David Hasselhoff

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David Hasselhoff

Birth name David Michael Hasselhoff
Born July 17, 1952 (age 54)
Flag of United States Baltimore, Maryland USA
Official site davidhasselhoff.com
Notable roles Michael Knight in the TV series Knight Rider and Lt. Mitch Buchannon in the TV series Baywatch

David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952 in Baltimore, Maryland), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer and songwriter who is best known for his lead roles on Knight Rider and Baywatch. He also crossed over to a successful music career, primarily in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. His career also took him to The Barony during the late 1980s.

Contents

[edit] Early acting career

Hasselhoff played Dr. William "Snapper" Foster, Jr. on the soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1975-82. At about this time he posed for a series of now infamous and much sought after posters wearing only a leather jacket and black bikini briefs. He later went on to star as Michael Knight in the Glen A. Larson-created series Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986.

[edit] Singing career

Hasselhoff launched his career with guest appearances on the children's program Kids Incorporated and also obtained permission to produce a Knight Rider episode ("Let It Be Me") which focused on his singing abilities. The episode served as a springboard for his 1985 debut album Night Rocker.

The debut album was released while he was still working on the show. After two moderately successful albums, he recorded "Looking for Freedom" with German producer Jack White in the summer of 1989 and released it just as the Berlin Wall came down. He performed it at the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve, 1989.

In Germany, his song became an anthem of sorts at the time, and the album went gold and triple platinum, topping the charts for three months whilst the single managed a mere eight weeks. He was later announced as the best selling artist of 1989 in Germany even prompting the newspaper headline "Hasselhoff: not since the Beatles." Since then, another six of his albums have gone platinum in Europe.

It was reported that Hasselhoff had teamed with rapper Ice-T and was planning to record a rap album under the handle of Hassel the Hoff.[1] On Late Night with Conan O'Brien Ice-T confirmed that he was not involved in any such project. In June 2006 Hasselhoff confirmed that the project was a "prefabrication" on The Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ, Los Angeles.

[edit] Taking back Baywatch

Hasselhoff returned to television on Baywatch which premiered in 1989. Although it was cancelled 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 in syndication for another ten seasons. It was also well-received internationally and has been shown in over 140 countries around the world.[citation needed] According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Baywatch is the most watched TV show in the world, with over 1.1 billion viewers.[2]

This success combined with his royalties and his other ventures have placed Hasselhoff's fortune at more than $100,000,000.[3]

[edit] Late career

In 1994, he was scheduled to perform a concert on pay-per-view from Atlantic City. It was supposed to help reignite his singing career in the United States. On the night of his concert, O.J. Simpson was involved in a police chase on the California highway. People who were watching the concert switched over to watch the news. Since then, Hasselhoff has not attempted another concert.

In 1996, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Beginning in July 16, 2004, Hasselhoff played the lead role in London performances of Chicago, for three months and made his Broadway debut in 2000 in the title role of Jekyll & Hyde.

Hasselhoff has made several self-parodic appearances in movies. He had a major appearance in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, released November 19, 2004, starring as himself (though very much in bygone Baywatch character) and meeting SpongeBob and Patrick. Hasselhoff also had another short appearance in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as the dodgeball coach to the German national dodgeball team. Berating his team after being eliminated from a tournament, he shouts "Ihr seid alle Schweine!" (translated: "You are all pigs!") and smashes a photo of himself in his Baywatch attire. In 2004's Eurotrip, Hasselhoff appears in a fantasy sequence performing his early 90s hit single "Du". In a cameo as himself in John Waters' 2004 effort A Dirty Shame, Hasselhoff defecates in an airplane's washroom. The 2006 Adam Sandler film Click is the first film in which Hasselhoff plays a character, as Sandler's despicable boss.

In his music video for "Jump in My Car", Hasselhoff again demonstrates a penchant for self-parody, this time of 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 K.I.T.T. (except for the passenger seat being on the left), including an aptly-timed use of K.I.T.T.'s seat ejection system. The video plays to a skit where he asks one of three girls to 'jump in his car' to take her home. The girl initially refuses but then gets in so long as he behaves politely. She suggests that he should drive quickly, because she lives down south, "about 84 miles". When she insists she is not joking, he asks her to leave the vehicle, but she refuses, so he resorts to using the ejector seat to cause her to exit.

Hasselhoff presented a musical award with Gretel Killeen for the Australian Recording Industry Association on Sunday October 23, 2005 in Sydney.He was recently signed to Pepsi appearing in a massive outdoor campaign in January 2006. He was scheduled to tour Australia with his band mid-2006.[citation needed]

Hasselhoff has also become something of an internet phenomenon, mostly as a subject of fun. Numerous websites have appeared and there is currently a campaign to get him a number one single in the UK.

In May 2006, Hasselhoff returned to the spotlight after he was mentioned in an interview of NBA star and native of Germany, the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki was asked what he does to concentrate when shooting foul shots. Dirk replied that he sings "Looking for Freedom" to himself. Shortly thereafter, Hasselhoff attended the May 26, 2006 Mavericks home playoff game where they faced the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Western Conference Finals. Interviewed by Craig Sager, Hasselhoff stated he was as much a fan of Nowitzki as Nowitzki was a fan of him. In The 2006 NBA Finals, fans of the Miami Heat in the American Airlines Arena held up facial photos of Hasselhoff and chanted his name when Nowitzki went to the foul line.

Throughout the summer of 2006, Hasselhoff, along with Grammy-winning singer/actress Brandy Norwood and British media icon Piers Morgan was a co-judge on NBC's America's Got Talent, a program that showcased America's best amateur entertainers.

Late 2006, a musical based on his life called David Hasselhoff: The Musical will open in Australia before moving to the United States. Hasselhoff describes it as 'totally campy'. [1]

On August 2, 2006, Hasselhoff proclaimed himself king of the internet in a tongue-in-cheek advertisement commercial for Pipex which ironically has attracted some blunt online criticism.

In September 2006 he appeared in a radio interview with Gerard Gilroy on The Breakfast Show on Dublin's Newstalk 106, pushed his book on Tuberdy Tonight Show on Ireland's National TV station RTE1, and sang and spoke to Grant Lauchlan of STV, where he revealed that he would like to play a concert in the future at Scotland's Edinburgh Castle.

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.[2]

[edit] Personal life

After dropping out of Atlanta's Marist High School, Hasselhoff attended and graduated high school at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois. He studied at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.

Hasselhoff was married to actress Catherine Hickland from March 24, 1984 to March 1, 1989, when they divorced. Their marriage has been recreated in Knight Rider Season 4 (Episode The Scent of Roses which first aired on January 3, 1986).

Hasselhoff married actress Pamela Bach on December 9, 1989, and the couple had two daughters, Taylor Ann Hasselhoff (born May 5, 1990) and Hayley Hasselhoff (born August 26, 1992). Although Hasselhoff was raised Roman Catholic, he and his family attended non-denominational church services.

On January 13, 2006, Hasselhoff announced that he was filing for divorce from Bach after 16 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. His publicist has stated that the couple has agreed to an amicable settlement. However, on March 9, 2006, Bach accused Hasselhoff of violent behavior towards her.[4] Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark A. Juhas signed the order March 6, 2006 ordering the former Baywatch star to stay at least 100 yards (91 m) from Bach except for "peaceful contacts related to court ordered visitation" of their children. Pamela is seeking sole custody of their two daughters.

Hasselhoff's autobiography, called "Making Waves," was released in the United Kingdom in September 2006. In an interview in April 2006, he promised that the book would present the "last chapter" regarding controversial elements of his personal life.

On June 29, 2006, Hasselhoff suffered a freak injury when he hit his head on a chandelier while shaving. The broken glass severed four tendons as well as an artery in Hasselhoff's right arm, and surgery was performed that day to repair the damage. Hasselhoff was released from the hospital the following day and was reported to be doing fine.

[edit] Alcohol problems

Hasselhoff received media attention in 2003/2004 for an alleged drinking problem. He attended a rehabilitation program in 2002, at the Betty Ford Center.

His problems with alcohol abuse apparently continued, as he was arrested on June 5, 2004, on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence. He was bailed out with $15,000 and his lawyer once requested the case be continued and the arraignment was postponed to October 28, 2004. On that court day, his lawyer entered his no contest plea while he was absent from the court hearing. He was fined $390 (due to California's "Alcohol Abuse Education and Prevention Assessment" law, and other fees, the total amount paid to the court is assumed to be over $1400), sentenced to self-supervised probation for three years, ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice a week for 6 months, spend six months in a DUI program (several hundred more dollars), and to perform 200 hours of community service. While his driver's license was restricted for the next 90 days, he could drive only to his work, to take his children to school, and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

In 2006, Hasselhoff was allegedly thrown out of a Wimbledon, London court-bar for drinking and rioting. However, Katie Rowley who runs the Wimbledon Championship, denies this.[5]

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Hasselhoff also denied being ejected by The All England Club. "The tabloids make so much stuff up," he says. "I was at Wimbledon, and they said I was escorted out drunk. ... Absolutely not. I don't drink anymore."[6]

On July 26, 2006, tabloids reported that Hasselhoff was publicly drunk at Heathrow airport and was denied boarding a plane by British Airways. The airline only stated that a male passenger had been refused travel after being deemed unfit to travel. The following day Hasselhoff's publicist denied the allegation of Hasselhoff being drunk claiming antibiotics had made him sick and that he voluntarily chose not to wear clothes to board the plane.[7]

[edit] "Get Hasselhoff to Number 1"

On April 21, 2006 anonymous fans of David Hasselhoff launched a tongue-in-cheek website "Get Hasselhoff to Number 1"[3] in an attempt to generate the momentum required to send the 1989 hit "Looking for Freedom" to the top of the UK music charts based on Internet downloads of the single. The campaign is ongoing and has attracted attention on British radio and television broadcasts, the British national press [4] [5] and on the Internet [6] [7] [8]. Over 40,000 people have signed up so far. When the total number of sign-ups on the site reaches 75,000 the owners of the site will send a "Hoff Alert" email to all those who have registered alerting them that the time has come to purchase the single. The intention is that the surge in sales generated will propel the former hit to the top spot in the British chart ensuring radio plays and television appearances for Hasselhoff.

After a press release in September 2006, announcing the release of Hasselhoff's single "Jump in My Car" in the UK, the "Get Hasselhoff to Number 1" website switched the single it was promoting from "Looking for Freedom" to "Jump in My Car". BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills has now lent his support to the campaign [9], to get "Jump In My Car" to number one. Since this announcement, Scott Mills has played the record again, whilst describing the accompanying tongue-in-cheek music video.

On October 3, 2006 the Hoff Alert was mailed out to over 40,000 subscribers, instructing them to buy the song in hopes that it would top the UK Singles Chart. Although this did not happen, Hasselhoff promptly gained his highest ever UK chart entry (#3) on October 8, 2006.

[edit] Trivia

  • Norm MacDonald, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update newscaster, had a running joke that always ended with "Which once again proves my theory: Germans love David Hasselhoff."
  • Looking for … the Best has become an exceptionally highly rated CD on Amazon.com, receiving an incredible number of 5-star ratings. This was the culmination of a spontaneous Internet joke[8] that has been going on for several years, in which Amazon customers review the album. Almost all give it 5 stars and pen sarcastic reviews which include egregious misspellings of Hasselhoff's name and usually end with the phrase, The song "Hot Shot City" is particularly good!.
  • Is a member of The Roman Catholic Church.
  • Spontaneous Internet irony has also driven one of his videos, Hooked on a Feeling, into the top 20 clips of all time on YouTube with at least 5,243,000 views. This does not include the dozens of other versions of the same video also uploaded.
  • Also in May 2006, Hasselhoff was shown on American Idol, openly crying after Taylor Hicks was announced as the next American Idol. This has become fodder for TV hosts such as Jay Leno and Kevin Pereira. Chris Sligh, a contestant on American Idol, when asked why he auditioned, replied" he really wanted to make David Hasselhoff cry." Chris was eliminated on March 28, 2007.
  • At every gig the British band The Automatic play, they request a shrine to David Hasselhoff, a request which has been granted on only two occasions
  • In 1995, Hasselhoff and Kathy Ireland were among the first celebrities to watch the first ever Toronto Raptors regular season basketball game in Toronto.
  • In 2006, as a judge on America's Got Talent, he announced that he hates jugglers.
  • In Season 1, Episode 11 of South Park, Mr. Garrison takes some time off for a surgical procedure. Mr. Garrison's nose job works out well, and he soon finds himself the most attractive man in South Park (looking like David Hasselhoff). This in mind, he decides to quit teaching and spend his time "hanging out and screwing hot chicks."
  • On September 30, 2006, The Hoff spoke at the prestigious University Philosophical Society in Trinity College Dublin.
  • Hasselhoff was parodied during Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights at Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure for 2006, where he rides on stage in KITT to defend Bill and Ted from Davy Jones. He appeares in jeans, a leather jacket, and a sleevless shirt that reads, "The Hoff." He makes a pitiful attempt to defeat Jones, while KITT does nothing. However, after Jones threatens KITT, Hasslehoff attacks Jones and throws him through a boarded-up window before leaving to the Knight Rider theme music.
  • Hasselhoff won the Biggest Comeback Award in the Big in 06 awards
  • In a December issue of In Touch Weekly, Hasselhoff is shown wearing a t-shirt for Deep Run High School's football team. He is a fan of the school's very successful football team, which made a run at the Virginia State title this year.
  • An internet-based game, Boff the Hoff, has been released by Columbia Pictures - the user is invited to repeatedly slap Hasselhoff's face, which he apparently finds relaxing.[9]
  • In the season finale of the Saturday Night Live season where Norm MacDonald would constantly claim, "Germans love David Hasselhoff", Hasselhoff himself appeared on "Weekend Update" and talked about his world tour in music and the places he had traveled, such as being pictured with the entire Baywatch cast by the Great Wall of China. Norm MacDonald shows frequent annoyances at his theory not being proven as Hasselhoff does not mention Germany. Exasperated, MacDonald forces Hasselhoff to recite a slip of paper which reads "Germans love me".
  • In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there is a biy pointy building, for which the signs outside state that it's address is "69 Hasselhoff Street, San Fierro, San Andreas".[10]

[edit] Filmography

  • Mrs Big Hair (1974) (Playing a lady)
  • The Lion Roars Again (1975) (uncredited as Logan's Run costume model)
  • Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976) (full frontal naked scene in a shower - character's name is Boner)
  • Starcrash (1979)
  • Strong Times (1988)
  • Lovable Zanies II (1988)
  • Witchery (1988)
  • Bail Out (1989)
  • The Final Alliance (1990)
  • Dear God (1996) (Cameo)
  • Legacy (1998)
  • The Big Tease (1999)
  • The Target Shoots First (2000) (documentary)
  • Welcome to Hollywood (2000) (documentary)
  • Ring of the Musketeers (2000)
  • Layover (2001)
  • The New Guy (2002) (Cameo)
  • Fugitives Run "Dont Call Me Tonto" (Canadian Title)(2003)
  • Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
  • A Dirty Shame (2004) (Cameo)
  • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (Plays himself, and acts as a boat for Spongebob and Patrick, and launches them like a Rocket Launcher with his pecs) (2004)
  • Eurotrip (2004) (special appearance in Scott Thomas' dream singing Du)
  • Click (2006)

Upcoming:

[edit] Television work

[edit] Discography

Albums released include:

  • (2005) David Hasselhoff Sings America Gold Edition
  • (2004) The Night Before Christmas
  • (2004) David Hasselhoff Sings America - Germany #27, Austria #11
  • (2000) Magic Collection
  • (1997) Hooked on a Feeling - Switzerland #41
  • (1995) David Hasselhoff - USA Billboard New Artists #2
  • (1995) Looking for … the Best
  • (1994) Du - Germany #43, #41 Switzerland
  • (1993) You are Everything - Germany #20, Switzerland #27
  • (1992) Everybody Sunshine - Germany #21, Switzerland #17
  • (1991) David - Germany #12, Switzerland #7
  • (1990) Crazy for You - Switzerland #1
  • (1989) Looking for Freedom - Germany #1, Switzerland #3
  • (1989) Knight Lover - Switzerland #17
  • (1987) [[Lovin'Night Rocker

Singles released include -

  • (2006) Jump in My Car- Australia #50; UK #3.
  • (1993) If I Could Only Say Goodbye - UK #35.
  • (1993) Wir zwei allein (Duet with Gwen) - Germany #9, Switzerland #10
  • (1992) Everybody Sunshine - Switzerland #27
  • (1991) Do the Limbo Dance - Germany #12, Switzerland #19
  • (1990) Crazy for You - Germany #18, Switzerland #21
  • (1989) Is Everybody Happy? - Germany #14, #8 Switzerland
  • (1989) Our First Night Together - Switzerland #14
  • (1989) Looking for Freedom - Germany #1, #1 Switzerland, Austria #1, #22 Netherlands

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Ice-T Producing David Hasselhoff Rap Album By Nolan Strong", All Hip Hop, 21 May 2004
  2. ^ "Largest Audience For A TV Series"
  3. ^ "Former 'Baywatch' Hunk Hasselhoff Files for Divorce", ExtraTV.com, 13 January 2006
  4. ^ "Hasselhoff 'violent' claims wife", BBC, 9 March 2006
  5. ^ "Hasselhoff tennis ejection denied", BBC, 5 July 2006
  6. ^ "David Hasselhoff: 'I don't drink anymore'", CNN 24 July 2006
  7. ^ Tabloid article alleging drunkenness and CNN article denying the claim.
  8. ^ "Looking For-Best of David Hasselhoff," amazon.com
  9. ^ Boff the Hoff - Columbia Pictures
  10. ^ http://www.gtawh.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t16938.html

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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