David Soul dead: Star of ‘Starsky and Hutch’ was 80

LONDON — Actor David Soul, who earned fame as the blond half of crime-fighting duo “Starsky & Hutch” in the popular 1970s television series, 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,” she said in a statement. “His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”

Soul portrayed detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson alongside Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in “Starsky & Hutch.” It ran on ABC between 1975 and 1979, and grew so popular it spawned a host of children’s toys.

Soul was born in Chicago on August 28, 1943. According to his official website, at 18 he was offered a contract with the White Sox but opted instead a few years later to move with his parents to Mexico City where his father, a professor of history and political science and an ordained minister, had accepted a teaching position at the Collegio Americano.

His other TV credits included the role of Joshua Bolt, one of a trio of brothers/loggers on “Here Come the Brides” in the late 1960s, and officer John Davis in the feature film “Magnum Force” in the early 1970s.

His passion for music and singing would eventually lead to the No. 1 hit “Don’t Give Up on Us” in 1977.

Soul had lived in Britain for many years, performing in 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.

Soul also played the titular talk-show host in “Jerry Springer — The Opera” in London’s West End.

Soul and Glaser had cameos in the 2004 big-screen remake of “Starsky & Hutch,” starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch.