Editor’s Note: In November of 2018, Forum columnist Curt Eriksmoen wrote a two-part series on David Soul. The following story contains content from those stories along with updated news on Soul’s death.
David Soul, who was best known for playing Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchison on ABC’s “Starsky and Hutch” from 1975 to 1979 has died at the age of 80 and while he reached the height of his fame as TV cop in the 1970s, people in North Dakota first knew him as a handsome blonde blue-eyed cowboy singer in the Medora Musical.
His wife Helen Snell announced the death from their home in London.
“David Soul – beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother – died yesterday after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family. 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.”
Soul learned much of his craft while growing up in South Dakota, going to school in Minnesota and performing in North Dakota.
David Soul was born David Richard Solberg on Aug. 28, 1943, in Chicago, to June (Nelson) and Richard Solberg. A well-known Lutheran scholar, teacher, and pastor, Richard moved his family to Sioux Falls in 1945, where he was employed as a history and political science instructor at Augustana College. Because of the end of World War II, Richard was also employed as the religious affairs adviser for the U.S. Military Government and the U.S. High Commission in Germany and during the summers, the entire Solberg family often joined him there.
In Sioux Falls, David became involved in school and church activities, and he soon demonstrated talent in music, acting, and sports. While in the fourth grade, his performance as a leprechaun drew praise in the local newspaper. One of the people who noticed David’s acting ability was Earl Mundt, the theater director at Augustana College.
Did this baby-faced high school senior really become a sexy ’70s TV cop?
Washington High School Yearbook/1961/via e-yearbook
Mundt was born in Epping, North Dakota, and taught music and theater in Steele and Grafton before taking over the directing duties at Augustana. He also directed the local theater productions in Sioux Falls, and in 1952, when David was 9 years old, he convinced the youngster to play the role of Morten Stockmen in the Heinrik Ibsen play “An Enemy of the People.”
From 1953 to 1956, Richard Solberg served as the senior representative for the Lutheran World Federation to oversee refugee relief operations in West Berlin, so the family relocated to West Germany, and David made a point of learning the German language.
In 1956, the Solbergs returned to Sioux Falls. David often sang and played the piano at school and church events. He was very popular at Washington High School, serving on the student council, emceeing school talent shows and acting in school plays.
Washington High School Yearbook/1961/via e-yearbook
He also wrote sports for the yearbook, was president of the journalism club and treasurer of the German club. David was also a member of the high school track team and the American Legion baseball team.
It was reported that he was such a good ballplayer that he was offered a professional baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox organization. Following high school graduation in 1961, David enrolled at Augustana and was frequently featured in plays directed by Earl Mundt. He became very involved in the Lutheran campus church and, in 1962, was elected president of the South Dakota Luther League.
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Smith also remembers the future star as one of the cast’s more playful members.
One day, Smith got a concerning call from Harold Schafer, who started the show. Schafer told the producer David and a girl from the cast were out at 3 a.m. in Medora, making noise and throwing mud at each other.
“In those days, the streets were dirt,” Smith recalls. “I guess it rained and they were having fun throwing mud at each other.”
But it wasn’t all play. David was working toward launching a real career in show business. A New York agent was pursuing him for other work and wanted him to leave the show early.
Smith talked him out of it, but the day after the show closed the actor headed for New York and bigger things, he says.
New York and Hollywood success
Before setting out to New York, David Solberg knew that he needed a catchy name and a unique gimmick to make himself salable. He shortened his last name to Soul and donned a mask, calling himself “the covered man.”
Soul then sent a photo of himself along with a demo tape to the William Morris Agency and was hired “sight unseen.” The agency got Soul booked onto “The Merv Griffin Show,” and his debut was a success