David Soul, the actor/musician best known for starring in the '70s cop show Starsky & Hutch, has died. He was 80.
As reported by the BBC, Soul's wife, Helen Snell, shared the news that her husband had passed away yesterday (January 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," she added. "His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched."
Soul was born David Richard Solberg in Chicago, IL, on August 28, 1943, and grew up mostly in Sioux Falls, SD. When his family moved to Mexico City, he learned guitar while studying at the University of the Americas and decided to drop out and pursue a music career. Soul also started as a stage actor in the mid-'60s as a founding member of Minneapolis's Firehouse Theater.
The performer first gained traction as a musician when he appeared incognito as the "Covered Man" (à la The Masked Singer) on The Merv Griffin Show in 1966 and 1967. Simultaneously, Soul made his TV acting debut in Flipper and signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, which preceded his guest appearances on Star Trek's second season and in many more series — which eventually led Clint Eastwood to cast him in the 1973 film Magnum Force.
Of course, his true breakthrough came when Soul was cast as Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson in Starsky & Hutch, a role he held from 1975 to 1979. The mid-'70s also brought him back to his musical roots, releasing a self-titled album in 1976. From that record, Soul scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts with "Don't Give Up on Us."
As reported by the BBC, Soul's wife, Helen Snell, shared the news that her husband had passed away yesterday (January 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," she added. "His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched."
Soul was born David Richard Solberg in Chicago, IL, on August 28, 1943, and grew up mostly in Sioux Falls, SD. When his family moved to Mexico City, he learned guitar while studying at the University of the Americas and decided to drop out and pursue a music career. Soul also started as a stage actor in the mid-'60s as a founding member of Minneapolis's Firehouse Theater.
The performer first gained traction as a musician when he appeared incognito as the "Covered Man" (à la The Masked Singer) on The Merv Griffin Show in 1966 and 1967. Simultaneously, Soul made his TV acting debut in Flipper and signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, which preceded his guest appearances on Star Trek's second season and in many more series — which eventually led Clint Eastwood to cast him in the 1973 film Magnum Force.
Of course, his true breakthrough came when Soul was cast as Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson in Starsky & Hutch, a role he held from 1975 to 1979. The mid-'70s also brought him back to his musical roots, releasing a self-titled album in 1976. From that record, Soul scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts with "Don't Give Up on Us."