Current:Home > FinanceDavid Soul, the actor who portrayed the blond half of TV’s ‘Starsky and Hutch,’ dies at 80-LoTradeCoin
David Soul, the actor who portrayed the blond half of TV’s ‘Starsky and Hutch,’ dies at 80
View Date:2024-12-24 10:31:34
LONDON (AP) — Actor-singer David Soul, a 1970s heartthrob who co-starred as the blond half of the crime-fighting duo “Starsky & Hutch” and topped the music charts with the ballad “Don’t Give Up on Us,” has died at the age of 80.
His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that “David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family.”
“He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend,” Snell said in a statement. “His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”
Born David Solberg, Soul was a Chicago native whose acting career dated back to the 1960s, when he joined the avant-garde Firehouse Theater in Minnesota. He continued to appear on stage and screen well into the 20th century, but he was best known for his work in the 1970s.
Soul portrayed detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson alongside dark-haired Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in “Starsky & Hutch, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979 and grew so popular it spawned a line of children’s toys.
He also had success as a singer, starting in 1976 with “Don’t Give Up on Us” and following with such hits as “Going in With My Eyes Open” and “Silver Lady.”
Soul first gained national fame in the 1960s appearing on “The Merv Griffin Show” as “The Covered Man,” a singer disguised in a stocking cap who shouted out lyrics such as “That is why I hide my face, because a man has to be free.”
His other TV credits included early appearances on “Star Trek,” “All in the Family” and “”I Dream of Jeannie,” the miniseries “Salem’s Lot” and a short-lived version of the film classic “Casablanca,” in which Soul took on Humphrey Bogart’s role as nightclub owner Rock Blaine.
Soul’s movies included “Magnum Force,” “The Hanoi Hilton” and a cameo with Glaser in the 2004 big-screen remake of “Starsky & Hutch,” starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch.
By the 1990s, Soul had moved to Britain, where he performed several stage roles. In 2001, he won a libel case against a journalist who called “The Dead Monkey,” a play that Soul was in, the worst production he had ever seen - without having seen it. He also played the titular talk-show host in “Jerry Springer - The Opera” in London’s West End.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- What that 'Disclaimer' twist says about the misogyny in all of us
- Notre Dame repeats as NCAA men's lacrosse tournament champions after dominating Maryland
- 2024 NCAA Division I baseball tournament: College World Series schedule, times, TV info
- Farmworkers face high-risk exposures to bird flu, but testing isn’t reaching them
- Former West Virginia jail officer pleads guilty to civil rights violation in fatal assault on inmate
- Fans in Portugal camp out 24 hours before Eras Tour show to watch Taylor Swift
- Kate Middleton and Prince William Mourn Death of RAF Pilot After Spitfire Crash
- In Trump’s hush money trial, prosecutors and defense lawyers are poised to make final pitch to jury
- See Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's Winning NFL Outing With Kids Zuma and Apollo
- Former President Donald Trump attends Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race
Ranking
- Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
- The Other Border Dispute Is Over an 80-Year-Old Water Treaty
- Cpl. Jessica Ellis died in Iraq helping others. Her father remembers his daughter and the ultimate sacrifices military women make on Memorial Day.
- Nation's longest-serving flight attendant dies at 88: Fly high, Bette
- Will Reeve, son of Christopher Reeve, gets engaged to girlfriend Amanda Dubin
- Congress defies its own law, fails to install plaque honoring Jan. 6 police officers
- Former ‘General Hospital’ actor Johnny Wactor killed in downtown Los Angeles shooting
- Athletic Club's Iñaki Williams played with shard of glass in his foot for 2 years
Recommendation
-
Eminem, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, N.W.A. and Janet Jackson get Songwriters Hall of Fame nods
-
Bruce Springsteen and E Street postpone four European concerts amid 'vocal issues'
-
Man charged for setting New York City subway passenger on fire
-
‘Furiosa’ sneaks past ‘Garfield’ to claim No. 1 spot over Memorial Day holiday weekend
-
Brush fire erupts in Brooklyn's iconic Prospect Park amid prolonged drought
-
General Hospital's Johnny Wactor Dead at 37 in Fatal Shooting
-
Grayson Murray's Cause of Death at 30 Confirmed by His Parents
-
After a deadly heat wave last summer, metro Phoenix is changing tactics