(London) In the American series Starsky and Hutch, a phenomenon of the 1970s, he played the blond Hutch. British-American actor David Soul died Thursday at the age of 80, his wife Helen Snell announced Friday.
Born in Chicago in the United States, David Soul obtained British nationality in 2004 to, he said, spend the rest of his life in the United Kingdom with his British wife.
“David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a valiant battle for life surrounded by the love of his family,” Helen Snell said in a statement.
“His smile, his laugh and his passion for life will be remembered by the many people he touched,” added Helen Snell.
In the series Starsky and Hutch, broadcast for 92 weeks in the United States between 1975 and May 1979, David Soul opposite Paul Michael Glaser, to form the duo in the famous red Ford Gran Torino with a white stripe.
The series followed their adventures in the imaginary Bay City, where the two cops were assisted by Huggy Tips, their trusty informant played by Antonio Fargas.
In 2004, a feature film was made from the series Starsky and Hutch, which had become cult. Owen Wilson took over the role played by David Soul 30 years earlier, and Ben Stiller that of Paul Michael Glaser.
David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser have remained closely close over the years, with the former describing the latter as his “best friend”, his “brother” in a November post on the social network X.
Born on August 28, 1943, David Soul spent his childhood between South Dakota and Berlin, where his father Richard Solberg, professor of history and political science, had been appointed by American diplomacy as advisor on religious affairs.
He also appeared in the series Flipper the Dolphin, Star Trek, One Hundred Married Girls and The Yellow Rose, as well as the film Magnum Force.
At the height of his fame, he also embraced a career in music, recording five albums.
In the 1990s, he also took to the stage in London’s West End.
David Soul was married five times and had six children.
He met his last wife Helen Snell while she was handling press relations for a play he was in, Deathtrap. They got married in 2010.
“I finally got British citizenship in 2004 because I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life here with Helen,” he said in an interview reproduced on his official website.
“I tell people I’m both British and American. I can vote in both countries and I am proud of it,” he also declared in this interview, in which he also spoke of his involvement in several local associations in London.