David Soul, Star of Classic TV Show ‘Starsky and Hutch,’ Dies at 80

David Soul, who played one-half of the classic cop duo on the 1970s TV show “Starsky and Hutch,” has died. He was 80.

Soul died Thursday “after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family,” according to his wife, Helen Snell.

“He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend,” Snell continued in a statement to the BBC. “His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”

Soul was best known for playing Sergeant Kenneth Richard “Hutch” Hutchinson, the intellectual Minnesota native, in the long-running ABC drama “Starsky and Hutch.” The four-season show ran from 1975 to 1979 and lasted for 93 episodes. Soul starred alongside Paul Michael Glaser, who played Sergeant David Michael Starsky, the streetwise Brooklyn transplant.

Both Soul and Glaser reprised their roles for the 2004 movie of the same name. Starring Ben Stiller as David Starsky and Owen Wilson as Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson, the movie reimagined the cop drama as a buddy comedy.

Prior to the role that made him a household name, Soul starred in the ABC Western comedy “Here Come the Brides” as one of the brothers of Robert Brown’s character, Jason Bolt. After that, he starred in the neo-noir action thriller “Magnum Force” alongside Clint Eastwood as Officer John Davis. He also starred in the 1979 miniseries based on Stephen King’s novel, “Salem’s Lot.” In the horror series he played Ben Mears, the successful author at the center of this undead graveyard story.

The actor also had a career as a successful singer. Soul had one U.S. hit and five U.K. hits and was known for songs such as “Don’t Give Up on Us” in 1976 and “Silver Lady” in 1977.

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