‘Starsky & Hutch,’ the Original Buddy Cop Drama, Turns 50: 8 Things You Never Knew About the Show
While David Starsky and Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson only cruised the fictional streets of Bay City, California, from 1975-79, it was the actors who played the sexy undercover detectives — Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul — who slid their way into TV history, making them one of TV’s most iconic crime-fighting duos.
Executive produced by TV powerhouse Aaron Spelling, who aimed to bring a cooler, more modern edge to police dramas, Starsky & Hutch aired its first season Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC. Despite its late time slot, the show quickly became a hit thanks to the broad appeal of its lead actors, Glaser and Soul’s natural chemistry on- and offscreen, a proudly diverse supporting cast — and yeah, that notice-me vehicle and the boys’ memorable way of taking the driver’s seat.
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Most Starsky & Hutch fans no doubt remember that red Gran Torino (which was supposed to be green), the title characters’ streetwise bromance, and Huggy Bear’s silver-tongued flair. But even the show’s most devoted fans may have yet to uncover these behind-the-scenes secrets and strange-but-true stories that helped make this 1970s TV classic and its handsome stars so utterly unforgettable.
1 The show is credited with launching the buddy-cop genre
Previous police shows — think The Untouchables (1959-63) or The Streets of San Francisco (1972-77) — paired crime-fighters up to get the bad guys. But Starsky & Hutch arguably was the first to display a true friendship, inside and outside the precinct, between its main male characters.
2 That friendship extended into the actors’ personal lives
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Both actors admitted that, off-camera, they didn’t have much to talk about in the early days, and that they sometimes suffered creative differences. But in due time, Starsky and Hutch’s bond rubbed off on Glaser and Soul and lasted until Soul died at age 80 in early 2024. “David was a brother, a friend, a caring man,” Glaser told People of his friend’s passing. “We shall never see his like again.”
3 Both used stage names
Had they left their birth names untouched, Starsky and Hutch would have been played by Paul Manfred Glaser and David Solberg.
4 Soul set his sights on music first … and briefly tried an out-there persona
Almost as well known for his 1976 chart-topping smash “Don’t Give Up on Us” as he was for playing Hutch, Soul launched his musical career while studying to be a diplomat. Deciding to try music as a career, Soul, still going by David Solberg and living in Minneapolis, changed his name to David Soul. But he didn’t use it right away. Determined to be known for his music, not his looks, he popped a mask over his face, took some publicity stills and sent out his first demos as “The Covered Man.”
> How Well Do You Remember the 1970s Detective Buddy Series ‘Starsky & Hutch’?
5 Glaser wasn’t a car guy. Soul became one … thanks to Ernest Hemingway
Courtesy Everett Collection
From the start, Glaser was vocal in his loathing of the pair’s signature car, the 1976 red Ford Gran Torino he gave a famous nickname. “First of all, I thought it was ugly,” Glaser once groused. “I thought it was ridiculous that undercover police guys would drive a striped tomato — and I’ve never been a big champion of Ford.” Soul, on the other hand, saw his love for Ernest Hemingway’s writings and lifestyle evolve into a major hand in restoring Hemingway’s beloved 1955 Chrysler New Yorker convertible. The project, which Soul captured in the unreleased documentary Cuban Soul, landed Soul in a heap of hot water with Cuba and the U.S., but, he admitted, taught him a lot about both nations.
6 The show cycled through several theme songs
Starsky & Hutch debuted with a gritty, brooding, but unnamed, theme song written by composer Lalo Schifrin, which suited the show’s original intent as a gritty, violent crime drama. When the show gained more of a reputation as a buddy-cop hour, Starsky & Hutch adopted its best-known theme — former Blues Brother Tom Scott’s jazzy “Gotcha” — for Season 2. “Gotcha” was revamped by The Rookies theme song writer Mark Snow for Season 3 and was reworked again by Scott for the fourth and final season.
7 Huggy Bear was supposed to be a one-off
Everett Collection
Played by rubber-faced Antonio Fargas, Starsky and Hutch’s pal and primary informant, Huggy Bear (last name Brown), was only supposed to appear in one episode. But Fargas’ cool, flashy, streetwise performance made the character an instant fan favorite and, soon enough, a regular. Hug was so much of a favorite that rumor had it the Season 2 episode “Huggy and the Turkey” was a test run for a spinoff that never materialized.
8 Milton Bradley made a Starsky & Hutch board game
Van Eaton Galleries
If you loved Starsky & Hutch so much that you wished you could solve crimes right along with the super-cool cops, toy giant Milton Bradley made your dreams come true in 1977. The “Starsky & Hutch Detective Game” was a board game in which players raced to acquire all four cards that identified their criminal before the other players were onto their own. The game is now a collector’s item, along with action figures and die-cast models of the Gran Torino.
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Stars & Cars
April 2018
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