David Michael Hasselhoff was born on July 17, 1952 Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his roles as Michael Knight in Knight Rider, and Mitch Buchannon in Baywatch. Fulfilling his original dream to be a singer, David made "Looking for Freedom" a massive hit in Germany in 1989, just as the Berlin Wall came down. The accompanying album went gold and triple platinum, topping the charts for three months. Baywatch ran for 11 years and is said to be the highest-grossing show in syndication worldwide. In 1990 Cosmopolitan's Editor Helen Gurly Brown chose him for her magazine's 25th anniversary issue. In October 2000, Hasselhoff conquered another childhood dream, as he took on the starring… role in Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway. In 2004, Hasselhoff played the demanding role of Billy Flynn in Chicago, in London's West End for three months. Hasselhoff made a cameo appearance The SpongeBob SquarePants movie, released November 2004, starring as himself and Sponge Bob Patrick. Hasselhoff married actress Pamela Bach in December 8, 1989, with whom he has two daughters, Taylor-Ann and Hayley Amber.
Peter Thompson, Ph.D., has been the Sydney Mayer Lecturer in Early American History at Oxford University since January 1993. He earned his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania and spent four years as Lecturer in American History at Princeton University. He resides in England.