Vera: He is proven to be the most watched TV star in the world. 5 billion people – yes, you heard correctly, that’s billions with a b – have admired him in his TV shows
Knight Rider and Baywatch. Apparently, that’s too much for one man to handle,
because in recent years we’ve heard more about his breakdowns than new
successes. We met with him in London: David Hasselhoff.

Voiceover: These are the docklands in East London. The former harbor area along the Themse has turned into a business hub and exclusive residential
area. The centerpiece is the Millenium Dome, the largest domed building in the
world. It will become centre court during the Summer Olympics 2012. The walkways
along the Themse River are extraordinarily beautiful. The
area looks just like Malibu,
doesn’t it – especially when you run into the most widely known lifeguard in
the world! But being a lifeguard isn’t the only thing that made David
Hasselhoff world famous. The actor from Baltimore,
MD is the most-watched TV Star of
all times.”

D.H.: I know it’s in the Guinness Book of Records, and really, everywhere I go, people recognize me. I was recently in Japan, and it’s not just tourists who come up to me. Often it is older people, who look at me
and aren’t sure what to do with me. Then I go (mimics talking to KITT on his
com-link).”

Voiceover: With help from his miracle car KITT, David Hasselhoff protected the innocent, the helpless, and the powerless. He punished the criminals and rescued beautiful
women. The show reached cult status, and became THE TV phenomenon of the 80s. (Knight
Rider intro)

D.H.: I had no idea that my success would be so international. I’ll be completely honest with you, all I wanted to do was go to New York and
act on Broadway. That’s it.”

Voiceover: But instead of being a mediocre musical and stage actor, David became a TV star the world over, even though Baywatch, his second TV show, which he produced as
well, started out as a flop nobody wanted to watch.

D.H.: They were not interested in Baywatch because the scripts were bad; too much drama, too many people dying. Just imagine 7 people died in the first three episodes alone. Who wants to go to Malibu if everyone’s dying? So then we got
the opportunity to buy the show from the network, and we did, mainly because of
my success in Germany and Switzerland.
I’ll be totally honest here, it wasn’t just my idea, but also that of my
co-producers, based on the success of Looking for Freedom, and, of course,
Knight Rider. That’s how we scraped up enough money to produce Baywatch. We just did it. Everybody had more than one
job. We filmed at breakneck speed, had lots of fun, and, incredibly, the
success lasted for 11 years.”

Voiceover: Baywatch, to this day the most successful TV show in the world, aired in 144 countries around the globe.

Voiceover: But not only as an actor, but as a singer as well, David Hasselhoff was on top. The incredible success in Germany
and Austria
was obvious.

D.H.: Jack White was the producer and he picked many songs for me as well. Most of them sounded a little like German folk music with a modern pop beat. Looking For Freedom was a huge success. And, do you remember
Limbo Dance? I barely remembered, but Limbo Dance was #1 in the German charts,
and Wir Zwei Allein Heut Nacht (A Star Looks Down Tonight) was #5. And Is
Everybody Happy was a Megaseller that reached #7 in the charts. Looking For
Freedom is still impressive. Nice old ladies living in the middle of nowhere,
when they watch the song on TV, they sing along, even though they don’t speak
English (Mouths “Looking for Freedom”). They know my songs.

D.H.: I also believe that I was very accessible. I simply like people, I like talking to people, even when I am checking into a Hotel and the clerks behind the counter want to take a picture with me, I will never say
no. I say I’d love to. I think it’s a wonderful business to be in, but I am
different from many other stars and celebrities who I met in Europe.
I love my fans. I will run into the audience.

Voiceover: And his fans loved him for it and forgave him his divorces and other problems. Four years ago, he wrote about his adventures in a book that became a bestseller.
Now his autobiography, “Making Waves”, is available on the German market.

D.H.: I called it “Making Waves”. I always choose to ride the biggest wave of all. And when you are riding the biggest wave, you will end up wiping out the hardest. I am in the middle of learning to accept that. The Highlights
of my live were the birth of my two daughters, and singing in front of one
million people at the Berlin Wall; singing Looking for Freedom, even before the
Wall fell.

D.H.: My biggest defeat was the failure of my marriages. This pulled me way down, also, my continuous battle with alcohol. My mother would say “It’s life”, and so what do you do? I live my life a little as if I was
surfing. When you find a good wave, ride
it as long as you can. And when you wipe out, look for the next wave.”

Voiceover: And wipe out he did on the surfboard of life. One downfall after another, hospitalizations, and all of this due to the devil called alcohol. David explains:

D.H.: I am very emotional. I believe many people have problems in life, whether it is alcohol, or eating disorders. Unhealthy food is the cause for a lot of sickness in the world, much more than alcohol. Smoking is
worse than alcohol. I am like everybody
else. I wanted to feel better. And when you realize, “hello, I have a problem”
then you have to see how you can fix it.

D.H.: What made me really sad was when the press started to drag my kids into this whole thing. I really want to apologize to them for having to witness this, because they were innocent. And most people who have a
drinking problem don’t wake up the next day and say: “Today I would like to
have an alcohol problem” Often it is genetic, as seems to be the case with me. But
the good news is, I realized this and I am doing something about it.”

Voiceover: In spite of his World Star status, David Hasselhoff has remained a simple, easy-going guy.

D.H.: I carry my own luggage. I don’t have a body guard. I love to live. I don’t want somebody else to live my life for me. I spend a lot of my free time with my father. I travel
a lot. I have friends [he uses friends, not girl-friends as was translated] in
different parts of the world. One of them lives in Paris and studies at the Sorbonne. That’s why
I spend a fair amount of time in the City of Love. As I said, I travel a lot and I always
try to combine travel and music. Music is my true love. My daughters are 17 and
19 and I want to leave them with the impression that I stood by them. I want to guide them to the door, so to
speak, show them what life is like and also, how hard it can be. You have to
work really hard to become number one, to remain number one, twice as hard.

D.H.: Thank you very much for staying.