David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the American television series Starsky & Hutch from 1975 to 1979. His other notable roles included Joshua Bolt on Here Come the Brides from 1968 to 1970 and as the lead actor in the 1979 American TV movie Salem's Lot. Soul also portrayed Officer John Davis in the 1973 movie Magnum Force.
During his career, Soul also found success as a singer, achieving a number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1977 with "Don't Give Up on Us", which also peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Canada. He achieved a further four top 10 entries and an additional number one single on the UK Singles Chart with "Silver Lady". In the 1990s, Soul moved to the UK and found renewed success on the West End stage. He also made cameo appearances in British TV shows, including Little Britain, Holby City, and Lewis.
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Early life
Soul was born on August 28, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois, and was of Norwegian descent. His mother, June Joanne (Nelson), was a teacher, and his father, Dr. Richard W. Solberg, was a Lutheran minister, professor of History and Political Science, and director of Higher Education for the Lutheran Church in America (now part of the ELCA). Both of Soul's grandfathers were evangelists. Dr. Solberg was also senior representative for Lutheran World Relief during the reconstruction of Germany after World War II from 1953 until 1956. Because of this, the family moved frequently during Soul's youth, later learning Spanish. David's brother Daniel became a Lutheran pastor.
The family was living in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where Soul's father taught political science and history at Augustana College, when Soul graduated from that city's Washington High School. Soul attended Augustana College for two years before the family moved again, this time to Mexico City, where he studied for one year at the University of the Americas.
While in Mexico, inspired by students who taught him to play the guitar, Soul changed his direction and decided to follow his passion for music. Upon returning from Mexico, he was hired to sing in a club at the University of Minnesota, The 10 O'Clock Scholar.
Career
Soul began performing on stage as an actor in the mid-1960s when he became a founding member of the Firehouse Theater in Minneapolis. He traveled with the company to New York City in 1965, appearing in Bertolt Brecht's Baal and John Arden's Serjeant Musgrave's Dance. Soul first gained national attention as the "Covered Man," appearing on The Merv Griffin Show in 1966 and 1967, on which he sang while wearing a mask. He explained: "My name is David Soul, and I want to be known for my music." The same year, he made his television debut in Flipper.
In 1967, he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and following a number of guest roles, he landed the role of Joshua Bolt on the television program Here Come the Brides with co-stars Robert Brown, Bobby Sherman, and Bridget Hanley. The series was telecast on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968, to September 18, 1970. In 1972, he co-starred as Arthur Hill's law partner on Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law. Following numerous guest-starring roles on TV, including The Streets of San Francisco, he was cast with Clint Eastwood in the film Magnum Force.
His breakthrough came when he portrayed Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson on Starsky & Hutch, a role he played from 1975 until 1979. Soul also directed three episodes of Starsky and Hutch. During his career he made guest appearances on Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie, McMillan & Wife, Cannon, Gunsmoke, All in the Family, and numerous TV movies and mini-series, including Homeward Bound (1980), World War III, and Rage (1980). Soul also starred with James Mason in the 1979 TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot, which was edited and released as a theatrical feature film in some countries.
During the mid-1970s, Soul returned to his singing roots. He scored one US hit with "Don't Give Up on Us" (1977) which reached No. 1 in the US and the UK. "Silver Lady" (1977) hit No. 1 in the UK. From 1976 to 1982, he toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America.
In the U.S., he continued to make guest appearances on various television series. He starred in the miniseries The Manions of America as Caleb Staunton in 1981. He starred in the short-lived 1983 NBC series Casablanca, playing nightclub owner Rick Blaine (the role that was made famous by Humphrey Bogart in the 1942 film Casablanca), and co-starred in the NBC series The Yellow Rose during the 1983–1984 season. He also starred in the television adaptation of Ken Follett's wartime drama The Key to Rebecca (1985) directed by David Hemmings. He later starred as the infamous Florida robber Michael Lee Platt in the TV movie In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders (1988), which depicted the 1986 FBI Miami shootout, subsequently used as an FBI training film. Soul also directed the episode "No Exit" of the 1980s TV series Miami Vice. In 1987, Soul was cast as Major Oldham in the movie The Hanoi Hilton.
Personal life
Soul was married five times and had five sons and a daughter.
In 1964, Soul married Miriam "Mim" Russeth. The couple had one child before divorcing in 1965.
Soul's second marriage was to actress Karen Carlson. They married in 1968 after they met on the set of the television series Here Come the Brides, in which Carlson had a role. They had a son together, Jon-Kristjian, before they divorced in 1977.
During the years he was filming Starsky & Hutch, Soul had an open relationship with actress Lynne Marta, who died seven days after he did.
In 1980, Soul married Patti Carnel-Sherman, ex-wife of Bobby Sherman. Soul was ordered to attend therapy classes for alcoholism and anger management after attacking her when she was seven months pregnant with his child. Soul was step-father to Carnel-Sherman's children. The couple divorced in 1986.
A year later, Soul married Singaporean-American actress Julia Nickson. They had a daughter, China Soul, who is a singer-songwriter. Nickson urged Soul to seek help for his excessive drinking, persuading him to enter a rehabilitation facility in 1989.
Soul married his fifth wife, Helen Snell, in 2010. They started a relationship in 2002 while working on the British stage production of Deathtrap.
In 2004, Soul obtained British citizenship.
Death
Soul was a three-pack-a-day cigarette smoker for 50 years. Although he stopped smoking ten years prior to his death, he was seriously affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and also had a lung removed due to cancer. Soul died in London on January 4, 2024, at age 80.
