David Hasselhoff
Hasselhoff has appeared in films, including DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Click (2006), Hop (2011), and Piranha 3DD (2012). Before Samuel L. Jackson, Hasselhoff was the first actor to portray the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury in the telefilm Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998).
In 2000, he made his Broadway debut in the musical Jekyll & Hyde. Following his debut, he starred in other musicals including Chicago and The Producers.
Hasselhoff has released a total of fifteen studio albums, which found success mostly in German-speaking parts of Europe, where he has garnered multiple gold and platinum awards, with the single "Looking for Freedom" reaching number one in Germany and Switzerland. Hasselhoff has also worked as a talent show judge on television shows such as America's Got Talent (2006–2009) and Britain's Got Talent (2011).
Early life and education
Hasselhoff was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Dolores Theresa (née Mullinex), a homemaker, and Joseph Vincent Hasselhoff, a business executive. His family is Roman Catholic with German, English, and Irish descent. His great-great-grandmother, Meta, emigrated with her family to Baltimore from Völkersen, Kingdom of Hanover, in 1865.
He spent his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, and later lived in Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended Marist School. Hasselhoff made his theatrical debut at the age of seven in Peter Pan, and ever since his childhood dream was to have a career on Broadway. He graduated from Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois, in 1970.
He was a member of the speech team, senior discussion leaders, president of the choir, captain of the volleyball team and held roles in several plays (including one lead role as Matt in The Fantasticks). He studied at Oakland University, then studied theater at the California Institute of the Arts until 1973.
Early career
Hasselhoff portrayed Dr. "Snapper Foster" on The Young and the Restless from 1975 to 1982, leaving the series as the show wrote out many of their original characters. His feature film debut was in 1974 as "Boner" in Revenge of the Cheerleaders, which he did to get accredited into the Screen Actors Guild.
At the time, he believed that the film would not be released, but it was: two years later, also appearing under the title Caught with their Pants Down. In 1979, he played "Simon" in Starcrash. He launched his singing career with guest appearances on the first season of children's program Kids Incorporated, performing "Do You Love Me".
He guest-starred on two episodes of Diff'rent Strokes and the soap opera Santa Barbara as himself in 1984.
Knight Rider
Hasselhoff was recruited by then-NBC-president Brandon Tartikoff to star in the action crime drama series Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986 as Michael Knight. The actor has described Knight Rider as more than a TV show: "It's a phenomenon. It's bigger than Baywatch ever was." On the success of Knight Rider – "It's because it was about saving lives, not taking lives, and it was how one man really can make a difference."
He describes the acting he has done as "a little more difficult than if you had a regularly well-written script – like, if I was going to be in, say, Reservoir Dogs, or The Godfather, or Dances with Wolves or Lawrence of Arabia or ER -- I had to talk to a car." His role in the show led him to win Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program at the 9th People's Choice Awards in 1983.
Baywatch
Hasselhoff returned to television on Baywatch which premiered in 1989. Although it was canceled after only one season, he believed the series had potential, so Hasselhoff revived it for the first-run syndication market in 1991, investing his own money and additionally functioning as executive producer. His contract stipulated royalties to be paid to him from the rerun profits, which gave him the financial liberty to buy back the rights to Baywatch from NBC.
In its second incarnation, Baywatch was much more successful. It ran for a total of 11 years and, from the 1990s until its series finale in 2001, was watched by almost 1 billion viewers across 140 countries, solidifying his status among the world's foremost television personalities of the said period. This success combined with his royalties and his other ventures have placed Hasselhoff's fortune at more than $100 million.
In 1991, Hasselhoff reprised his role as Michael Knight in the television film Knight Rider 2000 as a sequel to the original series. The movie served as a pilot for a proposed new series, but despite high ratings, the plan was abandoned.
In 1996, Hasselhoff was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1997, he performed a duet with Filipino singer Regine Velasquez, which was used as the main theme for his 1998 movie Legacy. He made his Broadway debut in 2000 in the title role of Jekyll & Hyde. In August 2001, he hosted an event at the Conga Room, in Los Angeles honoring the Latin rock band Renegade for record sales in excess of 30 million units worldwide, taking the stage with the Latin rockers and singing in Spanish. Beginning on July 16, 2004, he played the lead role in London performances of Chicago for three months.
Hasselhoff has made several self-parodic appearances in movies. He had a major role in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, released November 19, 2004, starring as himself (though resembling his bygone Baywatch character) and meeting SpongeBob and Patrick (his full name is heard once in the movie; he is referred to as "Hasselhoff").
Hasselhoff also had another short appearance in the movie DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story as the dodgeball coach to the German national dodgeball team, Team Hasselhoff. Berating his team after being eliminated from a tournament, he shouts "Ihr seid alle Schweine!" (translated: "You are all pigs!", a common German insult) and smashes a photo of himself in his Baywatch attire.
In 2004's EuroTrip, Hasselhoff appears in a washroom. In the 2006 Adam Sandler film Click Hasselhoff portrays Sandler's despicable boss. Hasselhoff also appears in an episode of Wildboyz. In 2007, he again played himself in the Jamie Kennedy comedy Kickin' It Old Skool.[citation needed]
In his music video for "Jump in My Car", he engages in self-parody; this time parodying his performance as Michael Knight in Knight Rider. The car in the video was a black Pontiac Trans Am with a pulsing LED and an interior nearly identical to that of the KITT car in the series. The video was shot in Sydney, Australia using a right-hand drive KITT replica, including KITT's ejection seat system.
In November 2006, Mel Brooks announced Hasselhoff would portray Roger DeBris, the director of the Nazi musical Springtime for Hitler, in the Las Vegas production of The Producers.
In 2006, Hasselhoff became a co-judge on NBC's America's Got Talent, a show that showcases America's best amateur entertainers. He also judged in the second, third and fourth seasons alongside Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan. On the 2007 season finale, Hasselhoff sang "This Is the Moment". He was replaced by comedian Howie Mandel for season five.
Later career
Hasselhoff produced Baywatch for first run syndication. He has spoken at both the Oxford and Cambridge Student Unions.
He was a celebrity cast member on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars which increased in ratings by 36% from the previous year and served as a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent from 2006 to 2009. In 2011, he joined the Britain's Got Talent judging panel, as the additional fourth judge for series 5.
Hasselhoff was later honored on Comedy Central's The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff in addition to receiving the International Star of the Year Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Entertainment by the Bollywood Awards. He was awarded the Comeback Star of the Year award during the VH1 Big in '06 Awards.
In February 2008, towards the end of the Knight Rider 2008, he reprised his career-making role as Michael Knight as he walked on to introduce himself to his on-screen son, Mike Traceur. On November 12, 2008, he became the first celebrity downloadable character for the PlayStation Network's video game Pain.
In September 2009, he featured on a radio podcast for Compare the Meerkat, part of the advertising for British website, Compare the Market. He was the subject of an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a result of his support for the re-opening of Morecambe Winter Gardens.
In 2010, Hasselhoff guest hosted professional wrestling's WWE Raw in London, England. On August 15, 2010, Comedy Central aired a special "roast" of Hasselhoff.
Hasselhoff returned to The Young and the Restless, reprising his role as "Snapper" for a short arc that aired in mid-June 2010. Hasselhoff appeared as a contestant on season 11 of Dancing with the Stars. His professional dance partner was Kym Johnson. On September 21, 2010, they were the first couple eliminated from the competition.
Coincidentally, Hasselhoff competed against Brandy Norwood, who judged alongside him in the first season of America's Got Talent.
In October 2010, it was announced that he would be playing Captain Hook in the New Wimbledon Theatre production of the pantomime Peter Pan from December 2010 to January 2011. He has reprised his role of "Hoff the Hook" for 2012 at the Manchester Opera House.
In 2011, he was a guest judge at the Belgian Idols competition. Hasselhoff became a judge on Britain's Got Talent in 2011 alongside Amanda Holden, Michael McIntyre and Simon Cowell. However, Hasselhoff was axed after only one series on the show and was replaced by David Walliams. In 2011, he revived his music career with a short tour across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[citation needed] In the same year, Hasselhoff was featured in the trailer of the spin-off downloadable game, Burnout Crash!.
On February 24, 2014, he opened his own 10-week talk show in Sweden on TV3, in English. A similar show was later recorded in Finland, premiering on Sub on April 2, 2015.
On New Year's Eve he performed again at the Brandenburg Gate, arriving late because his plane was diverted to Hannover.
Hasselhoff had a major role in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! which premiered globally on July 22, 2015. He then starred in a new musical, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life at the Blackpool Opera House, late in 2015.
On May 18, 2017 Funner, California introduced its first official mayor: David Hasselhoff.
Hasselhoff also appeared in a cameo role in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as himself. He additionally performed the song "Guardians Inferno" heard over the closing credits of the film and lent his appearance to a retro styled music video for the track found on the film's DVD and Blu-Ray release.
On October 28, 2019, Dolly Parton announced that David Hasselhoff would star in 9 to 5: The Musical at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End from December 2, 2019, until February 8, 2020.
Get Hasselhoff to Number 1 campaign
In 2006, fans of David Hasselhoff launched a tongue-in-cheek website "Get Hasselhoff to Number 1" in an attempt to get the 1989 hit "Looking for Freedom" to the top of the UK music charts through Internet downloads of the single. The campaign attracted attention on British radio and television broadcasts, in the national press and on the Internet.
Over 40,000 people signed up to receive the "Hoff Alert" e-mail when the time had come to purchase the single. The focus of the campaign shifted to "Jump in My Car", when that was actually released as a single, and BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills lent his support. On October 3, 2006, "the Hoff Alert" was sent out, and Hasselhoff promptly gained his highest ever UK chart entry (number 3) on October 8, 2006.[citation needed]
HoffSpace
In 2008, Hasselhoff launched a MySpace-like social networking site, known as "HoffSpace". The site is now defunct.
The Hasselhoffs
Hasselhoff and his daughters, Taylor-Ann and Hayley, starred in a reality series on A&E called The Hasselhoffs. The series launched on December 5, 2010, and focused on Hasselhoff's attempts to resuscitate his career and launch his daughters onto the Hollywood stage.
On December 10, 2010, A&E confirmed in a statement that, after airing just two episodes, The Hasselhoffs had been canceled. According to Nielsen Co. ratings, the first episode was seen by 718,000 viewers. Viewers dropped to 505,000 for the second installment, which aired on the same evening. The full series aired in the UK on May 30, 2011, on The Biography Channel.
Hasselhoff stars in a casino-style game series online, produced in partnership with Eric Bischoff[citation needed] with Europe being among the first markets to roll out the game.
In keeping with internet and online gambling culture in the UK, "The Hoff" series of games includes video slots and scratch-card type games, all played for real money in Europe's online casino environment. The first in the series of games launched on Valentine's Day in early March 2013, with media and promotional activities commencing in early February.
Hoff the Record
In 2014, UK channel Dave announced that it had commissioned Hoff the Record, a sitcom series in which Hasselhoff plays a fictionalized version of himself. The series started airing on June 18, 2015.
It's No Game and The HoffBot
In 2017 Hasselhoff appeared in short film It's No Game by director Oscar Sharp, playing "The HoffBot". Hasselhoff's lines were generated by a neural network artificial intelligence (called Benjamin) using a statistical model trained on his own 80s and 90s television performances. Hasselhoff said the A.I. "really had a handle on what's going on in my life and it was strangely emotional".
Motivational speaking
Hasselhoff works as a motivational speaker. In January 2014, he spoke before hundreds of students at New College Nottingham in Nottingham, England. In April 2019, Hasselhoff spoke before thousands of attendees at TwitchCon Europe in Berlin, Germany.
Hoff Roading
In late 2023, Hasselhoff alongside New Zealand comedian Rhys Darby were filming a New Zealand television series, Hoff the Beaten Track. The show was produced by the now defunct production company, Stripe Studios. It was later revealed that the company owed money to Hasselhoff. Stripe Studios along with nine other related entities went into receivership in March 2024 due to financial and legal issues.
Managing director of Stripe Studios, Alex Breingan said that Hoff the Beaten Track was currently in post-production in December 2023. In May 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand announced they had acquired the rights to the series, renaming it Hoff Roading, with Perpetual Entertainment picking up post-production.
Music career
1970s
On February 2, 1977, David Hasselhoff made his musical debut on The Merv Griffin Show performing "Nadia's Theme", the theme song from the American television soap opera The Young and the Restless, the show in which Hasselhoff was starring at the time. Ten years later his version of the song was included on his second album Lovin' Feelings (1987).
1980s
Six years after his debut live performance, Hasselhoff released in 1983 his debut single "I Get the Message". In 1984, Hasselhoff made a guest appearance on the first season of Kids Incorporated, performing "Do You Love Me", which became the lead single from his upcoming debut studio album, Night Rocker, which was released in January 1985.
The album was a big success in Austria, reaching number one there and being certified Platinum. In 1987, Hasselhoff released his second studio album, Lovin' Feelings, which reached the top-twenty in Austria and West Germany, and being certified Gold in the former country. That same year, due to the popularity of Knight Rider in Europe at the time, Hasselhoff embarked on his first headlining tour across Austria, with a special guest appearance from KITT.
In 1988, Hasselhoff released the song "Looking for Freedom". Due to its success, Hasselhoff released it on June 21, 1989, his third studio album of the same name, which was produced by German music producer Jack White. The album was a commercial success, reaching the top-five in Austria, West Germany and Switzerland; and being certified three-times Platinum in Europe.
He was noted for his performance of the song at the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve 1989, two months after the Wall had come down, but nine months before unification took place. Wearing a piano-keyboard scarf and a leather jacket covered in motion lights, Hasselhoff stood in a bucket crane and performed the song along with the crowd.
The performance has had a lasting impact on German pop-culture with Hasselhoff commenting that the song became an "anthem" and "song of hope" for the people of East Germany. In 2004, Hasselhoff lamented the lack of a photo of him in the Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin. In July 1989, Hasselhoff released his first compilation album, Knight Lover, which contains 17 greatest hits from his first two albums Night Rocker and Lovin' Feelings. The album reached the top-twenty in Switzerland; and the top-forty in West Germany.
📚 Source: Wikipedia
