David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap opera The Young and the Restless (1975–1982), playing the role of Dr. Snapper Foster. His career continued with his leading role as Michael Knight on the crime drama series Knight Rider (1982–1986) and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the drama series Baywatch (1989–2000). He also produced Baywatch from the 1990s until 2001 when the series ended with Baywatch Hawaii.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hasselhoff produced Baywatch for first run syndication. He has spoken at both the Oxford and Cambridge Student Unions.