My children think my greatest claim to fame is that I taught David Hasselhoff in my sophomore English class at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois, and I also directed him that summer in his first high school play. It is a fun personal fact that I always include at the end of my serious introduction when I am speaking….and it always gets a laugh from the audience!
David’s family moved to La Grange in the middle of the year in 1968, and he was assigned to my English class. Because I had gotten such great reviews from my former students my first two years of teaching, they asked me to try an experiment to see if I could keep the same spirit of learning, creativity, and fun with classes of 35- 40 students instead of the usual 25.
I learned later that after meeting me and attending his first class, he went to the principal and asked to be transferred to another class because he thought I was too young to be a good teacher. (I was 24 at the time.) The principal told him that he needed to stay for one month, and if he still felt that way, he could have a transfer. Well, he not only stayed for the rest of the year, but along with 100 other students, he signed up for the theatre class I was teaching that summer! For some reason (maybe I had an inkling that he would one day be famous???), I saved the following letter he wrote to me at the end of that school year.
Here are some of his words: “At first I thought you were way too young for a teacher which led me to believe that you might not be a a good teacher from past experiences with young teachers. But my mind was soon changed. I enjoyed the class very much even though my grades don’t necessarily show it. I am so glad I got put into this class because I think that you have helped me and will further help me this summer towards my goal in life. After all the criticism I have given you, I would really like to say that this was the best class I have had in two years – and that’s the truth! I am looking forward to working with you this summer in Theatre Workshop.”
That summer he played the lead in “Once Upon a Mattress,” the story of the Princess and the Pea, his first real theatre debut. Since the students tackled every aspect of the production, including making all the costumes as a part of the learning, we wanted to keep the them simple, so the guys all wore tunics and tights. We all laughed because after searching the world, we could never find tights to fit his long legs (I can still remember his coming to my house and trying them on and the crotch would come about to his knees 😉 . In the end, we had to sew two pairs together!
In 2007 I was speaking in Las Vegas and as I was getting off the plane, I saw a huge electronic sign advertising “David Hasslehoff, starring in ‘The Producers.’ ” When I got to the hotel, I called the concierge and asked if she could get me a ticket to the show the next night and if she could possibly get a message to David that his old English and Drama teacher was in the audience. She got a chuckle out of that and said she would try.
The next day I got a call from David’s assistant. She said he was dying to see me, and if I could stay after the show, he would send me a backstage pass. The show was delightful, and afterwards David and I spent an hour in his dressing room reminiscing, catching up on our families, and sharing what we had done in all those years. He left me with this picture which was signed with the following inscription: “To Barbara – Your enthusiasm has kept me going. Keep up the good work.”
I know he has had some rough times in his life, but that night I could still see the committed, sincere, and fun-loving young man I knew many years ago!
To learn more about Barbara’s work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.
