David Soul, the actor-singer who famously starred as Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in the beloved TV series Starsky & Hutch and scored a Number One hit with the soft rock ballad “Don’t Give Up on Us,” has died at the age of 80.
Soul’s wife, Helen Snell, confirmed her husband’s death in a statement to the BBC, saying he died Thursday “after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family.” No cause of death was provided.
“He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend,” Snell added. “His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”
A Chicago-born folk singer before turning to acting, Soul appeared on The Merv Griffin Show (as a masked singer), Magnum Force, and Star Trek before landing his breakout role on Starsky & Hutch, which ran for four seasons from 1975 to 1979. On the buddy cop series, Soul’s Detective “Hutch” partnered with Paul Michael Glaser’s Starsky to patrol the streets of Bay City, California.
While not a ratings juggernaut, the series ultimately developed a cult following and spawned a comedic 2003 big-screen remake starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson (as Hutch), with both Soul and Glaser reprising their roles in a cameo.
Amid the show’s popularity, Soul returned to his music career in 1976 and released a self-titled album that boasted the single “Don’t Give Up on Us,” which soared to Number One in both the U.S. and U.K., where the actor would later become a citizen. A follow-up single, “Silver Lady,” would also reach the top spot in the U.K. in 1977.
Soul continued to both act and sing in the decades following Starsky & Hutch, notably starring in the 1979 adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, the 1988 murder mystery Appointment With Death, and a very short-lived TV series based on the film classic Casablanca. His last on-screen credit was an appearance in the 2013 British crime flick Filth.
