Born in Baltimore, Maryland

July 17, 1952

David Michael Hasselhoff was born on July 17, 1952. The acting bug first hit when David was seven and so he took acting, singing and dancing lessons. He was very shy off stage in front of girls because he was tall and thin, but when he was on stage he was in his element. Due to his father's work, his family (he has four sisters) moved around frequently.

The Young and the Restless

January 1, 1975 - January 1, 1982

Hasselhoff's first major role was portraying Dr. William "Snapper" Foster, Jr. on the soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1975-82.

Knight Rider

September 26, 1982 - April 4, 1986

Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight in the Glen A. Larson-created series Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986 (a role he would reprise again in Knight Rider 2000 (1991) and cameo in 2008's Knight Rider TV film).

Michael Knight, a former police detective, is recruited into the secret organization FLAG (Foundation for Law And Government) after nearly being killed during a botched investigation. Knight is provided with the use of KITT, an ultra sophisticated autonomic car which enables him to travel across the United States fighting crime.

Married to Catherine Hickland

March 4, 1984 - March 1, 1989

Hasselhoff was married to actress Catherine Hickland from March 24, 1984 to March 1, 1989. Their marriage was recreated in Knight Rider Season 4 (Episode The Scent of Roses which first aired on January 3, 1986). Before his divorce from Hickland, while they were separated, Hasselhoff dated Linda Butsnik, now Linda Morris, of Carrollton, Georgia.

Baywatch

April 23, 1989 - May 15, 2000

This long-running series follows the adventures of a team of lifeguards on a crowded resort beach. Veteran lifeguard Mitch Buchannon watches over the younger lifeguards that come and go with each passing season as they keep the beaches safe for vacationers. Frequently he must take action to save them from the raging seas and from the raging tempers that sometimes flare up between the young guards in this stressful job.

Married to Pamela Bach

December 9, 1989 - July 27, 2006

Hasselhoff married actress Pamela Bach on December 9, 1989, and the couple had two daughters, Taylor Ann Hasselhoff (born May 5, 1990), who is considering going to California Lutheran University or Arizona State University, and Staci Campell (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 stated that the couple has agreed to an amicable settlement. However, on March 9, 2006, Bach accused Hasselhoff of violent behavior towards her. 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 divorce settlement obliged him to pay 25,000 US dollars a month for support of Pamela Bach and their two teenage daughters, as they would share joint custody.

Daughter Taylor Ann Hasselhoff Born

May 5, 1990

Hasselhoff's daughter with Pamela Bach, Taylor Ann Hasselhoff was born May 5, 1990 and is considering going to California Lutheran University or Arizona State University.

Daughter Staci Campbell Born

August 26, 1992

Hasselhoff's daughter with Pamela Bach, Staci Campell, was born August 26, 1992.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

June 18, 2004

Hasselhoff 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!", a common German insult) and smashes a photo of himself in his Baywatch attire.

Jekyll & Hyde

July 16, 2004 - October 16, 2004

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

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

November 19, 2004

hasselhoff 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.

Jump in My Car

January 22, 2006

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. (this video was shot in Sydney, Australia and used a right hand drive KITT replica), 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.

Click

June 23, 2006

The 2006 Adam Sandler film Click is the first film in which Hasselhoff plays a character, as Sandler's despicable boss.

Click tells the story of Michael Newman (Adam Sandler), an overworked architect so wrapped up in his job because of his boss John Ammer (David Hasselhoff) that his family is forced to take the backseat. He gets a "universal remote" from an eccentric engineer named Morty (Christopher Walken), and finds he can literally control the universe around him.

Publicly Drunk

July 26, 2006

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. The following day Hasselhoff's publicist denied the allegation of Hasselhoff being drunk saying antibiotics had made him sick and that he voluntarily chose not to board the plane

Candid Interview

September 1, 2006

On 1 September 2006, Hasselhoff gave a candid interview to The Guardian. The interviewer wrote "To spend an hour or so in the company of 'The Hoff' is to feel as if one is inadvertently playing a bit-part in a daytime television soap opera. It is unclear whether this has more to do with the cliched dialogue – 'Life is something that happens when you're making plans', for example – or the way the lines are delivered with either brow-furrowed gravitas or uproarious laughter."

Hasselhoff spoke of his religious beliefs – "Amid all the adversity, whenever I had problems, God always said 'Here's Chicago, here's a book, here's the No. 1 TV show, here's the No. 1 movie, here's a recording deal, here's two million downloads. I'm gonna make you the biggest star in the world, David, and I'm going to give you responsibility with that, and you can either take it or you can fuck it up.' I fucked it up, I've taken it."

On why his fans warmed to his shows, Hasselhoff stated "Because I believe the camera photographs your aura, and it also photographs your heart. And I cast Baywatch that way. If you look at Baywatch, just about everybody on that show — even Pamela Anderson — has got a great heart."

On Knight Rider he stated that it was more than a TV show, "It's a phenomenon. It's bigger than Baywatch ever was." On its success — "It's because it was about saving lives, not taking lives, and it was how one man can make a difference. And we had a blast making it, and we made sure nobody died on the show. We made sure nobody ever drowned on Baywatch."

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."

Home Video Surfaces

May 3, 2007

On May 3, 2007, a home video surfaced of Hasselhoff apparently in mid-stupor. The video showed him shirtless, lying on the floor, drunkenly trying to focus on a Wendy's hamburger in a Las Vegas hotel room. His daughter Taylor Ann, who shot the video, can be heard saying, "Tell me you are going to stop, tell me you are going to stop." The daughter also warned her father that he could be jeopardizing his spot in the Las Vegas production of The Producers.[8] In the wake of the leaked video Hasselhoff issued a statement saying that it was released deliberately. Hasselhoff claimed that it was filmed by Taylor Ann so that he could see how he appeared and acted when intoxicated