Paul Michael Glaser has not yet grasped the death of his former “Starsky and Hutch” co-star David Soul.
“I find it difficult to comprehend David’s passing. Seems only yesterday that we were sharing loving insults on the phone,” the actor said in a statement to Page Six Friday.
“It just takes time, I tell myself; saying good-bye to such a dear friend and important part of my life I suspect that I will let myself feel his loss, our loss, only gradually.”
Glaser, 80, said Soul was “a brother, a friend, a caring man” before offering his condolences to the late actor’s wife, Helen Snell, and his six children.
“I want to extend my condolences to dear Helen, whom he loved and cherished and who stood beside him through these difficult years. He could never tell me enough what she meant to him,” the “Fiddler on the Roof” actor continued.
“To all his sons and his daughter China, my deepest sympathies,” he added.
Glaser then acknowledged the “supportive and caring public” who loved his relationship with his late co-star.
“We have all lost a dear friend who shall live on in our memories. David – rest in peace, brother,” he concluded.
Soul passed away on Thursday at the age of 80.
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Snell — who wed Soul in 2010 after eight years of dating — confirmed the tragic news in a statement obtained by Page Six Friday, saying that her husband died “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,” the widow added.
“His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched.”
Snell did not elaborate on Soul’s cause of death.
The late actor rose to fame in the ’70s when he played Detective Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson in the popular crime show “Starsky & Hutch” alongside Glaser, who played Detective Dave Starsky.
The dynamic duo reunited in a 2004 film remake of “Starsky & Hutch,” which starred Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller as the new detectives.
Soul also starred in several movies and TV shows during his career, including “Farewell,” “Stark Trek, “Gunsmoke,” “Rage” and “I Dream of Jeannie,” among others.
His final role was a cameo in the 2013 Scottish film “Filth.”