The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 3, 2010 2 coverstory The real Hasselhoff Superstar shines in dad role Wall. Subsequently, Hasselhoff made female fans swoon as strapping lifeguard Mitch Bu- channon in “Baywatch” (1989-1999) and “Baywatch Hawaii” (1999-2000). It was really his role in “Baywatch” that catapulted the star to new heights as its popularity grew worldwide, making it the most watched TV show of all time, topping out at more than a billion viewers a week. What’s more, The Hoff was truly the driving force behind the series, which had initially been cancelled after a single season. It was only after Has- selhoff teamed with the cre- ators to revive the series that it shot to the top. More recently, he travelled The Hoff at home in “The Hasselhoffs” By Kyla Brewer TV Media B allroom dancing may be all the rage, but it definitely isn’t for David Hasselhoff. The Hoff was the first celeb nixed from this season’s “Dancing with the Stars.” However, his time in the spotlight is far from over as he has an even tougher chal- lenge on his plate. The Guinness Book of World Records has named Hasselhoff the “most watched TV star in the world,” but even his small- screen success may not help him with his most important role. He is, after all, a single father of two adult daugh- ters. Cameras capture the “stage dad” at home in A&E’s new reality series “The Hasselhoffs,” premiering Sunday, Dec. 5. Ten half-hour episodes chronicle the lives of the actor and his two daughters, 20-year-old Taylor Ann and 18-year-old Hayley. The girls are Hasselhoff’s chil- dren with ex-wife actress Pa- mela Bach, from whom he split in 2006. In the season premiere, dad David tries to convince eldest daughter Taylor Ann to stay in school, but she insists she wants to team up with her sister in the band Bella Vida. Meanwhile, Hayley lands a role on a TV series, which could mean little time for a music career. David must deal with the resulting feud. As the series continues, the girls catch their dad in a lie after he makes a bet with them, and Taylor hires a pet psychic. It quickly becomes apparent that Hasselhoff will do whatever it takes to help his daughters achieve their dreams of breaking into the entertainment industry, whether it be as actors or re- cording stars. In “The Hasselhoffs,” cam- eras follow father and daughter Taylor Ann to the set of “The Young and the Restless,” which marked a homecoming for the actor. One of his first major gigs was as Dr. William “Snapper” Foster Jr. in the daytime dra- ma from 1975 to 1982. He later charmed audienc- es as tall, dark and handsome crime-fighter Michael Knight in “Knight Rider” (1982- 1986). The series followed a former detective who is given a new lease on life thanks to a self-made billionaire who needs help in his search for justice. Knight is teamed with a sentient Pontiac Trans Am known as KITT, a high-tech car equipped with artificial intelligence. During the late ‘80s, Has- selhoff’s focus shifted to mu- sic and he became stagger- ingly popular in Germany. His hit song “Looking for Free- dom” (1989) was particularly big in Germany around the time of the fall of the Berlin the U.S. in search of unique talent as a judge on the first four seasons of “America’s Got Talent” (2006-2009), but The Hoff was replaced by co- median Howie Mandel for the show’s most recent run. He obviously didn’t go very far in “Dancing with the Stars,” but the tenacious Hasselhoff perseveres to find his place in prime time. Despite his success, Has- selhoff often faces ridicule among critics, who refuse to take him seriously. A simple Google search turns up sites touting him as both the Anti- christ and a symbol of wor- ship (though admittedly in a tongue-in-cheek manner). While there are no short- age of quips about him, The Hoff is quick to poke fun at himself, often doing so in cameos in popular movies. Hasselhoff appeared as a “Baywatch”-esque version of himself in “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” and fol- lowed that up with self-paro- dies in “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” (2004), “Click” (2006) and “Kickin’ it Old Skool” (2007). Chirstopher’s Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Doug McClure is one of my favorite actors. Af- ter he played Trampas in “The Virginian,” he was in a sci-fi/action TV series about a secret private agen- cy that co-starred Hugh O’Brian, Tony Franciosa and Burgess Meredith. Do you know the title of it? A: With that much information I’d be embarrassed if I didn’t. The series you’re thinking of is the short-lived “Search,” which ran for a season from 1972 to 1973. However, the title itself is a bit of a sticking point with the show’s creators and fans. Its pilot aired as a two-hour film in February 1972 under the title “Probe.” However, when it was picked up as a series that fall, the name had to be changed because a show called “Probe” already existed. It followed the action-packed exploits of a team of high-tech private investigators led by Burgess Meredith’s character, V.C. Cameron. His field agents were aided by tiny transmitters they wore, and even tinier radio receiv- ers they had planted in their ears, which kept them in constant contact with Cameron’s Probe Control office. Given the era in which the show aired, many have since said these technological ideas were ahead of their time, and indeed sound a lot like some modern cellphone de- signs. ”Search” was another example of that strange ‘70s phenomenon of a show with a rotating cast of stars. Meredith was the constant, appearing in nearly all of the show’s 23 episodes. However, his was more of a support- ing role to each episode’s star, a job that rotated be- tween the three other actors you mentioned -- Doug Mc- Clure, Hugh O’Brian and Tony Franciosa -- playing the op- erative investigating that week’s case. That setup is similar to another contemporary series, “The Name of the Game,” which ran from 1968 to 1971 and also rotated its lead between three stars, one of whom was the same Franciosa. As well, a few of Francio- sa’s episodes of the series were written and produced by Leslie Stevens, the main brain behind “Search.” Have a question? E-mail us at questions@tvtabloid. com. Please include your name and town. Personal re- plies will not be provided.