Paul Michael Glaser

Actor Paul Michael Glaser became a 1970s television icon as one of the two stars of the hit police action drama "Starsky & Hutch" (ABC, 1975-79), before going on to achieve post-stardom success as a director in television and film. After his Broadway debut in a production of "The Man in the Glass Booth" opposite Donald Pleasance in 1969, Glaser followed with an impressive feature film debut in the classic musical "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971). More film work and television guest spots followed before he landed the career-making role of the boyishly charming Detective Dave Starsky in "Starsky & Hutch," alongside David Soul as his more intellectually inclined partner. The duo's unmistakable onscreen chemistry - in addition to one very cool car - made the series an instant ratings hit, even if calls for a decrease in its vivid depictions of violence led to a friendlier and funnier show in its final season. With the end of "Starsky & Hutch," Glaser turned the lion's share of his attention to directing, going on to helm such films as "The Running Man" (1987) and "The Cutting Edge" (1992). The death of his first child and, later, his wife due to complications from AIDS left Glaser emotionally shaken, although he continued to champion the wonderful work done by his wife's organization, The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, created a few short years before her death. In the years that followed, Glaser continued to work behind the camera, as well as in front of it, even making a cameo as "The Original Starsky" in the big screen adaption of "Starsky & Hutch" (2004), proving that old TV cops never really hang up their badge.