OBITUARY

David Soul, Starsky & Hutch actor, dies aged 80

On-screen hero also recorded five albums, including the hit song Silver Lady
The Times
The Times
David Soul, left, died “after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family”, according to his wife Helen
David Soul, left, died “after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family”, according to his wife Helen
ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES/DISNEY GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT/GETTY
The Times
The Times

There were few sights on primetime television in the 1970s that could set the blood racing like a Starsky and Hutch car chase.

Under the radio call sign “Zebra Three”, the duo burnt rubber on the streets of the fictional Bay City, California, in pursuit of mobsters and villains in a bright red two-door Ford Gran Torino with go-faster stripes, nicknamed the Striped Tomato.

Starsky was Detective Dave Starsky, a dark-haired, streetwise, hyperactive New Yorker, played by Paul Michael Glaser. Hutch was Detective Ken Hutchinson, his blond-haired, urbane and laidback police buddy from the Midwest, played by David Soul.

In June 1975
In June 1975
GETTY IMAGES

Together they formed one of the most endearing and influential American cop duos in television history, the palpable chemistry between them enhanced by wonderful scripts and