'Hutch' on hard times

Andre Pain13 April 2012

As one half of Starsky and Hutch, David Soul was one of the biggest stars of the Seventies.

But almost 30 years on, the American is living in a bedsit in a shabby part of London.

Soul, 60, missed out on a multimillion pound fortune after selling his 7.5 per cent stake in Starsky & Hutch for $100,000 (£54,000) before it became a worldwide hit.

He would have earned millions from the series, repeats and film rights, including the new Hollywood version out in March in which he has a bit part.

The actor, who appeared early in his career with Clint Eastwood in the film Magnum Force, now lives in a bedsit in the Paddington area.

The double-fronted Victorian house is divided into 14 one-room studios, with a cramped space which can barely hold a double bed. The cooker is a few feet away in the same room and there is an adjoining bathroom.

Last week a burglar broke into the flat and stole Soul's wallet and some valuables. The thief, believed to be a local drug addict, kicked the flimsy front door off its hinges.

One of his neighbours said: 'I had quite a shock to see David Soul living here. You imagine him to be a Hollywood star living with a beautiful woman in a big house with a swimming pool and a sports car.

'But the way he is living now is a world removed from that. These rooms are quite basic and cramped.

'The area is not particularly nice. There is a lot of crime and you have to look over your shoulder all the time.'

Soul played Ken 'Hutch' Hutchinson alongside Paul Michael Glaser in the police show from 1975 to 1979.

He said recently: 'It was a big part of the lives of the late twenty- to early fortysomethings. People remember the show as being part of family life.'

But after the series, the big roles began to dry up. The actor also had problems in the Eighties, experiencing a bout of alcoholism and ending up in prison after his pregnant wife complained he attacked her.

Soul, who has been married four times, came to Britain eight years ago and has taken a string of roles in provincial theatre and television.

Two weeks ago he appeared in the BBC1 drama Dalziel & Pascoe as a Boston police detective.

Soul refused to talk about the burglary or his current living arrangements. He said: 'I don't want to comment on it...I don't want to speak to anyone.'

A friend added: 'David is a proud man and doesn't want to talk about his current situation.'

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