The Man, the Myth, the Legend.
Yes, that is David Hasselhoff, or The Hoff.
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The star has been kicking it in Hollywood since the early ’80s. During this time, he’s done just about everything a star could possibly do: movies, Broadway, running slow-mo down the beach…
He’s even had a successful music career! To learn more about The Hoff, here are 10+ interesting facts.
1. He has two daughters:
While he was married to his ex-wife, Pamela, they welcomed two daughters together: Taylor, 29, and Hayley, 27.
Both girls are still extremely close to their father. Taylor is working as a commercial and residential real estate agent while Hayley is a model.
2. *Knight Rider* made him a star:
He starred as Michael Knight from 1982 to 1986. He once described the show as “a phenomenon. It’s bigger than Baywatch ever was.”
But sadly, the show was canceled in 1986 when interest declined.
3. He has a music career:
After Knight Rider was canceled, Hasselhoff was depressed, drinking a lot, and worried about finding a new job.
But everything changed when he heard his doorbell ring. On his doorstep was a young Austrian woman who wanted his autograph.
She told him that he had hit No.1 in Austria with his album *Night Rocker*.
This led David to call his record label’s Austrian representative and organize a tour.
Thank goodness he did since he was a huge celebrity in Austria back then.
4. He revived *Baywatch* using his own money:
David believed in the series so much that he invested his own money and even worked as the executive producer.
This happened after the first run of the show got canceled in 1989 after only one season.
5. Those iconic slow-mo scenes on *Baywatch* were actually done to save money:
Hasselhoff told Men’s Health :
“So we found a way to fill the hour by shooting people in slow motion. We said, ‘Well, girls in bathing suits look good running in slow motion, let’s just shoot that.’ And we found out that the audience kinda liked it.”
6. Scientists named a crab after him:
When scientists discovered a crab with a hairy chest in 2012, there was only one name that came to mind: The Hoff.
The crab was discovered on the Southern Ocean floor near Antarctica.
7. He’s in the Guinness Book of World Records:
Since Baywatch was watched more than 1 billion viewers in 140 countries, The Guinness Book of World Records gave him the title of ” The World’s Most Watched Man on Television .”
This title didn’t last long, though.
In 2011, Hugh Laurie of House earned the title.
But never fear! In June that year, Hasselhoff, earned the title for the ” Highest Reverse Bungee Jump .” He jumped nearly 230 feet off of London’s Battersea Power Station.
It’s a good thing he did since the show became hugely popular.
It went on for 11 seasons, with the series finale in 2001.
It also made Hasselhoff one of TV’s biggest stars, which has helped him earn his massive fortune.
8. He’s a Broadway star:
He’s hit the big stage for numerous roles . Starting in 2000, he played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical .
In 2007, he played Billy Flynn in Chicago , Roger De Bris in The Producers , and his recurring role as Captain Hook in Peter Pan .
9. He had an alcohol addiction:
The world was made aware of his alcohol addiction in 2007 when a viral video of him intoxicated surfaced on the internet in 2007.
In the video, David’s daughter, Taylor, was asking her dad to stop abusing alcohol.
Thankfully, he beat the addiction with support from his children.
“When I realised what my daughter had done I knew I had to sort myself out …. It happens to a lot of people but I am lucky to have my children and my nephew who love me dearly [enough] to tell me the truth”.
10. He has movie credits:
The star hasn’t just done television. Throughout his career, he’s worked on a few movies , including Click , Dodgeball , and his hilarious appearance in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie .
He even appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies by Marvel.
11. He sang at the Berlin Wall after it was torn down:
The Hoff was part of history .
He sang “Looking for Freedom” in a crane at the first German-German New Year’s Eve party on Dec. 31, 1989.
The song ended up cementing David’s status as a celebrity in Germany.
12. He was on *Dancing with the Stars*
Very briefly, I might add. That’s because he was the first celebrity to get the boot on the show’s 2010 season.
He had been partnered with professional dancer, Kym Johnson. They danced the cha-cha on the show’s first episode.
Although they were eliminated so soon, David took this in stride.
“It’s been a great ride and I feel bad for [dance pro partner] Kym Johnson because she works so hard to get me going,” he said.
In his speech, David also thanked his daughters, who urged him to do the show.
13. He’s been married three times:
He was married to actress Catherine Hickland from 1984 to 1989. Next was Pamela Bach, who he was with for 16 years before their divorce in 2006.
He married his current wife, 40-year-old Hayley Roberts, in 2018.
