R.I.P. Knight Rider creator Glen Larson

Glen A. Larson riding in KITT with David Hasselhoff. Photo from knightrideronline.com

Glen A. Larson, television producer and savior from boredom for an entire generation, has died from cancer at the age of 77. For car fans, Larson is best known as the creator of Knight Rider, a series that teamed David Hasselhoff with an indestructible Pontiac Trans-Am called the Knight Industries 2000 (KITT). The series lasted for four seasons, from 1982 to 1986. Every kid wanted a car like KITT, capable of 300 mph cruising speed (55 mph in reverse gear), self-driving, and with numerous weapons and gadgets. The car could dispense information and sarcasm (in a later iteration with the voice of Val Kilmer) and had a roving red radar eye, just like the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica.

Larson, of course, also created Battlestar Galactica, soon after the success of Star Wars. The series was re-imagined in 2003. Larson put together Tom Selleck, his moustache, and a Ferrari 308 for Magnum, P.I. There was also Automan, the short-lived series featuring a computer programmer who could merge with a hologram and become a car, with effects suspiciously similar to Disney’s Tron. Larson also produced the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, Quincy M.E. and The Fall Guy. Knight Rider is his most famous creation, with several specials, series reboot attempts and a feature film in development.

Larson also composed the Knight Rider theme song, which any car-loving middle-aged man can hum from memory.