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. His smile, laughter, and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.
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To David’s family
David was not my father, grandfather,son …. But he was along by my sides in my teenage years and is now and forever associated to happy moments of my life. For all of this, I thank him for what he did through his work to bring joy in my life, to show what friendship really means in Hutch’s character. His marvellous smile and humility, his love for ordinary people, his ability to face the dark moments, his joy to share with the audience or fans will remain in my heart and my mind. Hope all these messages will bring comfort for Helen and his children
RIP David. sincere condolences to his wife and family, his songs silver lady and dont give up on us were 2 of my favourites. they were classics. and of course his role in salems lot was incredible very sad to hear of his passing. Shane Fitzgibbon Ireland
Desde España, te echaremos de menos David, nos dejaste tu huella a muchos españoles con tu actuación en la serie “Starsky y Hutch” allá por los años 70. Descansa en paz. Nunca te olvidaremos.
Con grande dolore ho appreso della dipartita di David,restano i meravigliosi frammenti del suo passaggio:i tanti personaggi che ha interpretato, le cause umanitarie a cui ha aderito,l’amore per gli animali, il bene immenso per i suoi figli.Ora voglio fare qualcosa per onorare la sua memoria, aderire alla donazione che consentirà al documentario a cui tanto teneva di essere completato.
Ancora oggi quando guardo gli episodi di Starsky e Hutch sento il cuore palpitare con gioia, nonostante l’età che avanza, torno ad essere la ragazzina perdutamente innamorata di Hutch…
I have posted here before to express my grief and my gratitude, my admiration and my dedication to this extraordinary human being – David Soul, but I feel I have to do it again. I hope I can be forgiven for this.
My friends tell me it’s just a bout of nostalgia, but this is diminishing my feelings about David’s passing. People will tend to characterize an artist’s impact as resulting in “just fandom”; although I am a ‘fan’ of work and his characters, that’s not what matters most. David’s legacy is deeply significant, and it matters greatly to the arts.
But, most importantly, David Soul mattered to me.
He never knew it because I never got the chance to tell him. I always thought I would, but I never did. Whether it would have pleased him to know the indelible impact he had on my life, I don’t know, but I wish I would have told him. I regret not sending the many letters I started to write then shied away from sending, and I regret not ‘tweeting’ my feelings to him, the public nature of the platform not seeming to fit what I had to tell him. I regret these things because it *might* have pleased him to know there was a person on whose life he made a dramatic impact.
He was an extraordinarily gifted artist and a human being of great depth, resilience, candor, and meaning.
I have a large collection of his works, of publications with him as a subject, of his interviews, etc., and when he passed away, I found myself going through these stacks of materials. Shuffling through them brought back so many memories…awash, alternately, in waves of happiness and waves of awe. David was a dynamo! So much work to enjoy, a legacy of such great quality.
In this heap of paper, videos, and DVDs, I realized that my oft-declared statement of being a fan of David’s “for decades” is not the least bit of an exaggeration. I still have Starksy & Hutch fan club magazines, teen magazines with articles about him and pictures of him. Some I bought for the posters, others I bought to try and know and understand this man I so admired. I loved the characters he played from Hutch to Pritt, from Joshua Bolt to Roy Champion, but it’s the man who breathed life into these characters that I really wanted to know – as well as one can “know” an artist, a person, from short, sometimes painfully inadequate, interviews! And his music…. oh, his music!! During the shuffling, I came across ancient sticky notes with quick thoughts like “this is why he’s so great”, “this is why he’s an inspiration”, “this shows grace under pressures of fame”, “this shows resilience and hope”, etc.
Since 1975, David Soul has mattered to me.
And he’s mattered in more ways than just ‘fandom’. David Soul *unknowingly* found a lonely kid and kept her company with a wide array of characters and performances. Through interviews, he made her realize that there’s a person – a human being – behind those performances; he made her realize that there’s hope in persistence. He kept her company, kept her singing beautiful songs, kept her watching, kept her interested. I don’t know how to thank him appropriately for all of this other than to say, I should have sent those letters and I’m sorry I didn’t.
He’ll never know how much he mattered and still matters to my life. I suppose one could say he ‘supported’ me in ways no-one else could, and I resolved, long ago, to return that favour – I’ll support him for as long as I’m around.
He’s the dude, the ‘hero’ who made hanging on worthwhile, who made difficult things in life seem bearable, who still makes the pretty things in life even more beautiful, and the music – the lovely music – sweeter.
Words can’t match the gratitude I feel for his presence on this earth.
And I love him since ever & forever. And I miss him.
Rest in peace. See you on the other side, Music Man ♥
Marcella
“Good-bye Gatsby”, “Fool for Love”, “Mary’s Fancy”, “Silver Lady”, “Don’t Give Up on Us”, “The Dutchman”…your music and legend will live on. Thank you for all of it, and for playing a character that was such a role model to so many of us.
God bless the late David Soul, his family, his friends, his fans! We who love SALEMS LOT so much will never forget this wonderful artist. Warmest greetings from Germany.
Love and peace to the family. Your dad was a incredible and awesome person. I had the pleasure of meeting him long ago in Tucson Arizona at the Michael Landon tennis club. He was just the sweetest person I would ever meet with. Always a true david soul fan. Love ❤️ you now and forever
David. How we miss you.
Starsky & Hutch was a huge part of my childhood, as was your music. I still play Let’s Have A Quiet Night In today. Then along came Salem’s Lot, which my parents allowed me to weekend watch, despite my 12+ years. The mortuary scene will stay with me forever. Forever. Parents laughing at my sheer terror. Always be my personal favourite movie. No joke. Outstanding horror. Congrats Reggie Nalder too et al, including the amazing Geoffrey Lewis. 💪
When my daughter Tanya came along, she took up the mantle of all genres, including your live concerts, S&H boxset (her own copy) and Salem’s Lot. Timeless.
Please accept my sincere condlences all, belatedly, on the loss of David. Top singer. Top actor. Top gentleman.
Love John & Tanya 💓
I would like to offer my condolences to David Souls family from New Zealand 🇳🇿. David was a gentle and stylish caring man it came across in every way ,I remember seeing him in the Starsky and Hutch TV series.,What a great show and actor he was ,he will live on with all of his fans across the world who still love ❤️ him.We have been so lucky to have had him and rest in peace David you are missed so much.For your caring and loving humanity you have done for other humans.Kindest and deepest heartfelt thoughts to you.From John Thomson New Zealand.
Me entristeció mucho la noticia de su fallecimiento, que bonitos recuerdos de mi adolescencia viendo la serie.
Tenía una voz maravillosa, un buen cantante.
Un fuerte abrazo para la familia
You were a wonderful actor and singer and you will be greatly missed.My condolences to your family, friends, and fans.
Dear David Soul, today is 28 August your birthday.
Thanks for all the autographs and photographs. Great to see you in the theatres in London! I am just going to donate to one of my favourite animal charities, now. God Bless, MARGARET X