Actor David Soul, who earned fame as the blond half of crime-fighting duo Starsky and Hutch in the eponymous popular 1970s television series, has died at the age of 80. His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that "David Soul—beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother—died yesterday 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," Snell added in a statement, per the AP. "His smile, laughter, and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched." Soul portrayed detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson alongside Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in Starsky & Hutch.
The show ran on ABC between 1975 and 1979, and it grew so popular it spawned a host of children's toys. At the height of his fame, Soul also hit the music charts with the single "Don't Give Up on Us." Soul had lived in Britain for many years, performing in several stage roles. In 2001, he won a libel case against a journalist who called The Dead Monkey, a play that Soul was in, the worst production he'd ever seen—without having seen it. Soul also played the titular talk-show host in Jerry Springer—The Opera in London's West End. Soul and Glaser had cameos in the 2004 big-screen remake of Starsky & Hutch, starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch.
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