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David Hasselhoff

David Hasselhoff is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as The Most Watched TV Star in the World thanks to starring roles in both Knight Rider and Baywatch.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he initially hoped for a music career. But his first professional entertainment job came on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, playing Dr. Snapper Foster. After six years, he was lured by NBC to take the starring role in Knight Rider, which led to a People's Choice Award for Most Popular Actor. The show is still playing in syndication in over 82 countries. In 1989, he headed the cast of Baywatch, which, after being canceled by NBC, was acquired by Hasselhoff and his three partners. They became the executive producers and made TV history in the process. To this day, reruns of Baywatch can be seen in 140 countries by more than one billion viewers each week.

Along the way, Hasselhoff also appeared in several feature films, including Layover, Legacy, The Final Alliance, Fugitive's Run, John Waters' A Dirty Shame, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and most recently, in the family favorite The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Hasselhoff's TV movies include Cartier Affair, Lady by the Lake, One True Love, Shaka Zulu: The Citadel, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, Gridlock, Avalanche, Baywatch Hawaiian Wedding, as well as numerous Knight Rider movies-of-the-week. He also made guest appearances on such TV series as Just Shoot Me Yes, Dear, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Still Standing and West Wing, among others.

His musical career took off in the late 1980s when he recorded the album, Looking for Freedom, at the end of the Cold War. The song became an anthem for the German people and remained at the top of the local charts for eight weeks. The album went triple platinum in Europe, and Hasselhoff was named Most Popular and Best Selling Artist of the Year in Germany. He sang Looking for Freedom from atop the Berlin Wall during the German reunification celebration. His most recent album, David Hasselhoff Sings America, is a selection of his favorite American pop standards. His concerts play to standing-room-only audiences throughout the world and he has released six other albums in Europe, which have all gone platinum or gold.

Hasselhoff made his long-awaited theatrical debut in the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde, which was also filmed by Broadway Television Network and aired on HBO. He went on to make his West End debut this past summer in the hit musical Chicago.

Hasselhoff co-founded, with Ralph Hansen, the charity Race for Life, and is a frequent visitor to children's hospitals during his travels around the world. He was a participant in Camp Baywatch, dedicated to disadvantaged youth in Los Angeles, and is still active with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hasselhoff was recently honored with the International Star of the Year Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Entertainment by the Bollywood Awards.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2006.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

David Hasselhoff Facts

Birth Name David Michael Hasselhoff
OccupationActor, Musician
BirthdayJuly 17, 1952 (71)
SignCancer
BirthplaceBaltimore, Maryland, USA
Height6' 4" (1m93)  How tall is David Hasselhoff compared to you?

Selected Filmography

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Shaka Zulu
Click
Knight Rider
Piranha DD
Witchery
Bail Out
Sharknado: The 4th Awakens
Sharknado 3 Oh Hell No!
Continue » Find more details on the David Hasselhoff Movies page