David and Paul: A Tribute

While William Blinn created the characters for the Pilot, it was David and Paul who brought them to life and created their enduring friendship, which was based on their own real-life friendship.

Whether you’ve just discovered the show recently, or first watched it in the 70s as a child, as I did, you may not have realized how much David and Paul put into it. Not only did they direct 8 episodes between them, but they also re-wrote scripts (uncredited) and were given the freedom (rare for actors, at the time) to ad-lib and improvise many of their scenes, often arguing with the director.

They also mostly picked out their character’s clothes, sometimes choosing pieces from their own personal wardrobes. And the jewelry each character wears was his own, as well.

If you’ve ever read one of the scripts and then compared it to the episode, you’ll see just how much David and Paul contributed to what we see on the screen. The touching, the way they look at each other, their friendship, is all there onscreen because of them and their real-life friendship.

David and Paul met in NYC in the mid-sixties when they were both training in the theatre, but at the time they were just acquaintances traveling in the same circles.

But then in 1974, they were reunited in Aaron Spelling’s office in Los Angeles when Paul auditioned for the part of Starsky. David had already been cast without an audition based on Spelling seeing him in Clint Eastwood’s second Dirty Harry film, Magnum Force, but over 150 actors had been auditioned as Starsky and none were right. But then Paul came in and auditioned and he was offered the part immediately.

In this video from MCM ComicCon in Birmingham, UK (March 2017), listen to David, Paul, and Antonio talk about David and Paul’s chemistry as they recount the day they met in Aaron Spelling’s office. Paul says about David, “He kissed me,” to which Antonio quips, “Love at first sight,” and then Paul confirms, “He is a good kisser.” Remind you of any S&H episode? It starts around 5:17.

So much of what we see on the screen is real. When Hutch is crying in Starsky’s arms in Gillian, it wasn’t just acting. David really was crying and most of the crew members were crying, too. Script writer and production assistant Amanda Green had to leave the room. Filming had to stop for the rest of the day because David was too upset to continue.

During the hiatus between the 2nd and 3rd seasons, David filmed a movie in England called “The Stick-Up” where he had to film scenes in mud and pigshit (pardon my French) and ended up in the hospital with a serious case of pneumonia and an extremely high fever. His condition was so serious that Paul flew there from California to be with him.

A few months later, when filming the Plague, Paul got so upset at seeing David in the hospital bed (as the dying Hutch) that he left the set in tears.

We fans are so blessed to have witnessed this unique and special friendship for all these years, both on the show and in real life. And 45 years after they reunited for the Pilot, David and Paul are still best friends, despite living on two different continents.

So while this blog’s URL is Starsky & Hutch Forever, it really is about David and Paul as much as their characters, because they are so intertwined.

Addendum: David’s just-released documentary film, America, was produced by Me and Thee Productions, a nod to the motto that David and Paul used for themselves and bestowed on their characters in the S1 ep, Death Ride.