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Hasselhoff

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years ago

 Don't Hassel the Hoff!

   Why do German's love David Hasselhoff so much?  In America he is a C list celebrity, maybe B tops.  He is a co-host of a reality show called "America's Got Talent" that started as a summer replacement for NBC.  

   David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952 in Baltimore, Maryland), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor who was best known for his lead roles on Knight Rider and Baywatch. He also crossed over to a successful German Music career, primarily in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  He also likes to go to Oktoberfest.  He has become part of the German way of life.  He also like German Food, especially Hamburgers and Bauernfruestueck, which he no doubt fell in love with during his tours of Hamburg .  He has become a huge star in Germany for his singing and acting work, though in America he is primarily known for his work on the small screen.


 

 

European popularity

While his star rose, fell and rose again in the US, Hasselhoff remained very popular in much of Europe. His music was more popular there than in the US, and his hit song "Looking for Freedom" became something of an anthem for the defeat of communist regimes in eastern Europe. During the past few years his albums have outsold a German favorite, the band Rammstein, by 100,000 copies.  This European popularity became something of an in joke, comedian Norm MacDonald was known for stating on numerous occasions that "Germans love David Hasselhoff" on Saturday Night Live during the late 80's and 90's and is referenced in the film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story where Hasselhoff is shown as the demanding coach of the German team.

 

Later career

Hasselhoff has made several self-parodic appearances in movies. He had a major appearance in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, starring as himself (though very much in bygone Baywatch character). Hasselhoff also 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. In 2004's Eurotrip, Hasselhoff appears in a fantasy sequence performing his early 90s hit single "Du".  (See the video below) 

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Where's the Hoff Lately?

  The 2006 Adam Sandler film Click is the first film in which Hasselhoff plays a character, as Sandler's despicable boss.  Hasselhoff has also become something of an Internet phenomenon, mostly as a subject of fun. Numerous websites have appeared and there is currently a campaign to get him a number one single in the United Kingdom.

  In May 2006, Hasselhoff returned to the spotlight after he was mentioned in an interview of Dirk Nowitzki, an NBA star playing for the Dallas Mavericks and a native of Germany. Nowitzki was asked what he does to concentrate when shooting foul shots. Dirk replied that he sings "Looking for Freedom" to himself. He meant this as a joke but it was thought to be a serious answer. Shortly thereafter, Hasselhoff attended a Mavericks home playoff game.  Interviewed at the game, Hasselhoff stated he was as much a fan of Nowitzki as Nowitzki was a fan of him. In The 2006 NBA Finals, fans held up facial photos of Hasselhoff and chanted his name when Nowitzki went to the foul line.

Late 2006, a musical based on his life called David Hasselhoff: The Musical will open in Australia before moving to the United States. Hasselhoff describes it as "totally campy".  On August 2, 2206, Hasselhoff proclaimed himself king of the internet in a tongue-in-cheek advertisement commercial for Pipex which ironically has attracted some blunt online criticism.

  In 2007, it was announced that Hasselhoff is starring in a television series pilot for E! called Tales from the Hoff. The comedy follows an aging international star trying to navigate Hollywood life and re-energize his professional and personal life.  Although Hasselhoff is portraying a fictional character, elements of the show's concept parallel Hasselhoff's real life.

In November 2007, it was announced that Hasselhoff is currently in a recording studio working on an Oasis covers album to be released in Germany. He has also been to many Raves.

 

"Get Hasselhoff to Number 1"

On April 21, 2006 fans of David Hasselhoff launched a tongue-in-cheek website "Get Hasselhoff to Number 1"[3] in an attempt to generate the momentum required to send the 1989 hit "Looking for Freedom" to the top of the UK music charts based on Internet downloads of the single. The campaign is ongoing and has attracted attention on British radio and television broadcasts, the British national press [4] [5] and on the Internet [6] [7] [8]. Over 40,000 people have signed up so far. When the total number of sign-ups on the site reaches 75,000 the owners of the site will send the "Hoff Alert" email to all those who have registered alerting them that the time has come to purchase the single. The intention is that the surge in sales generated will propel the former hit to the top spot in the British chart ensuring radio plays and television appearances for Hasselhoff.

"Jump in My Car" in the UK, the "Get Hasselhoff to Number 1" website switched the single it was promoting from "Looking for Freedom" to "Jump in My Car". BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills has now lent his support to the campaign [9], to get "Jump In My Car" to number one. Since this announcement, Scott Mills has played the record again, whilst describing the accompanying tongue-in-cheek music video.

On October 3, 2006 the Hoff Alert was mailed out to over 40,000 subscribers, instructing them to buy the song in hopes that it would top the UK Singles Chart. Although this did not happen, Hasselhoff promptly gained his highest ever UK chart entry (#3) on October 8, 2006.

 

Discography

Albums released include:

Singles released include:

  • (2006) Jump in My Car - Australia #50, UK #3
  • (1993) If I Could Only Say Goodbye - UK #35
  • (1993) Wir zwei allein (Duet with Gwen) - Germany #9, Switzerland #10
  • (1992) Everybody Sunshine - Switzerland #27
  • (1991) Do the Limbo Dance - Germany #12, Switzerland #19
  • (1990) Crazy for You - Germany #18, Switzerland #21
  • (1989) Is Everybody Happy? - Germany #14, Switzerland #8
  • (1989) Our First Night Together - Switzerland #14
  • (1989) Looking for Freedom - Germany #1, Switzerland #1, Austria #1, Netherlands #22

Additionally, the single "More Than Words Can Say", a duet with Regine Velasquez, was released in the Philippines.

 

See also

 

References

 

External links

 

 

 

 

 

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