‘It’s a bit overwhelming’: ‘Huggy Bear’ remembers David Soul

Huggy Bear’s ‘hood blew up when Hutch hit the scene.

Antonio Fargas remembers when David Soul visited Fargas’ family’s New York City tenement in the 1970s. This was at the peak of the “Starsky & Hutch” phenomenon, the show reaching millions of TV viewers each week.

Fargas played Huggy Bear, the series’ street-wise, nattily dressed informant. Soul portrayed detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchison, opposite Paul Michael Glaser’s David Starsky. The ABC crime-drama ran from 1975-‘79.

Soul died Thursday at age 80 “after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family,” his wife, Helen Snell, said in a statement.

Fargas is a Las Vegas resident, father of ex-Raiders running back Justin Fargas and father-in-law of Aces President Nikki Fargas.

The 77-year-old classically trained actor recalled Soul’s trip to see Fargas’ family in New York City.

“At the height of our fame, he took the time to come to New York, and go to my mother’s apartment in the projects, where I grew up,” Fargas said Friday. “We had all of the fans beating on the windows, because David Soul was in this apartment at 425 West 25th St.”

The stars of “Starsky & Hutch” were recognizable on any city street, especially Fargas’ New York neighborhood.

“You could touch so many people on TV, especially in those days,” said Fargas, who was also cast in the comedy film “Car Wash” during the series’ run. “You think ‘Car Wash’ was iconic (chuckles), ‘Starsky & Hutch’ just had this awesome power of television. So for David to come down and deal with that to see my family shows what kind of man he was.”

Soul was also a recording star with the easy-listening ballad “Don’t Give Up On Us,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard singles charts in 1976.

Fargas said he had known his friend of nearly 50 years had been ill for quite some time. He said he felt the power of the TV series in Soul’s final days.

“It’s all just coming back to me, in terms of condolences, and it’s been a bit overwhelming,” Fargas said. “The last time I talked to him was a couple of days ago, when his wife put the phone up to his ear, and I said, ‘I love you.’ The outpouring of love has been amazing, and he is at peace.”

Raiders’ show-closer

How’s this for a double-bill at Sunday’s Raiders-Broncos tilt.: “American Idol” alum and Broadway star Katharine McPhee, and the rap outfit Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

McPhee is singing the national anthem. She of course is the wife and oft-stage partner of producing icon David Foster. She also starred in “Waitress” on Broadway and the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End. She was also featured in the TV series “Smash,” and has headlined alongside Foster at Encore Theater.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is the melodic, bone-in band out of Cleveland made up of Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone.

The honorary, season-ending Al Davis Memorial Torch lighter is to be announced. David Perrico and the Raiders House Band play throughout. Arrive about an hour beforehand, hit Club Davis, at the base of the torch, by the bandstand. I’d wager it’s the coolest hang in the league.

Cool Hang Alert

Veteran showman Craig Canter is up 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Grape Street Wine Bar Cafe in Downtown Summerlin. The set list is ’60s and ’70s, food gets good reviews. You might see the odd celeb, too. No cover.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.