David Hasselhoff made waves in Baywatch with his six-pack abs, but those abdominals have never been harder than when they were molded into a 14-foot statue for 2004’s The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie. Now that pop culture marvel can be yours as part of The Hoff Auction, in which the 68-year-old icon attempts to turn his expansive collection of film and TV merchandise into an even more expansive pile of cash.
Hasselhoff made a memorable appearance in The SpongeBob Movie as himself, helping a landlocked SpongeBob and Patrick return to Bikini Bottom. The cartoon duo used The Hoff as a boat, and it was during this aquatic chase that the replica got its screen time. Afterwards the simulacrum, dubbed “Big Dave,” landed in Hasselhoff’s collection.
On January 4th, Hasselhoff announced that the replica would be landing on the auction block. In a short Instagram video, he appeared standing on top of the prop’s back. “Hi, it’s David Hasselhoff,” he said. “Everything goes. Including Big Dave.” Bidding opens at $100,000, though Hoff hopes that the gavel will drop somewhere between $750,000 and $1.5 million.
The replica is one of hundreds of items to hit the block. The Hoff Auction also features dozens of autographed articles of clothing, a Baywatch pinball machine, and at least two cars, including a 1961 SL190 Mercedes and the Hoff’s personal replica of the KITT from Knight Rider. A silent auction has already begun, and live bidding opens January 23rd at 12 PM ET.
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After decades in the public eye, Hasselhoff is well into his “doing whatever the fuck I want” phase. He recently released the heavy metal song “Through the Night” with CueStack, and spoke with Consequence of Sound about hard rock, Iron Maiden, the pandemic, and his many fans in Europe.
But despite these head-banging developments, he’s not neglecting his acting career. Last month he offered an update on Kung Fury 2, saying, “I am going to be funny in it,” and on January 5th he warned the producers of the Knight Rider movie that if they don’t honor the TV show, “they’ve hassled the Hoff.”
