Argue with me if you will, but I say that David Hasselfhoff has to be the coolest guy on the face of the planet! Let’s look at the facts: He got his start as a soap opera star, which didn’t exactly hone his thespian abilities, but it got him into the public eye enough to be cast in the most groundbreaking show of the 1980’s: “Knight Rider”. Why was Knight Rider groundbreaking? Well, it introduced the world to a sleek talking car, with the brain of a computer. Now, I realize that K.I.T.T. probably had the processing capability of an Apple IIe, but I see him as the inspiration for the OnStar system. I know that it utilizes actual people, but it’s the same concept. David Hasselfhoff had the luxury of being this car’s driver, and for that, we all worshipped him. He was a pioneer, of sorts. We loved him and everything he did, and we wondered how he could top such an incredible performance. We weren’t prepared for what would come next: Baywatch.
Baywatch cannot even be described in words. In essence, it made people hot. Sure, David had lost a bit of his luster since Knight Rider, but the beach, the women, the sand….they all added something to his mystique. It had that effect on everyone on the show. I stand by the statement that Pamela Anderson was not hot until she was on Baywatch. She spent years on Home Improvement, virtually unnoticed. She never achieved the attention that her successor, Debbe Dunning, received. Yet, when Pam got to Baywatch, all of that changed. Anyone could be on Baywatch, from former Hardy Boys and soap opera stars, to ex-convicts and swimsuit models. There were only two requirements: you had to love the beach and you had to listen to Mitch. As seasoned lifeguard Mitch Buchannan, Hasselfhoff held the crew together. Not only was he a father figure, but he was a sage. He had all of the answers, and as spoofed by “Son of the Beach”, he was the world’s greatest lifeguard. Mitch was the lynchpin that held it all together. How would he follow this success? Well, we’re still waiting on the answer to that question, but I can’t omit mention of his stellar German pop music career. Do you want details? No. This whole thing was tongue-in-cheek. But I DO love David Hasselhoff. Anyway, I highly advise you download the song Night Rocker, because apparently he’s “gonna rock you all night long”. Oh, David, when do you find time to rest?
