Gregory J. Bonann

At 72 years old, Gregory J. Bonann physical status not available right now. We will update Gregory J. Bonann's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Bonann began his career in film and television in 1978 when he was hired by John J. (Jack) Hennessy, of JJH Productions. Hennessy had been producing films for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Bonann had connections to that world.

Hennessy took Bonann under his wing, teaching him to produce and direct documentary films. His first major project was a film called Fire and Ice, the USOC's official film for the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, which told the story of the U.S. Men's National Ice Hockey Team victory over the U.S.S.R. and Eric Heiden's historic five gold medals in speed skating. The documentary won several awards, including the CINE Golden Eagle and the 37th International Di Cinema Citta Di Torino for best sports film of the year.

When Hennessy died in 1983, Bonann continued to run JJH Productions, producing over twenty films, including two more official films for the USOC. Frozen in Time featured the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and Elements of Gold highlighted the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Both films were recognized with numerous awards including the CINE Golden Eagle.

In 1987, Bonann formed his own production company called Tower 18 Productions, named for his original lifeguard tower on Will Rogers State Beach. The first project under his new banner was another documentary for the USOC called City of Gold about the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

All of Bonann's Olympic films used slow motion photography and music to accentuate the athlete's performances. This would become his signature style. In fact, many of the camera operators, production crew, and the editor that Bonann used for these early productions would form the core of the Baywatch production company.

Later career

In addition to his work on Baywatch, Bonann produced several TV pilots, series and TV movies, including Steel Chariots for Fox, Thunder in Paradise starring Hulk Hogan, and a pilot movie for UPN called Avalon: Beyond the Abyss.

In 2002, NBC and MGM Television launched a new series called She Spies starring Natasha Henstridge. After four episodes, the production shut down due to budget overages and creative discord. The network and studio turned to Bonann to solve the problems, and production resumed. The series went on to complete two seasons and forty episodes.

In 2008, Bonann and wife Tai Collins, a writer on Baywatch, began developing an action drama series called Rescue 3. After partnering with Emmet-Furla Films, financing was raised. The series was renamed SAF3, and Dolph Lundgren and J.R. Martinez were cast as leads.

Bonann began filming SAF3 in Cape Town, South Africa in 2013, and twenty episodes were produced independently for first-run syndication. It became the first independently financed one-hour drama to air in the U.S. on prime time. To date the series has been sold in sixty-six countries.

Source

• Medal of Valor(1989) Los Angeles County
• Knight in the Order of Lifesaving(1996) International Life Saving Federation
• Commander in the Order of Lifesaving(1997) The Belgian Life Saving Federation.
• Gold Medallion(2000) International Swimming Hall of Fame
• Lifetime Achievement Award(2021) Professional Lifeguard Foundation