| c. 1959 | Inspired to act after seeing local performance of Rumpelstiltskin | |
| c. 1970 | Studies at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, Pontiac, MI | |
| 1975 | Cast as Dr. William “Snapper” Foster on The Young and the Restless | |
| c. 1980 | Highest-paid actor on a CBS soap opera | |
| 1982 | Lands lead role in Knight Rider, the story of Michael Knight, an ex-cop who fights crime with the help of his talking car | |
| 1985 | Releases first album, Night Rocker, which goes to No. 1 in Austria but fails to chart in the U.S. | |
| 1989 | Lands role of Mitch Buchannon on beach-rescue drama Baywatch, but the show is cancelled after a season; plays New Year’s Eve concert atop rubble of the Berlin Wall, dressed in a light-up jacket and singing his hit “Looking for Freedom” | |
| 1991 | Baywatch resurrected in syndication with Hasselhoff as part owner (the series continues for ten seasons); dangers encountered at the beach include shark attacks, jewel thieves, and ecoterrorism | |
| 1995 | Stars in Baywatch spinoff Baywatch Nights, a detective show that morphs into a sci-fi drama in an effort to ameliorate poor first-season ratings | |
| 1996 | Given star on Hollywood Walk of Fame; Baywatch wins Guinness World Record for “Largest TV Audience—Series” for more than 1.1 billion viewers in 142 countries (the record still stands) | |
| 1999 | Releases Hooked on a Feeling; the video for the title track features Hasselhoff in front of a blue screen jumping with natives, flying off a motorcycle, snowboarding in an Inuit outfit, and biting into a whole raw fish | |
| 2000 | Leaves Baywatch at end of season 10, his character presumed dead; debuts on Broadway, playing lead role in final run of Jekyll & Hyde—the show closes at a loss of more than $1.5 million | |
| 2005 | Named “International Star of the Year” at Bollywood Movie Awards in Atlantic City | |
| 2006 | Takes judge’s seat in America’s Got Talent; remake of “Jump in My Car” reaches number 3 on the UK charts | |
| 2010 | Briefly reprises role of “Snapper” Foster on The Young and the Restless; roasted on Comedy Central; first contestant voted off Dancing with the Stars | |
