Ben Stiller leads tributes to Starsky & Hutch star David Soul

Ben Stiller, Stephen King, William Shatner and Matt Lucas among those saluting the actor and singer

Tributes are pouring in for singer and Starsky & Hutch actor David Soul, who has died aged 80.

Ben Stiller, who starred in the 2004 Hollywood reboot of the series, hailed Soul as “defining 70s cool”.

Soul played Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in the classic Seventies buddy cop show, alongside Paul Michael Glaser as Detective Dave Starsky. In the remake, Stiller played Starsky with Owen Wilson as Hutch. Both Glaser and Soul made cameo appearances.

Author Stephen King also remembered Soul after his death, writing on X/Twitter: “Sorry to hear David Soul has passed. He was Ben Mears in the original miniseries of Salem’s Lot.”

That show, which aired in 1979, featured Soul as a man who returns to his hometown only to find it has been taken over by vampires.

Elsewhere on social media, Star Trek star William Shatner wrote: “Condolences to the family of David Soul. One of his early roles was on an episode of Star Trek Original Series.”

Matt Lucas and David Walliams paid tribute by posting a clip from their sketch show Little Britain which Soul guest-starred in.

“Every day this month we have been posting a sketch from the first series of Little Britain and today we’re posting one starring David Soul, who has passed away,” they wrote on Lucas’ X account. “David was hugely talented, effortlessly funny and we were thrilled to work for him”.

Television presenter Paddy McGuinness said he was “gutted” to hear the news of Soul’s death because he is a “big part of his childhood memories”.

He said he “relived” his love of Starsky & Hutch by driving a Ford Gran Torino while hosting Top Gear.

Meanwhile, Olympic medalist Sharron Davies recalled her own link to Soul, who had a hit with “Silver Lady” in 1977.

“Sad to hear this,” she wrote in response to news of his death. “Were you a Starsky or Hutch fan? After Moscow every radio interviews I did I was introduced by Silver Lady by David Soul fond memories..”

In a statement, Soul’s wife Helen Snell said on Friday that her “beloved husband” died the day before “after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family”.

She added: “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.”

Additional reporting by the Press Association