Sioux Falls native David Soul of ‘Starsky and Hutch’ fame has died – Sioux Falls Live

Editor’s Note: In November of 2018, Forum columnist Curt Ericksmoen wrote a two-part series on David Soul. The following story includes content from those stories along with updated news on Spirit’s death.

David Soul, best known for playing Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchison on ABC’s “Starsky & Hutch” from 1975 to 1979, has died at the age of 80. North Dakota first knew her as a beautiful blonde-haired blue-eyed cowboy singer in the musical Medora.

His wife, Helen Snell, announced his death from their London home.

“David Soule – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a brave fight for life in the loving company of family. He brought many extraordinary gifts to the world as an actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend. Shared. His smile, laughter and passion for life will be missed by the many whose lives he touched.”

Soul learned a lot about his art while growing up in South Dakota, going to school in Minnesota, and performing in North Dakota.

David Soul was born David Richard Solberg on August 28, 1943 in Chicago to June (Nelson) and Richard Solberg. A renowned Lutheran scholar, teacher, and pastor, Richard moved his family to Sioux Falls in 1945, where he was employed as a history and political science instructor at Augustana College. Due to the end of World War II, Richard was also appointed advisor on religious affairs to the American military government and the American High Commission in Germany and during the summers, the entire Solberg family would often join him there.

In Sioux Falls, David became involved in school and church activities, and he soon demonstrated talents in music, acting, and sports. While in the fourth grade, his performance as a leprechaun was praised in the local newspaper. One of the people who took notice of David’s acting ability was Augustana College theater director Earl Mundt.

Mundt was born in Epping, North Dakota, and taught music and theater at Steele and Grafton before assuming directorial responsibilities at Augustana. He also directed local theater productions in Sioux Falls and in 1952, when David was 9 years old, he convinced the young player to play the role of Morton Stockman in Henrik Ibsen’s play “An Enemy of the People.”

From 1953 to 1956, Richard Solberg served as senior representative of the Lutheran World Federation overseeing refugee relief operations in West Berlin, so the family moved to West Germany, and David determined to learn the German language.

In 1956, Solberg returned to Sioux Falls. David often sang and played the piano at school and church functions. He was very popular at Washington High School, serving on student council, participating in school talent shows and acting in school plays.

Washington High School Yearbook/1961/via e-Yearbook

He also wrote sports for the yearbook, was president of the Journalism Club, and treasurer of the German Club. David was also a member of the high school track team and the American Legion baseball team.

It was reported that he was such a good ball player that he was offered a professional baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox organization. After graduating high school in 1961, David enrolled at Augustana and frequently acted in plays directed by Earl Mundt. He became very involved in the Lutheran campus church and, in 1962, was elected president of the South Dakota Luther League.

After two years of college, David decided to move with his family to Mexico City, where his father had accepted a professorship at the University of the Americas, a college whose main focus was teaching students to become diplomats. David quickly learned Spanish and enrolled in university. He also learned to play the guitar and began performing some of the more popular Mexican folk songs at small gatherings.

After spending a year in Mexico City, David moved back to the United States and enrolled at the University of Minnesota to major in history and political science. To help pay for school expenses, she got a part-time job singing and playing guitar at the 10 O’Clock Scholar Coffee House, located on the university campus.

With his demonstrated talent in music and his interest in history and politics, David became intrigued when he heard that Bismarck businessman Harold Schaefer was sponsoring a summer production, “Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again: A Medora Musical”, to be staged as a Will be performed in the outdoor amphitheater. , David auditioned for and won the role as one of “The Medora Kids” (now The Burning Hills Singers) in the first Medora musical.

The show’s original producer, Fred Smith of Hal Sheehan Inc., told Curt Ericson in 2004 that the young David Soul was “a good singer, he played good guitar; he wasn’t a slouch.”

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Smith also remembers the future star as one of the more playful members of the cast.

One day, Smith received a worried call from Harold Schaefer, who was introducing the show. Schaefer reported that producer David and a girl from the cast were out in Medora at 3 a.m., making noise and throwing mud at each other.

“The streets were filthy in those days,” recalls Smith. “I think it was raining and they were enjoying throwing mud at each other.”

But it was not all games. David was working towards starting a real career in show business. A New York agent was pursuing him for other work and wanted him to leave the show early.

He says Smith talked to him about it, but the day after the show closed, the actor left for New York and bigger things.

Before moving to New York, David Solberg knew he needed a catchy name and a unique gait to make himself marketable. He shortened his surname to Sol and wore a mask, calling himself “the Shrouded Man”.

Soul then sent a photo of himself along with a demo tape to the William Morris Agency and was hired “without even seeing it.” The agency booked Soul for “The Merv Griffin Show” and his first performance was a success. He came on stage in his costume and said, “My name is David Soul and I want to be known for my music,” and then sang a song or two. For the remainder of 1965 and early 1966, Soul became a semi-regular on the show.

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After taking acting lessons from actresses Irene Daly and Uta Hagen, he appeared in the television shows “Flipper,” “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Star Trek,” and then received a co-starring role in the film “The Secret Sharer.” was given. ,” written by Joseph Conrad.

In 1968, Soule achieved fame and relative financial security by co-starring in the ABC television series “Here Come the Brides.” It involved the exploits of three brothers working at a logging camp in Seattle after the Civil War, to whom marriageable, single women were sent.

But Soule’s biggest success came in 1975 when he was cast as Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchison in ABC’s police drama “Starsky & Hutch.”

Hutch, portrayed by Soul, was described by the production company as a “blonde Duluth, Minnesota native, with a more reserved and intellectual outlook” compared to his partner David Starsky, a streetwise Brooklyn native (portrayed by actor Paul Michael Glaser). Was.

The show, which the Internet Movie Data Base described as “a show about two streetwise cops busting criminals in their red and white Ford Gran Torino with the help of police detective Huggy Bear”, is a children’s movie. Became very popular, spawning a line of toys.

Soul’s popularity as Hutch led to a record deal and eventually a chart-topping hit called “Don’t Give Up on Us” in 1976.

When “Starsky and Hutch” went off the air in 1979, Soule continued acting, including the role of Roy Chapman in the television series “The Yellow Rose” in 1984.

Along with his acting, Sol also began working as a director and producer of various projects and he focused much of his attention on promoting social and environmental issues. In 1995, she was invited to the United Kingdom to star in the play “Catch Me If You Can”, and London became her new residence. He became a British citizen in 2004.

Soule was very popular for his work in America, but in Britain and the rest of Europe, he was a superstar, and even members of the royal family were fans.

David Soul was introduced to a new generation of fans when he and Glaser made a cameo appearance in the 2004 film remake of “Starsky & Hutch” starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.

But there were also troubled times. Sol was married five times. Alcohol and violence were said to be issues in marriage. Soul openly admitted that he had anger problems stemming from feelings of “being hurt and misunderstood”, and through hard work, he became “much more cautious and much less desperate.”

He had been with Snell since 2002.

Atma leaves behind five sons and a daughter.