Before presiding over what seemed like an endless number of lifeguards running in slow motion, this curly-haired goof spent eight seasons playing tall, dark and handsome on
The Young and the Restless. In the '80s, he made the move to prime time as a crime fighter with a verbose vehicle in
Knight Rider. After the series ran out of gas, the sexy drama
Baywatch brought his lifesaving skills to the beach. Hasselhoff concurrently embarked on a music career, releasing a number of albums to great (if incomprehensible) popularity in Europe, particularly in Germany and Austria. After several unnecessary specials and spin-off series,
Baywatch bit the dust in 2000, and Hasselhoff kept busy in a number of middling projects, even making his critically snubbed Broadway debut in the musical
Jekyll & Hide. Although his career seemed to be drowning stateside, "The Hoff" embraced his status as a pop-culture punch line, ended up playing a couple of campy roles in big movies (
Click,
Dodgeball) and returned to TV in 2006 as a judge on
America's Got Talent. Off-camera life was not as lighthearted as he engaged in an ugly divorce from Pamela Bach, with allegations of abuse. Even after most of the details had been settled by the courts, the drama continued: In May 2007, a video featuring a drunken Hasselhoff was leaked to the media and resulted in the temporary suspension of his child visitation rights. The footage had been shot by his own daughter. In June 2007, he was awarded primary physical and sole legal custody of his children.
David Hasselhoff Fast Facts:
- Produced the syndicated version of Baywatch in the '90s; owned 25% of the show which increased his net worth to an estimated $100 million.
- Became an enormously popular singer in Europe, particularly in Germany and Austria, where two of his albums went triple platinum. He even performed atop the remains of the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve, 1989.
- Performed a pay-per-view Atlantic City concert in 1994 on the same night as O.J. Simpson's slow-speed car chase; never attempted another pay-per-view event.
- Earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.
- In 2002, he did a stint in the Betty Ford Clinic for alcohol addiction. In 2006, a number of stories circulated about his alleged drunken misbehavior and in 2007, a video surfaced featuring him in an obvious state of inebriation.
- David Hasselhoff Relationships:
- Catherine Hickland - Ex-wife
- Diane Hasselhoff - Sister
- Dolores Hasselhoff - Mother
- Hayley Amber Hasselhoff - Daughter
- Jean Hasselhoff - Sister
- Joe Hasselhoff - Father
- Joyce Hasselhoff - Sister
- Lisa Hasselhoff - Sister
- Pamela Bach - Ex-wife
- Taylor Hasselhoff - Daughter
- David Hasselhoff Awards:
- 1983 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program - Winner
- College:
- Attended Academy of Dramatic Arts, Pontiac, MI; attended California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
