{"id":286841,"date":"2026-02-08T06:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T06:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/286841\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T06:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T06:05:17","slug":"patricia-mcpherson-romanced-david-hasselhoff-on-knight-rider-then-retired-at-36-see-her-now-fixing-her-roof-at-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/286841\/","title":{"rendered":"Patricia McPherson romanced David Hasselhoff on Knight Rider then retired at 36, see her now fixing her roof at 71"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans of 1980s TV still harbor fond memories of screen siren Patricia McPherson, the bombshell love interest of David Hasselhoff on Knight Rider.<\/p>\n

The crime<\/a> drama starred Hasselhoff as an undercover cop Michael Knight, whose partner is an artificially sentient car called\u00a0KITT, voiced by William Daniels.<\/p>\n

McPherson meanwhile featured as KITT’s mechanic Bonnie Barstow, whose chemistry with Knight was a fan favorite element of the program.<\/p>\n

After Knight Rider ended, McPherson guest-starred on some of the premiere TV series of the era, only to then retire from acting in 1991 at the age of 36.<\/p>\n

Now 71 years old, she was glimpsed this week proving she remains fit as a fiddle, as she clambered up onto her roof to perform some maintenance herself.<\/p>\n

Cutting a hardy figure in a flannel shirt and dark trousers\u00a0as well as a pair of work gloves, McPherson radiated a healthy glow while going about her work.<\/p>\n

\"Fans <\/p>\n

Fans of 1980s TV still harbor fond memories of screen siren Patricia McPherson, the bombshell love interest of David Hasselhoff on Knight Rider<\/p>\n

\"McPherson <\/p>\n

McPherson featured on the show as Bonnie Barsow, the chief mechanic for the artificially sentient car KITT, which acts as the partner for Hasselhoff’s undercover cop character<\/p>\n

McPherson was also spotted that day doing a bit of sweeping on the ground at her property, ensuring her Los Angeles home looked its best.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Born to an ex-navy commander in Oak Harbor, Washington in 1954, McPherson studied graphic communication and initially worked as a magazine artist.<\/p>\n

In 1981 her looks landed her on a Salem Lights billboard, where she made such a mesmerizing splash that she was cast in her Hollywood big break the next year.<\/p>\n

The star-making role came with Knight Rider, led by David Hasselhoff, who had become a sex symbol the previous decade on The Young and the Restless.<\/p>\n

Knight Rider was yet another success for creator\u00a0Glen A. Larson, whose previous shows included Battlestar Galactica and Magnum P.I.<\/p>\n

The series prefigured the AI age, with the talking car KITT acting as the partner of the dashing undercover Los Angeles policeman played by Hasselhoff.<\/p>\n

McPherson was a standout presence on season one as KITT’s chief technician Bonnie, who develops both a professional and romantic bond with Hasselhoff’s cop.<\/p>\n

Audiences fell in love with the characters and were enraptured by the rapport between them – but the brass behind the show were less impressed.<\/p>\n

\"Now <\/p>\n

Now 71 years old, she was glimpsed this week proving she remains fit as a fiddle, as she clambered up onto her roof to perform some maintenance herself<\/p>\n

\"McPherson <\/p>\n

McPherson was also spotted that day doing a bit of sweeping on the ground at her property, ensuring her Los Angeles home looked its best<\/p>\n

\"Born <\/p>\n

Born to an ex-navy commander in Oak Harbor, Washington in 1954, McPherson studied graphic communication and initially worked as a magazine artist<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In 1981 her looks landed her on a Salem Lights billboard, where she made such a mesmerizing splash that she was cast in her Hollywood big break the next year<\/p>\n

\"McPherson \"She <\/p>\n

McPherson was also spotted that day doing a bit of sweeping on the ground at her property, ensuring her Los Angeles home looked its best<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In 1991, McPherson – who has been married for decades to writer James Garrett -brought her acting career to a close with a two-episode arc on Matlock<\/p>\n

\"She <\/p>\n

She then withdrew from showbiz to devote herself to environmental activism, including working for the famous Sierra Club<\/p>\n

McPherson was unceremoniously fired at the end of season one in 1983 and replaced by Rebecca Holden as a new character called April Curtis, whom the executives apparently regarded as a more likely piece of eye candy.<\/p>\n

‘We wanted to try something different, something glitzy\u00a0and they hired a shapely redhead, Rebecca Holden,’ executive producer Robert Foster told TV Guide.<\/p>\n

Viewers were furious and Hasselhoff was on their side, confessing later: ‘They let Patti go and I didn’t have enough guts to fight for her because I was still fighting for myself. In the second year I really wanted her back.’<\/p>\n

In the end, the audience sentiment – as well as that of Hasselhoff and his co-star Edward Mulhare – won out and McPherson was rehired for season three in 1984.<\/p>\n

McPherson confessed that her initial firing felt like a ‘a smack in the face’ but she was later able to resign herself to the fact ‘it was just business.’<\/p>\n

She noted: ‘I tried not to take it personally. I finally got a call from a producer who apologized for what happened. He asked if I\u2019d consider signing on for the show\u2019s third season. I said yes almost immediately,’ speaking to journalist Gillian George in 1985.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Knight Rider ended in April 1986 and McPherson jobbed around, guest-starring on hit shows like Dynasty, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Murder, She Wrote.<\/p>\n

Even during the run of Knight Rider, she had complained that actresses ‘don’t get to do much’ on television. ‘It comes down to being a doctor or a cop. Neither is my favorite thing to be. I’ve always loved Westerns and if they come back, I’m ready. Maureen O’Hara roles, gutsying it out….’<\/p>\n

In 1991, McPherson – who has been married for decades to writer James Garrett -brought her acting career to a close with a two-episode arc on Matlock.<\/p>\n

She then withdrew from showbiz to devote herself to environmental activism, including working for the famous Sierra Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans of 1980s TV still harbor fond memories of screen siren Patricia McPherson, the bombshell love interest of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,539,93,61,60,116,1489],"class_list":["post-286841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-dailymail","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-los-angeles","tag-tvshowbiz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}