Michael Knight (Knight Rider)
Encyclopedia
Michael Knight is a fictional character
and protagonist
in the 1980s Knight Rider television series played by David Hasselhoff
. The character first appeared in the opening scenes as Michael Long, played by Larry Anderson in the beginning of the pilot.
, raised by a blue-collar working family.
In 1970s, while in his 20s, Long joined the Army
, was part of the Green Berets, and spent three years in counter-intelligence work in Vietnam
. Captured once when snooping around, he fought his way out of a POW camp, incurring an injury which required brain surgery, and a metal plate that was inserted into his skull.
After those years in Vietnam as an intelligence officer, Michael was discharged from the service, and arrived back in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Later he joined the Los Angeles Police Department
, starting as a patrolman, where he met his partner Muntzy. Michael was subsequently promoted to Detective Sergeant, and finally to Detective Lieutenant with the 11th precinct of the L.A.P.D. and his badge number was 4262. He used to reside at 1834 Shoreborne Ave Wilmington, California
, and the zip code was 90744.
, Nevada
for six months - his long-time partner, Muntzy (Herbert Jefferson, Jr.), working undercover as a maintenance man, was killed by Security Guard Gray (Lance LeGault
).
In the pilot episode
, police officer Michael Arthur Long (played by Larry Anderson) was betrayed by a female informant and nearly killed by a gunshot wound to the head by an industrial espionage
expert named Tanya Walker (Phyllis Davis
). A metal plate in Long's skull - the result of a head injury sustained during the Vietnam War ten years earlier - deflected the round, which still inflicted serious facial damage.
That same night Long was declared dead to the public and his medical care was taken over by the Foundation for Law And Government (FLAG). This part of the story is shown in the pilot, titled Knight of the Phoenix
in syndication. The symbolism in this title is related to Michael's car, a Pontiac Firebird
Trans Am, the likes of which usually featured a giant decal on the hood depicting the fire bird (the Phoenix
). The phoenix traditionally is symbolic of rebirth, and the scene of Long collapsing on the hood foreshadows later events.
FLAG is a private crime-fighting arm of Knight Industries, an organization founded by Wilton Knight, a billionaire philanthropist
. Michael was not Wilton Knight's first choice for the pilot program, but Wilton changed his mind and reopened the foundation due to Michael's arrival. In the context of the pilot, Wilton Knight (Richard Basehart
) is dying of an undisclosed illness. Wilton picked up Michael passed out in front of his car, on a desert highway. Michael barely survived, thanks to the metal plate.
Given a new face via facial reconstructive surgery
, Long is resurrected as Michael Knight (now played by David Hasselhoff). Together with a high-tech automobile called the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT)
, Michael Knight agrees to carry on Wilton Knight's crusade of aiding the powerless. He usually was given mission objectives by the new director of FLAG, Wilton Knight's longtime friend and confidant, Devon Miles (Edward Mulhare
). Michael was selected for his high level of self-defense training, intelligence, law enforcement experience, and his ability and preference to work alone without assistance or back-up.
Michael Knight was a special type of hero, a modern knight who avoided violence whenever possible and generally refrained from using firearms. Although most of Knight's cases were based in Southern California
where FLAG was headquartered, the operation was not confined there. He could travel to whatever part of the country trouble arose in; sometimes even crossing borders into Mexico
. FLAG also had facilities in Las Vegas and Chicago
. The organization also owned an semi-trailer truck
that served as a mobile office and also offered technical support for KITT.
In early literature for the series, the aforementioned metal plate in Michael Long's forehead was also said to be used for Knight to pick up various radiowaves and signals. This was played upon in the several Knight Rider tie-in novels published, but was very seldom used in the actual series itself. One of the only questionable examples of it being utilized is in the first season episode "Trust Doesn't Rust", when Michael suddenly tells KITT to switch to the police frequency, although it is arguable that he could have just noticed local commotion, or been acting on a hunch
. In the second-season episode "Soul Survivor," KITT's CPU is separated from the car and deposited in a trash can in a garage; Michael finds it after telling Devon he senses KITT's essence.
In addition to playing Michael Knight, Hasselhoff also played a double role in the Season Two feature-length episodes Goliath and Goliath Returns, portraying not only Michael Knight but also Wilton's biological son Garthe Knight. At the time of Michael's surgery, Garthe was imprisoned in Africa. Believing that his son would never be seen again, Wilton had Michael's face modeled after Garthe's. In the pilot episode, both Devon Miles and Wilton stated that Michael actually resembled the face of Wilton himself as a young man. The novels written after the series aired described Michael's reconstructed face as based on images of both a young Wilton and Wilton's son. In any event, the Garthe storyline would not go beyond the second season, primarily due to Hasselhoff's request that the doppelgänger
villain be ended, due to the time it took to be made up and film both the roles of Michael and Garthe.
In 1984, Michael finds out that there was a hit put out on Long by Tayna's lover Cameron Zachary, the reason why Michael was shot. (In episode #47 of the two part "Knight of the Drones" it is revealed that prior to Michael Long/Knight that FLAG had a prospective "Knight" driver who was murdered; however, this was never mentioned in any other episode).
Michael is always a ladies' man, often loves women, and that included his former fiancee Stephanie "Stevie" March Mason (portrayed by David Hasselhoff's actual wife at the time, Catherine Hickland), who eventually he marries in the episode "Scent of Roses" on the same day she was killed. Michael's favorite foods are often steak, eggs, and greasy fried potatoes.
He retired from FLAG in 1990. TKR
would take over his duties.
Devon visits Michael and convinces him to join FLAG's project, the Knight 4000, as the test driver. But Michael is furious to discover that KITT has been disassembled. Michael is ready to walk away, but later decides to rebuild KITT's AI unit. At the end of the movie Michael returns to retirement.
revival television movie, Michael Knight shows up at the funeral for his son's mother. He introduces himself to his estranged son, Michael Traceur, who asks if he will see Michael again. Michael replies, "I hope so".
Michael Knight was again mentioned by his son in the first episode of the new series. Traceur said that his father's name was Michael Long, and his co-workers make fun of it. Later, Traceur decides to adopt the "Knight" family name in an attempt to start a new life.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in the 1980s Knight Rider television series played by David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
. The character first appeared in the opening scenes as Michael Long, played by Larry Anderson in the beginning of the pilot.
Michael Long
Born Michael Arthur Long on January 9th, 1949 outside of Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, raised by a blue-collar working family.
In 1970s, while in his 20s, Long joined the Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, was part of the Green Berets, and spent three years in counter-intelligence work in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Captured once when snooping around, he fought his way out of a POW camp, incurring an injury which required brain surgery, and a metal plate that was inserted into his skull.
After those years in Vietnam as an intelligence officer, Michael was discharged from the service, and arrived back in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Later he joined the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
, starting as a patrolman, where he met his partner Muntzy. Michael was subsequently promoted to Detective Sergeant, and finally to Detective Lieutenant with the 11th precinct of the L.A.P.D. and his badge number was 4262. He used to reside at 1834 Shoreborne Ave Wilmington, California
Wilmington, Los Angeles, California
Wilmington is a district of Los Angeles, with industry as its primary economic activity. It lies adjacent to the Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro, and Harbor City. Wilmington is the site of Banning House and Drum Barracks, or Camp Drum, the only major American Civil War landmark in California. The...
, and the zip code was 90744.
Michael Knight
After 10 years on the force, during the night of August 8, 1982 - while on special assignment from the LAPD as an undercover Security Guard for Consolidated Chemical Corporation in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
for six months - his long-time partner, Muntzy (Herbert Jefferson, Jr.), working undercover as a maintenance man, was killed by Security Guard Gray (Lance LeGault
Lance LeGault
Lance LeGault , sometimes credited as W. L. LeGault, is an American film and television actor, best known as Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series The A-Team.-Personal life:...
).
In the pilot episode
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
, police officer Michael Arthur Long (played by Larry Anderson) was betrayed by a female informant and nearly killed by a gunshot wound to the head by an industrial espionage
Industrial espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security purposes...
expert named Tanya Walker (Phyllis Davis
Phyllis Davis
Phyllis Davis is an American actress who appeared primarily on television. She was most notably a part of the cast of Aaron Spelling's dramatic series Vega$, playing the character Beatrice Travis....
). A metal plate in Long's skull - the result of a head injury sustained during the Vietnam War ten years earlier - deflected the round, which still inflicted serious facial damage.
That same night Long was declared dead to the public and his medical care was taken over by the Foundation for Law And Government (FLAG). This part of the story is shown in the pilot, titled Knight of the Phoenix
Knight of the Phoenix (Knight Rider episode)
Knight of the Phoenix is the syndication title to the two-hour long pilot to the popular 1980s television show Knight Rider, which starred David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare, Richard Basehart, and William Daniels . It first aired September 26, 1982, and was written by Glen A...
in syndication. The symbolism in this title is related to Michael's car, a Pontiac Firebird
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors between 1967 and 2002. The Firebird was introduced the same year as the automaker's platform-sharing model, the Chevrolet Camaro...
Trans Am, the likes of which usually featured a giant decal on the hood depicting the fire bird (the Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
). The phoenix traditionally is symbolic of rebirth, and the scene of Long collapsing on the hood foreshadows later events.
FLAG is a private crime-fighting arm of Knight Industries, an organization founded by Wilton Knight, a billionaire philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. Michael was not Wilton Knight's first choice for the pilot program, but Wilton changed his mind and reopened the foundation due to Michael's arrival. In the context of the pilot, Wilton Knight (Richard Basehart
Richard Basehart
John Richard Basehart was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson.-Career:...
) is dying of an undisclosed illness. Wilton picked up Michael passed out in front of his car, on a desert highway. Michael barely survived, thanks to the metal plate.
Given a new face via facial reconstructive surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
, Long is resurrected as Michael Knight (now played by David Hasselhoff). Together with a high-tech automobile called the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT)
KITT
KITT is the short name of two fictional characters from the adventure TV series Knight Rider. While having the same acronym, the KITTs are two different entities: one known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, which appeared in the original TV series Knight Rider, and the other as the Knight...
, Michael Knight agrees to carry on Wilton Knight's crusade of aiding the powerless. He usually was given mission objectives by the new director of FLAG, Wilton Knight's longtime friend and confidant, Devon Miles (Edward Mulhare
Edward Mulhare
Edward Mulhare was a popular television actor whose career spanned four decades.Born at 22 Quaker Road, Cork City, County Cork, Ireland, and educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, Mulhare intended to study medicine, but was sidetracked by a growing interest in acting...
). Michael was selected for his high level of self-defense training, intelligence, law enforcement experience, and his ability and preference to work alone without assistance or back-up.
Michael Knight was a special type of hero, a modern knight who avoided violence whenever possible and generally refrained from using firearms. Although most of Knight's cases were based in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
where FLAG was headquartered, the operation was not confined there. He could travel to whatever part of the country trouble arose in; sometimes even crossing borders into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. FLAG also had facilities in Las Vegas and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The organization also owned an semi-trailer truck
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
that served as a mobile office and also offered technical support for KITT.
In early literature for the series, the aforementioned metal plate in Michael Long's forehead was also said to be used for Knight to pick up various radiowaves and signals. This was played upon in the several Knight Rider tie-in novels published, but was very seldom used in the actual series itself. One of the only questionable examples of it being utilized is in the first season episode "Trust Doesn't Rust", when Michael suddenly tells KITT to switch to the police frequency, although it is arguable that he could have just noticed local commotion, or been acting on a hunch
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
. In the second-season episode "Soul Survivor," KITT's CPU is separated from the car and deposited in a trash can in a garage; Michael finds it after telling Devon he senses KITT's essence.
In addition to playing Michael Knight, Hasselhoff also played a double role in the Season Two feature-length episodes Goliath and Goliath Returns, portraying not only Michael Knight but also Wilton's biological son Garthe Knight. At the time of Michael's surgery, Garthe was imprisoned in Africa. Believing that his son would never be seen again, Wilton had Michael's face modeled after Garthe's. In the pilot episode, both Devon Miles and Wilton stated that Michael actually resembled the face of Wilton himself as a young man. The novels written after the series aired described Michael's reconstructed face as based on images of both a young Wilton and Wilton's son. In any event, the Garthe storyline would not go beyond the second season, primarily due to Hasselhoff's request that the doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
villain be ended, due to the time it took to be made up and film both the roles of Michael and Garthe.
In 1984, Michael finds out that there was a hit put out on Long by Tayna's lover Cameron Zachary, the reason why Michael was shot. (In episode #47 of the two part "Knight of the Drones" it is revealed that prior to Michael Long/Knight that FLAG had a prospective "Knight" driver who was murdered; however, this was never mentioned in any other episode).
Michael is always a ladies' man, often loves women, and that included his former fiancee Stephanie "Stevie" March Mason (portrayed by David Hasselhoff's actual wife at the time, Catherine Hickland), who eventually he marries in the episode "Scent of Roses" on the same day she was killed. Michael's favorite foods are often steak, eggs, and greasy fried potatoes.
He retired from FLAG in 1990. TKR
Team Knight Rider
Team Knight Rider is a syndicated television spin-off series of the Knight Rider franchise that ran between 1997 and 1998. TKR was created by writer/producers Rick Copp and David A. Goodman, based on the original series created by Glen A. Larson, who was an executive producer...
would take over his duties.
Knight Rider 2000
In a 1991 sequel movie Knight Rider 2000Knight Rider 2000
Knight Rider 2000 is a 1991 sequel movie to the television series Knight Rider. It is included in the Region 1, Region 2 and Region 4 versions of the Knight Rider Season One box set/...
Devon visits Michael and convinces him to join FLAG's project, the Knight 4000, as the test driver. But Michael is furious to discover that KITT has been disassembled. Michael is ready to walk away, but later decides to rebuild KITT's AI unit. At the end of the movie Michael returns to retirement.
Knight Rider (2008 TV series)
In the 2008 Knight RiderKnight Rider (2008 film)
Knight Rider is a 2008 television movie which was created to serve as a backdoor pilot for the new Knight Rider television series, a revival of the series of the same name which aired during the 1980s...
revival television movie, Michael Knight shows up at the funeral for his son's mother. He introduces himself to his estranged son, Michael Traceur, who asks if he will see Michael again. Michael replies, "I hope so".
Michael Knight was again mentioned by his son in the first episode of the new series. Traceur said that his father's name was Michael Long, and his co-workers make fun of it. Later, Traceur decides to adopt the "Knight" family name in an attempt to start a new life.