of Hollywood film stars and celebrities attract mass media attention, to our knowledge, no one has yet reviewed in any comprehensive way whether celebrities have been involved in any forms of aquatic sports or drowning rescues. This information would be interesting for a number of reasons. First, it may show whether drowning-related incidents Stathis Avramidis is with Leeds Metropolitan University (UK), Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Greece), and Irish Lifesaving Foundation (Ireland). Published208 by ScholarWorks@BGSU, 2010 1 International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, Vol. 4, No. 2 [2010], Art. 11 Hollywood Stars’ Involvement 209 occurred as a result of similar or different reasons in the lives of Hollywood stars than to the rest of the public, allowing us to compare the circumstances of celebrity aquatic emergencies with those presented in routinely-available epidemiological studies. In addition, it may enable scholars to learn how fatal drownings as a mode of death to a celebrity was perceived by the press or society in different time periods of recent history. Finally, such a review may serve as a useful source of reference for books and research dedicated to the history of aquatics or water safety. The purpose of this article was to see the degree to which some Hollywood film stars and celebrities have been involved in aquatics, either as athletes, professional lifeguards, or amateur lifesavers, and if any have personally been involved in drowning-related incidents. Literature Search Process I used the terms drowning, Hollywood, actor, rescue, aquatics, swimming, and lifeguard as key words in a literature search that was undertaken to identify Hollywood actors and actresses who may have been involved in aquatics and drowning incidents. The search used several Internet search engines (e.g., Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, The Complete Index to World Film since 1895, Spout.com, and the Internet Movie Database). To obtain the most appropriate literature, articles for selection had to meet two criteria: first, they had to include names of Hollywood actors or actresses and second, those stars had to have worked as lifeguards, to have performed aquatic rescues, to have been aquatic athletes, to have died of drowning, or to have been rescued from drowning by others. It was revealed that in the literature, there were 33 cases of Hollywood film stars (20 males, 13 females) meeting the selection criteria and these are classified into five categories: Hollywood film stars who worked as lifeguards (n = 12), Hollywood film stars who performed lifeguard rescues (n = 2), Hollywood film stars who acted as lifesavers (n = 4), Hollywood film stars who were aquatic athletes (n = 6), and Hollywood film stars who experienced drowning-related incidents (n = 9). If a star was mentioned in two of the five categories (see Table 1), for example as a lifesaver and as a swimmer (e.g., Johnny Weissmuller), the actor was classified into only one category (e.g., Hollywood stars who acted as lifesavers) but comments were made about his sporting career (e.g., Olympic winner in swimming), which actually belonged in another category (e.g., Hollywood film stars who were aquatic athletes). Hollywood Film Stars Who Worked as Lifeguards I discovered from my reviews that several Hollywood stars had had links with aquatics and water safety as lifeguards. The actor who starred as the first film James Bond, Sir Sean Connery, worked as a lifeguard in 1952 at Portobello Pool (Figure 1; Seanconnery.com, 2008; Tiscali Film, 2008). Jack Palance worked as a lifeguard at Jones Beach while he was a struggling actor (Baxter, 2006; Internet Movie Database, 2008; Soleint Communications, 2008). Gordon Scott, who acted as Tarzan, was a lifeguard at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas when he wa (...truncated)