David Soul, one-half of ABC’s Starsky & Hutch, died yesterday at the age of 80.
Soul is best known for as undercover police detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson on the popular crime drama, which aired on ABC from 1975 to 1979. Hutch is the blond-haired, soulful and intellectual opposite of best friend and partner: the streetwise and childlike Detective Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser). Together, this Butch & Sundance duo patrolled the streets of Bay City in Starsky’s red and white-striped Gran Torino, as they tackled the toughest cases. Both Soul and Glaser made cameo appearances in the 2004 big-screen adaptation that starred Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.
Before Starsky & Hutch, though, Soul was a regular on the Western Here Comes The Bride (1968-70) with Bobby Sherman, who was the show’s heartthrob. Soul portrayed one of the vigilante cops in 1973’s Magnum Force, the second installment in the Dirty Harry franchise that starred Clint Eastwood.
But it was Starsky & Hutch that made Soul a household name. Not only that, he had success as a singer. One of his singles, “Don’t Give Up On Us”, went to number-one in 1976.
Soul was a regular on NBC’s short-lived Casablanca in 1983 as nightclub owner Rick Blaine, who was famously portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the 1942 film classic. He also co-starred on the nighttime soap opera The Yellow Rose (1983-84) alongside Cybil Shepherd and Sam Elliott. Soul was in the short-lived 1989 crime drama Unsub, which was considered as the precursor to CBS’ Criminal Minds.
Soul starred in the hit 1979 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot.
He is survived by his fifth wife, Helen Snell, and his six children.