R.I.P. David Soul, ''Starsky and Hutch'' star and ''Don't Give Up on Us'' singer

The actor and singer topped the charts and became a pop culture phenomenon in the 70s. He was 80 years old.

The Everett Collection

David Soul, remembered for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the 1975 TV series Starsky and Hutch, has passed away at age 80.

Born David Richard Solberg, he left college after discovering his passion for music. He was a founding member of the Firehouse Theater in Minneapolis. He made his television debut in 1967 with an appearance on Flipper, and kept working steadily from then onward. He gained attention as "The Covered Man", a masked singer on The Merv Griffin Show.

After appearing on I Dream of Jeannie and Star Trek, Soul landed a main role as Joshua Bolt on Here Come The Brides. The show propelled him to pop stardom.

After the show ended, Soul continued to show up on TV with guest appearances in All in the Family, The F.B.I., Ironside and more.

In 1975, he was cast in the role that would become his most famous when he joined Paul Michael Glaser as a Southern California police detective in Starsky and Hutch. 

"We didn’t have a clue it was going to be so successful. That only happened in the second year,” Soul said in 2020. “Paul and I basically ran the shoot — the streets were our playground, and we’d be driving around with people shouting, ‘It’s Starsky and Hutch!’"

In 1977, while Starsky and Hutch was still on the air, Soul released the single "Don't Give Up on Us" which reached #1 in both the US and UK. While his subsequent songs didn't reach the same level of success in the US, he was more popular in the UK and had five singles reach the top 20 in the UK charts.

In 1979, Soul starred in the Stephen King miniseries Salem's Lot, which went on to gain a cult following and left an impact on the vampire genre of movies.

After Starsky and Hutch, Soul went on to star in the short-lived Casablanca 1983 series, then anchored the one-season Western series The Yellow Rose.

In 2004, Soul, along with Glaser, made a cameo appearance in the Starsky & Hutch film starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Hutch, played by Wilson, sang "Don't Give Up on Us" in the movie. The pair appear at the end and sell Stiller and Wilson the iconic Gran Torino after theirs gets destroyed.

Glaser wrote on Facebook, "Please join our entire Paul Michael Glaser community as we fondly remember all the gifts David Soul contributed throughout his 80 years. We wish David's family thoughts and prayers as they navigate through their loss of David. May David rest in everlasting peace."

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29 Comments

Snickers 9 months ago
My dad loved watching Starsky & Hutch, one of his favorites. R.I.P David.
MadMat2102 9 months ago
AS someone who grew up in the 70s, I fondly remember "Starsky & Hutch."
R.I.P. Mr. Soul
seltaeb 9 months ago
I was still in High School when it first aired, I think on ABC. Yeah and their good friend Huggy Bear who was an informant. Didn't care for his song, thought it sounded sappy. And just a few years later another pair of TV detectives, Don Johnson (Miami Vice) & Bruce Willis (Moonlighting) try their luck with their One Hit Blunders.
jimmyvici 9 months ago
Loved him in Salems Lot. Rest in peace amigo 😔
billygardener19 9 months ago
I have been an immense David Soul fan...of his acting and music. He was from a time when TV was still good, and enjoyable. He will be missed. I love re-watching his series and others like it. I am all for the reruns, not remakes, of the old shows. They want to remake the show with two women...Sorry, but no.
Lohayon billygardener19 9 months ago
hahahahaha lol
musicman37 9 months ago
R.I.P. Mr. Soul.
Kramden62 musicman37 9 months ago
I still have the original 45 of "Don't Give Up On Us." I'll always think of my "wonder years" whenever I hear that one (I was only 15 and midway through my freshman year of high school at Lansing Catholic High School in Lansing, Michigan when "Don't Give Up on Us" was first popular in the spring of 1977). I also remember my folks liked watching "Starsky and Hutch."

Another great talent has left us. RIP, David Soul.
Moverfan Kramden62 9 months ago
Greetings from Royal Oak! I was a freshman at George A. Dondero Senior High that spring. (Dondero High is now Royal Oak Middle School...times change...)
Khorchler 9 months ago
So sad to hear about David. Loved his song. Fan of starsky and hutch. Paul was my favorite but David touched my heart with his song. RIP David.
ColleneGandy 9 months ago
So sad to hear. I'm a big fan of David Soul and Paul Michael Glasser. :😥 I watched S&H when it was on and just about everything else D.S. & P.MG was in growing up.
tootsieg 9 months ago
Rest In Peace David Soul. Thanks for entertaining us in S&H. Fun show.
Bapa1 9 months ago
RIP. Not much of a S&H fan, but did watch Here Come the Brides. Salem's Lot was a good mini-series, (and a good book).
KMT6600 9 months ago
Loved your singing so much when it was hot Don't give up on us baby Rip
Lalo65 9 months ago
So sad to hear the news. Born in Chicago, may you rest in peace Mr Soul you will be forever in our hearts.
vikkr 9 months ago
Thoughts and Prayers to his family. I was still a little young when Starsky & Hutch first premiered in 1975 but I did watch it later in life and he was awesome. I learned a lot about what else he did. May he Rest in Peace.
IndianaRockz 9 months ago
God bless David Soul & his family on their loss.
I wish the article would have mentioned his family as in if he has a wife, children, grandchildren, etc.
bw19751975 9 months ago
Starsky and Hutch was one of my favorite TV shows. David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser chemistry on the show was amazing. So sad to hear the news. RIP David Soul.
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