David Hasselhoff Biography
Born: July 17, 1952
Date of Birth: July 17, 1952
Actor/businessman David Michael Hasselhoff was born in Baltimore, Maryland. While attending Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois, he managed to land several roles in school plays—including a lead role in The Fantasticks.
He studied at Bates College and Oakland University, as well as the California Institute of the Arts, from which he received a degree in theater.
Hasselhoff landed a lead role as Dr. William 'Snapper' Foster on the popular soap opera The Young and the Restless in 1975. Although primarily known as a TV actor, he has also appeared in a number of films, including an early role as Simon in Starcrash (1979). Around the same time, he launched a solo music career.
From 1982 to 1986, he was back on the small screen, starring in the science-fiction series Knight Rider as Michael Knight. The show was enormously popular and made him a bonafide star. He would find even great success with the TV series Baywatch, which ran from 1989 to 2001. He became an executive producer on the show in 1991.
From that point on, he starred in a number of television movies and shows including Knight Rider 200 (1991), Baywatch: Forbidden Paradise (1995) and Still Standing (2003).
Soon after, Hasselhoff began getting big screen roles again, appearing in cameos in a number of comedy films starring big names such as Vince Vaughn in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Adam Sandler in Click (2006) and Jamie Kennedy in Kickin' It Old Skool (2007).
In 2006, the classic TV lifeguard turned to reality TV as a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent, remaining with the show until 2009. He returned to the judging seat in 2011 on Britain's Got Talent alongside Amanda Holden, Michael McIntyre and Simon Cowell for one season.
Into the next decade, the on-again-off-again actor appeared in the comedy horror feature Piranha 3DD (2012), the crime comedy Stretch (2014) with Patrick Wilson, the TV movie Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015) and its follow-up, Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens (2016).
His latest project is Baywatch (2017), which stars Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, and which is inspired by the popular show he headlined in the '90s.
Hasselhoff, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has been married twice. First to actress Catherine Hickland from 1984 to March 1, 1989, then to actress Pamela Bach, with whom he has two daughters, from 1989 to 2006. A video of Hasselhoff in a drunken state, taken by his daughter Taylor Ann, wound up on the Internet on May 3, 2007. Although his visitation rights were suspended for two weeks as a result, in June 2007, he was awarded primary custody. In 2009 and 2010, he was rushed to the hospital several times, reportedly for drinking-related reasons. Also in 2010, A&E aired two episodes of the reality series The Hasselhoffs, featuring David and his daughters, but due to bad ratings, the series was quickly cancelled.
Filmography:
Baywatch (2017)Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival (2016)
Stretch (2014)
Piranha 3DD (2012)
Keith Lemon: The Film (2012)
Dancing Ninja (2010)
Kickin' It Old Skool (2007)
Click (2006)
Fugitives Run (2005)
Eurotrip (2004)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Layover (2001)
Legacy (1998)
The Final Alliance (1990)
Witchcraft (1988)
Lovable Zanies II (1988)
Starke Zeiten (1988)
Shaka Zulu (1987)
Starcrash (1978)
Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976)