ICONIC actor David Soul had pitched a plan to return to the beloved 1970s series Starsky & Hutch just months before he died at age 80.
Soul died at a hospital in London on Thursday, his wife, Helen Snell, announced.
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Soul rose to fame in the 1970s as Sergeant Kenneth “Hutch” Richard, one-half of the hit series Starsky & Hutch.
For four seasons, Soul starred alongside Paul Michael Glaser, who played his detective sidekick Sergeant David Michael Starsky.
The series revolved around the two Southern California detectives as they pounded the streets of the fictional Bay City, cruising in their seemingly different Fords.
Starsky’s bright red-colored Ford Gran Torino, nicknamed Striped Tomato,” overshadowed Hutch’s battered tan Ford Galaxie 500.
The series grew so popular it generated a host of children’s toys and later inspired the 2003 video game Starsky & Hutch, as well as the 2004 film starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch.
The original duo of Soul and Glaser even made a cameo appearance in the 2004 movie.
Decades after the final episode aired on ABC in August 1979, Soul pitched the idea of returning as Starsky and Glaser, reprising his role as Hutch.
“Every article mentions the ‘original’ actors by name. So why not just reboot Paul and me – as a couple of old farts solving piddly-ass crimes at the assisted living facility where we would now live?” Soul wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in February 2023.
“Who can do Starsky and Hutch better than him and me?”
However, Soul’s dreams would never come to fruition as he died on Thursday from a long-term illness, a family member told TMZ.
Soul’s wife said her husband died after a “valiant battle for life.”
“David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family,” a heartbroken Snell wrote.
“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.”
His tweet came after The Hollywood Reporter published a story about a potential remake in the world with two female protagonists, Sasha Starsky and Nicole Hutchinson.
The reboot is being developed by Fox, according to the outlet.
Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn told The Hollywood Reporter that he expects to have at least two scripts from the writers before deciding on the reboot.
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