David made his leaving examination at the La Grange High school in Chicago, where the Hasselhoffs lived at that time. "I was so obsessed of become an actor that I neglected all the other subjects in school. My leaving examination marks were very bad, that I couldn't go to the College, unfortunately", David shrives. But the 19 year old David didn't want to go there, so he didn't care. His target was a school where he could learn acting. For that David fulfilled the presupposition easily: he decreed over the look and the talent, and he proved, that he was in the correct situation, to work hard for his target. So he matriculate himself at the Academy Of Dramatic Arts. After a very short while David could at least at 4 nights per week act in four different acts. "When I look at those pictures, which my parents have made of that period of time, I could smile, smile and smile. Because I had to act a lot of idiotic little supporting parts before I became a true actor", David tells.
At that time David wanted to have fun. So you could find him on every party with his friends. He was also very often at the beach. "At that time I was pretty wild and I was there for every fun. When I was 19 years old I was even in the prison", David tells later in an interview of the magazine BRAVO. "Only for one night, but that was enough. The evening began very harmless. I had a date with a girl of my class and we allowed it to drink something after we've eaten. On the home way I couldn't control my car any longer. Two police officers took me to the police station and they put me in the drying-out cell". Beside his steps as actor David sang from time to time with different bands. The people liked his soft and still strong voice, but his interest for music had to stay behind his career as actor. David wanted to move to Los Angeles. He was 20 years old as he packed his suits, left his family and made himself on the way to Los Angeles. There he signed up himself at the California Institute Of Arts.
David knew that Hollywood didn't wait for him so far and that it was for sure that he wasn't the only one who wanted to make his way to become a big star. But he had an advantage: it was usual for David to fight for his success and he didn't act too fast and without thinking. So it was obvious for him that he couldn't get far without a person who knows the business. But how could he find someone in a huge city where he doesn't know anyone? The only way which he had in mind was to write letters of application to all possible show-agents and managers. But the most of his letters of application landed unread in the trashcan. At that time he wrote more than 800 letters of application. Most of the time they said to him their standard sentence: "Don't call us, we call you". All what David could get were some contracts for commercials. "I was a nobody. I can't say that I was happy then, when I was allowed to play the 3rd banana on the right side", describes David those time. So he had to move his career plans. To have enough money he worked as waiter at the artists' meeting point Marina City Club. There he earned only about 100 dollars per week, and he had to pay 70 dollars per week for his apartment and for the place at the university. "With 30 dollars in your hands you couldn't do any big things in Los Angeles", David tells. "It was too less for living and too much for dying". It was a hard time where David had to go through.
In 1975 David had the beginning of his career, nevertheless of all his efforts, it is due to his fortune. One evening as he served at the Marina City Club important producers, scriptwriters who wanted to have success, movie stars and important acting agents, Joyce Selznick paid the club a visit. David striked her and he got one of the most greedy interviews. "After that I sat about nine hours in her office and waited for her", David describes. "She had forgot about me. But at the end she comes nevertheless. Very cool, with a cigar in her mouth, she welcomed me, and her dog bited me as welcome in my calf. As I pushed a handkerchief on the bloody wound she asked me: Do you know how to act? I said: yes. After that she: Lie. But I'll take you nevertheless under contract because you are a good looking man". With this David had take the first, important hurdle on his way to his target. His years of being poor seemed to be over. He had a contract with one of the most powerful agents of the TV- Scene of Los Angeles. He had his first role in the TV-Show "Police Story."
After that first experience in front of the camera Joyce Selznick brought her new protégé to the TV-Show "The Youg and the Restless." David took over the role as Dr. Shapper Foster, and played this role for six years. The TV-Show was very successful in the USA. The TV-Company, which broadcasted "The Youg and the Restless" made a inquiry. The result of that inquiry was that David Hasselhoff was very popular by the TV viewers. The girls ran in crowds after him. So he got a lot of letters. David now earned about 5400 dollars per week. He could buy himself a real apartment and a car now. He had to be six days per week in the studios in front of the cameras and was almost every evening until the early morning hours away. "I loved the name of the TV-Show." David smiles as he remembers. "Young and restless. I drank very much and was up until the early morning and I didn't burn anything. I had maximal 3 hours of sleep per night and then I had to go back to the set. Every day. But my motto there was: How much does the world cost." None said something negative about David, when David came tired to the set, because he was everytime in a good mood and with zeal on the episode. The continual raising TV viewing figures made the rest to get the sender in a good mood. After all "The Youg and the Restless" got an Emmy.
Because of the great success David became offers for movies. During the six years as star of "The Youg and the Restless" David made totally four movies. There he got additional experience but nothing more. Those kind of movies weren't David's thing. His big talent was in roles, where he could act a perfect character. Someone, with whom he could identify himself and someone whom the TV-viewers wanted to see every week again on TV. After those six years David didn't feel himself enough fully stretched with "The Youg and the Restless".
David wasn't the kind of person who wanted rest himself on his
laurels. He needed new targets and had to prove them to himself. "It was all routine. There
was no more development", David remembers. "In the morning 15 minutes before his work
started, I took my script and learned my text by heart. After that we started the recordings until
the evenings. Finished!" What David needed was a new challenge. He got it by another
accident.
All happened in the year 1982 as the TV-Show star flow to a show in Las Vegas. In the same airplane as he was, was also Brandon Tartikoff, the president of the television station NBC. Tartikoff had never ever heard before of David and so he didn't know him. But he saw that David was a very good looking man. David had this typical Sunny-Boy-Charisma, a mix between a nice guy and a romantic dream-lover, which the fans loved. "I knew who Tartikoff was and I wanted to talk with him", David remembers. "But how the life can be sometimes, there was a storm outside and it wasn't allowed to leave the seats". On the Airport were a lot of fans from David, which had waited for their idol. So David had no chance to speak to Mr. Tartikoff. But Tartikoff was in the meantime so interested in this guy, who had so much fans there that he asked in the office about David. A few minutes later David's phone rang and he got a date with the famous TV-Chef. "He told me he was very impressed by how the fans reacted on me at the Airport and he wanted to speak to me, but he had no chance!", David tells. "He invited me to screen tests for his new production, "Knight Rider". Today everything seems to me like it was planed!" Finally they offered him the main part in the new NBC-TV Show "Knight Rider". David accepted.
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