Hearts & Soul

DAVID Soul, the actor who starred in 70s detective drama Starsky & Hutch and had a hit pop career with songs such as Don't Give Up on Us and Silver Lady, has died aged 80.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

Soul played the more serious Hutch to Paul Michael Glaser's street-wise, fan-of-a-chunky-knit Starsky, and the actors built a huge fanbase, which apparently included the Queen Mother - who once commented: "I like those boys so much." The star died in hospital in London on Thursday after a long-term illness.

In a statement, wife Helen Snell said: "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 an actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend.

"His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched." Premiering in 1974, Starsky & Hutch became a cultural phenomenon with Soul's portrayal of Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson earning him international acclaim.

The chemistry between Hutch and Glaser's Starsky as they patrolled the mean streets of fictional Bay City in a red-and-white Ford Gran Torino was the show's driving force - although Antonio Fargas as informer Huggy Bear helped.

Starsky & Hutch became pin-ups, their teenage fans bitterly divided by their preference for either Soul or Glaser.

But Soul once said: "All my life, I tried to run away from my looks. I was really a pretty boy but I hated all that stuff. That blond hunk thing, that gorgeous blue-eyed guy image. That was bull*****

His popularity with women waned in the 80s when he was arrested for attacking his then-wife Patti Carnel Sherman when she was seven months pregnant. Soul was held in jail and ordered to get therapy for alcoholism, and later went on an anger management course