Baywatch

Ladysmith, BC

Do you remember Baywatch?

Guys, if you say “No”, I am going to have to call you out on it. If you were alive in the 1990s, you remember Pamela Anderson, running down a beach in a red swimsuit.

Even if your TV watching tastes in the 90s were more in line with The Crocodile Hunter, you surely stumbled across the Canadian supermodel as you flipped through the channels.

Anderson came from humble beginnings in Ladysmith, BC. Her father was a furnace repairman, and her mother was a waitress. Anderson went to high school in Comox, BC but leapt onto the world stage in February 1990 after being selected as Playboy, Playmate of the Month.

The recognition that followed landed Anderson roles on ABC’s sitcom Home Improvements, and a five-year stint on the action-drama series Baywatch.

Pamela Anderson became an international star of stage, screen and television. Her career has spanned four decades.

I was intrigued when I heard that Stephen Colbert invited Pamela Anderson to appear on The Late Show last week.

“Whatever became of C.J. Parker, the blond bombshell from the 90’s?”, I wondered.

I pulled up the Colbert clip on You-Tube.

The interview didn’t touch on Anderson’s storied past. Colbert guided his guest through a series of questions aimed at providing his audience with a glimpse of Pamela Anderson at her current stage of life.

They chatted about Ladysmith, BC, the small town on Vancouver Island where Anderson was born and currently lives.

Colbert promoted Anderson’s recently released cookbook, I love You – Recipes from the Heart, which she dedicated to her “boys”.

Anderson and Colbert shared a Scandinavian Visiting Cake, a recipe borrowed from Anderson’s Finnish Grandmother’s cookbook.

They also had tea and dialogue, which barely alluded to Anderson’s past as a sex-symbol.

Colbert: You have your own blends of teas, I’m told.

Anderson: Yes, I make my own teas.

Colbert: (producing a floral tea pot, cups and saucers). This has been brewed in your honour. It is what you call your, “Sensual Blend”.

Anderson: It is a Sensual Blend.

Colbert: (pouring). How sensual is this going to get?

Anderson: We’ll soon find out.

The audience loved it!

The conversation then ran to “home decorating”, “baking sourdough bread”, and “making perogies, pickles, and preserves”. Anderson also mentioned “having tea and cake, while visiting friends and playing cards – I’m getting old”.

Pamela Anderson of the 2020s is gracious, funny, engaging, and still very attractive. She wears almost-60 comfortably.