David Soul’s Starsky & Hutch Costar Paul Michael Glaser Mourns the Loss of ‘a Brother, a Friend, a Caring Man’ (Exclusive)

Paul Michael Glaser recalls his Starsky & Hutch costar David Soul following his death earlier this week.

“David was a brother, a friend, a caring man,” Glaser shares exclusively with PEOPLE. “We’ll never see him like him again.”

“David’s death is hard for me to comprehend. It seems like only yesterday we were exchanging loving insults on the phone,” the 80-year-old actor tells PEOPLE.

“It just takes time, I tell myself; saying goodbye to such a dear friend and important part of my life, I have a feeling that I will let his loss, our loss, be felt only gradually.”

David Soul, “Beloved” Starsky & Hutch Actor, died at 80

“I want to express my condolences to dear Helena, whom he loved and appreciated and who was by his side during these difficult years,” adds the actor. “He could never tell me enough what she meant to him.”

“To all his sons and daughter China, my deepest sympathy.”

“And to all of you, our audience who supports and cares for us, who recognized a very special relationship and never stopped talking to us. Thank you – says the actor. “We have all lost a dear friend who will live on in our memories.”

David Soul, Paul Michael Glaser in “Starsky and Hutch.”.

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The two actors starred together in the hit series from 1975 to 1979. The ABC show followed two California detectives, Soule as Sergeant Kenneth Richard “Hutch” Hutchinson, Glaser as Hutch’s partner and fellow detective David Starsky.

In November, Soul said Glaser “is and always will be my best friend, my brother,” in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

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In 2023, there was news of a possible reboot of the cop series with two female characters in the lead roles. Soul responded to the reports, questioning why he and his original partner couldn’t be the ones to carry out the reboot.

“Every article [about a reboot] mentions the ‘original’ actors by name. So why not just restart Paul and me — as a couple of old farts solving stupid crimes in the institution for the infirm we would now live in? Who can do Starsky and Hutch better than him and me?” he wrote on X.

Glaser jokingly replied, “If you’re going to describe me as an ‘old fart,’ please leave the ‘old’ out.”

David Soul.

Peter Jordan – PA Images/PA Images via Getty

On Thursday, Soul’s wife of 13 years, Helen Snell, announced in a statement to PEOPLE that the actor died Wednesday “after a courageous fight for life in the company of a loving family.” Snell described Soul as a “beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother.”

“He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as an actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend,” her statement continued. “His smile, laugh and passion for life will be remembered by many whose lives he touched.”

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