Paul Michael Glaser, is an American actor and director best known for his role as Detective Dave Starsky on the 1970's television series, Starsky & Hutch. Glaser also played Captain Jack Steeper on the NBC series Third Watch from 2004 to 2005.
After appearing in several Broadway productions, Glaser appeared in his first feature film in 1971, playing Perchik in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof. After having appeared as an extra on NBC's The Doctors, he was cast in the contract role of Dr. Peter Chernak on the daytime series Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and made guest appearances on shows such as The Waltons, Kojak, The Streets of San Francisco and The Rockford Files, but found fame playing Detective Dave Starsky opposite David Soul in the television showStarsky and Hutch, of which he directed several episodes. It ran for four seasons on ABC. After the series, Glaser continued to act on television and in films, and directed the 1987 filmThe Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as the 1992 film The Cutting Edge. He also directed episodes of several well-known TV series, including Miami Vice, Robbery Homicide Division and Judging Amy. Glaser returned to the big screen in 2003 in Something's Gotta Give, as Diane Keaton's ex-husband, and with a brief cameo in the 2004 film version of Starsky & Hutch, where his old role was reprised by Ben Stiller. He also directed the children's film Kazaam starring Shaquille O'Neal. On November 30, 2007, Glaser starred as Captain Hook in a pantomime version of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, Greater London, England. He took the lead role in the 2008 pantomime season at Sunderland's Empire Theatre. He guest starred in an episode of CBS's The Mentalist on October 1, 2009 titled "The Scarlet Letter". In 2013, Glaser revisited Fiddler on the Roof in a UK stage production on national tour, this time playing the lead character Tevye. In addition to television, film, and theater, Glaser is an avid photographer, writes poetry and is currently working on several children's novels.
Personal life
Glaser has been married twice. He married his first wife, Elizabeth Meyer, in 1980. In August 1981, Meyer contracted HIV through a blood transfusion while giving birth to the couple's first child, Ariel. Meyer did not find out about the virus until four years later, at which time both Ariel and son Jake were also found to be HIV positive. Ariel Glaser died in August 1988; Elizabeth Meyer Glaser died in 1994, after co-founding the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation with friends Susan DeLaurentis and Susie Zeegen. After his wife's death, Glaser served as chairman of the foundation until 2002 and remains Honorary Chairman, roles in which he has testified before the United States Congress and met with national leaders, as well as headlining annual fundraisers for the organization. Glaser married producer Tracy Barone in 1996; the couple had a daughter, Zoe, on 7 October 1997. Glaser filed for divorce in June 2007, citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for ending his 10-year marriage. He sought joint legal and physical custody of their daughter.
