Ryan Seacrest

Our heartfelt thanks to Carol, Vicki "Cam Girl", and especially to Paul and David for making all these wonderful friendships and memories for people possible. You're the best.

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."
- Artistotle

    Amazing things happen in our lifetime. I have not only always believed in that, but I've lived to experience it. They say timing is everything. I believe that as well. 2004 was the year of miracles and amazing moments. The past couple of years had been unbelievably full of stress as the doctors gave my gravely ill husband a very slim chance of survival. If the timing had been different, so many things would not have been possible for me in 2004. Not the least of which would be the chance to fly to Hollywood and live a lifelong dream. But 2004 brought health back to my husband, a miraculous recovery, and the chance to dream again. Twenty-nine years after first dreaming of it happening, I met Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. Oh, yeah, and the Red Sox won the World Series. I'll remember 2004 with many reasons to smile.

1975 was one of those years. I was fifteen years old and not easily impressed or inspired. That all changed one Wednesday night. I fell in love with a relationship portrayed on a new TV show. Even in my youth, I knew what was happening. I understood the significance. It wasn't superficial, it wasn't fleeting. I fell in love with two men who so beautifully symbolized the human spirit. The critics never understood it. The Emmy Awards never honored it. But none of that mattered to those who felt the warmth, who admired the friendship, who were given the great gift...a lesson of love. Starsky & Hutch would not be remembered as having moved mountains. But for those of us who knew it well, who watched it with our hearts, and who were touched by its uniqueness... twenty-nine years later, when Hollywood decided to profit from that wonderful show...it was time for the fans to say thank you. Thank you, not to those involved with the feature film version, but rather, to those who were the heart and soul of the original series. Paul and David.

I have no hesitation in saying that I don't think either Paul or David will ever understand the impact that they made. I do think, however, in some ways they can at least relate to the impression they left. Paul often used to speak about his movie heroes. David often talks about how much his guitar has meant to him, getting him through both the good times, and the bad. Everybody needs something to believe in, to enjoy, to dream about...but when something comes along, so beautiful, so inspiring, that it never leaves you...that's one of the great blessings of living every day, of loving every moment. Starsky & Hutch is not the most important thing in my life, or anyone else's. We all have our family, our friends, our careers, our joys, our passions, our sorrows, our hopes, and our dreams. We have many, many beautiful and meaningful things that make up our very beings. But when I was growing up, feeling insecure, and hopelessly unsure of everything, it meant so much to find something that helped me understand the significance of being human. Of being loved. It was not something I could easily find in the world. But we find inspiration where we can, and as John Lennon once sang, whatever gets you through the nigh t... I know what helped me find strength when I was young. I needed to find strength in love. It was only a television show, but it was the source of that inspiration. Starsky & Hutch, the fictional characters, through the talent and heart of the real life actors, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, brought that beauty into my soul. What was their uniqueness? For me, it was always their ability to love and be loving. Perhaps, not everyone could understand the beauty I saw. Perhaps, in other lives such love and warmth existed. But in my world, their portrayal of friendship was astonishing. I had never known such an amazing relationship. I lived vicariously through theirs. As an impressionable young girl growing up in the seventies, I often think of the other ways I might have been driven in search of myself. But it wasn't drugs, or alcohol, or self-destruction that I channeled my energy into. It was understanding myself, and the things I cared deeply about. Starsky & Hutch was a spiritual journey for me. It taught me so much about the person I wanted to be. I will always be grateful for its presence in my life, and its positive influence upon me.
 
Twenty-years later, I'm no longer that insecure fifteen year-old. Blessed with a wonderful husband and three beautiful children, wonderful friends, and a heart full of strength and hope...2004. But my gratitude to that TV show, and those two actors, will always remain with me. I learned a great deal from that show, most importantly about love and loyalty. You don't only care in the good times, you care forever. You wish well those who have inspired you to have such a great sense of self. Paul and David, in part, were among those who inspired me to strive for happiness. To embrace love.
 
My friend Terri is a lifelong S&H fan, just as I am. She is just a very private person. When all of the press was buzzing about the premiere of the new S&H movie, one of the shows interested in doing a segment on it was the On Air With Ryan Seacrest Show. When approached by the show's producer to take part in a segment on the original S&H, Terri turned them down. It wasn't that she didn't want that chance to meet Paul and David. She wanted it very much. But it was her choice not to go on television, and she passed on the chance. It was a matter of privacy. I understand how one's passions are private. In many ways, I don't think any of us can understand the passion of another. But we can understand the mutual passion, even if we appreciate them in different ways. As fate would have it, Terri referred the Seacrest producer to her friend in Massachusetts . They interviewed me, apparently liked what they found in this fan, and I was on my way to California . Our friend, Vicki, the gentle school teacher and fellow S&H fan from Pennsylvania , would share in this adventure. Vickie eloquently called it our "dance with destiny."
 
It was a surreal night. The Seacrest Show had chosen us to stand on the red carpet that fateful evening on February 26, 2004 . There were many celebrities, many cameras, many reporters. But we were there to represent the fans of the original Starsky & Hutch, Paul and David. Our hope was to show our gratitude and thank them, on behalf of all S&H fans, who had been, as we had, touched by their humanity.
 
I was asked to interview other celebrities, but it's difficult when no one understands your Boston accent...but I tried.

When Paul and David came over to our place in line, it was an amazing moment. There was a fifteen year old girl inside of me, so very grateful, so very humbled. As I interviewed them, I realized that they would never fully understand the impact they have had on any of us. There would never be the right words, the touch of eloquence that I would have wanted, to speak from my heart, for all hearts who cared about them. Almost three decades had passed, but they still were so beautiful together. That night on the red carpet, all those years later, they never looked more beautiful to me.

Theirs had been an utterly beautiful on-screen friendship, and to think, all those year later, they were still friends, still cared so much about each other. It meant so much, so much more than it had, twenty-nine years earlier. Because it had endured. It was real. It was a beautiful relationship between two human beings. And the reason it was so admired, and the reason it is still marveled at, isn't hard to comprehend. Not many people in this world have that type of amazing
friendship or relationship. Those that do will find nothing special about it. But for those of us who find it rare, who always dreamed of having that amazing friendship with another human being...it's worth remembering and admiring. I wish I could have spoken from my heart to David and to Paul, and said everything that all of us wish to say to them. But they had my thanks, our thanks...gratitude from those who understood the message they were sending out to the world. Love is something never to be ashamed of...love, trust, honesty and respect are the greatest gifts we have in life. In those four years that S&H graced the television screen, it taught those lessons of love to all of our hearts.
 
I hope that Paul and David will never be ashamed of that. I hope they can be proud of the beauty of thought that they placed in our minds. I hope they are proud of the warmth they placed in our hearts. I hope they realize they inspired many friendships, encouraged many kind gestures.
 
For me, and many others, Starsky & Hutch was about love. I cannot think of a more meaningful reason for it to be remembered all these years later.
   
2004 was a wonderful year for me. My husband gained back his health, I was able to meet Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, together, and thank them for all of us. They are still so beautiful together.
   
Thank you to Paul, to David, to my friend, Terri, to Vickie...and to all of the countless other S&H fans who believe in the love story of the human spirit.
 
Did I mention the Red Sox won the World Series?
 
Thank you,
 
 
Carol Trant

Transcript by Pam;

Commentary by Carol