David Soul, one half of the ’70s buddy cop duo Starsky and Hutch, has died, his wife, Helen Snell, said in a statement provided to ABC News. He was 80.
His widow said Soul, born David Richard Solberg, died Thursday “after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family.”
Snell added, “He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend. His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”
Actors David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser from the television series, ‘Starsky and Hutch,’ circa 1977.
Frank Edwards/Fotos International via Getty Images
Soul played Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson to Paul Michael Glaser’s Det. Dave Starsky in the television series that ran from 1975 to 1979. He and Glaser reprised their roles in the 2004 big-screen action comedy remake that starred Owen Wilson as Hutch and Ben Stiller as Starsky.
Soul, who appeared in movies including “Magnum Force” opposite Clint Eastwood in 1973, was also a singer, charting in the U.S. and the U.K.
His biggest hit in the U.S. was the 1976 romantic track “Don’t Give Up on Us,” which hit #1 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. and Canada, while 1977’s “Silver Lady” hit #1 on the U.K. singles chart.
