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 on Friday: “David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died on Jan 4 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, United States. 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.