Paul Michael Glaser

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Name: Paul Michael Glaser, Paul Glaser
Also Known As: Paul Manfred Glaser, PMG
Occupation: Actor
Medium: Television
Works: Starsky & Hutch
Official Website(s):
Fan Website(s):
On Fanlore: Related pages

Paul Michael Glaser is an American actor, best known for his role as Dave Starsky in Starsky & Hutch.

Actor Fan vs. Character Fan

At least one con, DobeyCon, was scuttled, in part due to some of the conflicts between character fans and actor fans:

DS and PMG were only discussed briefly in the [APB] forum. Naturally we were and still are, interested in relevant information about the two actors but it was never a case of over-kill. Consequently if any of the men's negative qualities were slightly brushed upon, no letter of desperate defence appeared the following month. Comments were accepted and/or taken in good humour. Yes - we were all part of a family then. What happened? OK 'Razor Mouth' Harding will tell you!

Suddenly a new type of fan appeared on the scene. Admittedly these 'fans' were totally dedicated to their idols and defended them to the bitter end but the problem arose when the 'group' chose S&H fandom as an outlet for their fervour. There are many of us who are fans of Starsky and Hutch - the show - the characters, the relationship! Of course, none of us are so empty headed as to discuss the actors DS and PMG as invalid but they play a small part in our interest.

Hence we witnessed a conflict in ideas. Suddenly the pages of APB became a battleground for those amongst us who dared to say DS and PMG weren't all together perfect and those who would defend them with all the anger of a cat with a scorched ass! [1]

Also see:

Real Life Complexities

Glaser had much personal tragedy. Glaser's family was terribly impacted by AIDs with the death of their daughter Ariel (in August 1988) and the social activism of Elizabeth Glaser (who passed away in December 1994).

For many fans, the topic of AIDs in fanworks was a little-discussed one, as well as a simply a what if for the characters. Glaser's real life experiences made these discussions much more complicated.

Some examples of these fan comments are in the letterzine, Tell Me Something I Don't Know. General discussion about AIDs as a fannish topic began in 1987. In 1989, fans learned of the news that the Glaser family was personally impacted and their conversations included that information.

The Push and Pull of Allegiances

A fan in 1985 blamed the cancellation of the con, Bullet, on fan allegiances and public relations:

It seems DS is pulling all the favour in the UK these days – PMG doesn’t get a lookin! Perhaps it’s because DS is still appearing on our screens and PMG is seldom seen. It’s certainly surprising how quickly some people forget… A lot of people in the UK are all geared up to celebrate 10 years of S&H at a SoulMates convention. Ye God, I mean DS could rustle my sheets any time, but we’re talking about a different universe here – S&H. Hutch does have a partner and a cute one at that. You can’t possibly have a Hutch without a Starsky!

As a Fan-casted Character

Paul Michael Glaser was fan-casted in Harry and Johnny (along with his wife, Elizabeth) as Dr. Ben Stein.

Some fans felt fan-casting could be misused. From a fan in 1983:

I don't like this tendency (very noticeable last issue [ of Hanky Panky]) of turning every character DS or PMG (or even Clint Eastwood, for Chrissake) ever played into a gay character. I thought a couple of the recent stories have really been reaching. I know too many gays who do the same thing - believe the whole world is secretly gay in order to justify their own sexuality. I understand - of course! - the desire to enjoy these particular bodies in incarnations other than Starsky and Hutch. But there are other ways to do it - like creating original characters based on the physical aspects of someone you love. To write "John Smith," for example, using the face and body (with minor changes, perhaps) of, say, PMG, is fun, hurts no one, and is creative, to boot. Quite a few of the established writers in this fandom use "clones" regularly - I know Jean always has a face in mind when she creates a new character. My own much-loved Mark and Judson are based on Brian May and Judson Scott (not in personality or talents, particularly, just physically). But I believe this trend of turning Soul's and Glaser's minor roles into gay characters, and performing wild contortions of plot in order to pair them up, is both worrisome and unhealthy. [2]

In RPF and RPS Fanworks

See Starsky & Hutch RPF.

Glaser, Fanworks, and Crossing Boundaries

Fans in the Starsky & Hutch fandom did not interact with Glaser, or his co-star, in very many ways as the two actors kept far away from media and creative fandom.

A handful of fans did send their zines to him. An example was Dirtball Dispatch. From that zine's editorial: "I only hope, Paul, David, and Joe Naar, that you're even as remotely impressed as I am, because, indeed and as always - it's all for you."

A fan in 1981 wrote:

And what the everlivin' hell does what DS or PMG or Naar or anybody else think matter to the writing of S&H? Spelling-Goldberg gave up on us, baby. They are all the outsiders in this fandom. The characters are now ours, to do with as we see fit. Who cares what Soul stammered out on the subject of homosexuality on the show? (I've seen the [interview] tape; he stammers.) Does he write LoCs? Can he or PMG or anybody else involved with the production really be bothered about a show that went out of production over two years ago? Soul is not Hutch; Hutch is not Soul. Same thing goes for Starsky and Glaser. Let's be serious, folks: interested they might well be; panic-stricken, they ain't. [3]

Slash Fanworks and Impact on Glaser

Glaser and his costar, David Soul, likely had little or no knowledge or contact with fanworks, much less slash ones.

This did not stop fans from being concerned about Glaser and Soul's feelings. From a fan commenting about Leslie Fish's 1983 zine, Pushing the Odds:

No thank you, lady. Your letter outraged and infuriated me. How dare you presume to speak for anybody but yourself? I resent the hell out of your comment re: zine eds who’ve been browbeaten into submission. Who gave you the right to represent me? I want no part of your offer, now or ever. What good do you think you’re going to do by waving S/H zines in Spelling-Goldberg’s faces and screaming “Look what I did and you can’t stop me!”??? Can’t you understand why many of want to keep S/H fairly quiet? (That does not mean limiting it to a select few; that means keeping it quiet. Period…) Most of us have tremendous respect and love for PMG and DS. We would not do anything to embarrassment or hurt them in any way. And that, pure and simple, is why we keep it private… [I’m] not as concerned about possible lawsuits as I am about harming two men I respect deeply. [4]

Fanworks

Zines

Fan Clubs and Communities

References

  1. ^ from Two years ago, S&H fandom was flourishing., a 1985 essay by Lyndy Harding
  2. ^ fom Hanky Panky #9 (likely September 1983)
  3. ^ from S and H (Starsky and Hutch letterzine) (May 1981)
  4. ^ from S and H #29
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