‘Starsky & Hutch’ Actor Died After ‘Valiant Battle for Life,’ Lung Condition

“Starsky & Hutch” actor David Soul died after years of serious health issues, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 80.

Soul’s wife Helen Snell told BBC that he died on January 4 “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.”

“His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched,” she added to BBC.

Although his official cause of death was not released, a lengthy post on his website detailed his many health issues over the years.

Soul was best known as Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in “Starsky & Hutch.”

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David Soul Blamed Some of His Health Issues on a 50-Year Smoking Habit

In the lengthy biographical post on his website, Soul detailed his repeated health issues.

“Recently he endured a period of illness, from which he has not fully recovered,” the post said. “After a general anesthetic for a hip replacement in 2017, he lapsed into unconsciousness and was in intensive care for 10 weeks. Doctors did not expect him to live and put him in palliative care.”

“I spent 72 days in intensive care, including twice being put on a ventilator and undergoing a tracheostomy (a breathing tube was inserted into his throat – hence his no longer being able to sing). I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do anything, I was in delirium. As a last resort I was moved to the Royal Free Hospital, where I underwent treatment that saved my life.”

The post says he had “a cancer removed from his left lung and faces a continuous battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – a life shortening lung condition he blames on 50 years of smoking up to three packs a day.”

“It took its toll, and I quit about 10 years ago, but you can’t reverse the condition,” the page says.

He had “both hips replaced, decompression surgery on his spine, and prosthetic discs grafted into his neck because of nerve damage that paralyzed his arm and stopped him playing the guitar. For a while he was in a wheelchair.”

“I am a fighter and I did fight my way through this thing,” he said in the post. “There is no question about it, but without Helen I never would have made it. She’s magnificent. Phew. What a strong lady. She was as much a part of my getting better as the doctors were.”

He added, “When I’m surrounded by my six children, I feel rich.”

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David Soul Appeared on Well-Known Television Series Before Landing the ‘Starsky & Hutch’ Role

According to the Los Angeles Times, Soul was born David Solberg in Chicago on August 28, 1943.

His starring role in “Starsky & Hutch” came after appearances on shows like “Star Trek” and “I Dream of Jeannie,” The Times reported.

Soul’s website says he has starred or co-starred “in more than 700 hours of domestic and international film. Television drama, and television variety shows, “ listing “Dogpound Shuffle,” “The Stick-Up,” “Magnum Force” with Clint Eastwood, and, with Paul Glaser, “Starsky and Hutch,” which ran from 1974 to 1979.

His life wasn’t without controversy. “Soul made headlines for his personal life, which included several divorces, allegations of abuse against an ex-wife and a battle with addiction. In 1985, the actor and his brother were arrested in Pittsburgh for protesting steel industry layoffs,” the Times reported.

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