Who Is PM Glaser? Paul Michael Glaser, Actor and Director

PM Glaser is Paul Michael Glaser, the American actor and director best known for playing Detective David Starsky on the 1970s police show Starsky & Hutch. Born in 1943 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he went on to direct films such as The Running Man and The Cutting Edge, and his screen credits list him in several ways, including P.M. Glaser and Paul M. Glaser.

Glaser has worked in film and television for more than five decades. He moved from stage training to soap operas, then to one of the most popular cop shows of its time, and later spent years behind the camera. Here’s a clear look at his life and work. You can read more actor biographies on the GrandPeoples.com biography library.

Who is PM Glaser?

Paul Michael Glaser is an American actor, director and writer. His birth name is Paul Manfred Glaser, and he was born on March 25, 1943, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was the youngest child and only son of Dorothy and Samuel Glaser. His father was a Boston architect who had studied at MIT.

Because he has worked as both actor and director, his name shows up in different forms. Credits list him as Paul Michael Glaser, Paul M. Glaser, P.M. Glaser, Paul Glaser and even Michael Glaser, which is how he was billed in an episode of Cannon. They all refer to the same person.

Where did he study and start acting?

Glaser went to the Buckingham Browne & Nichols School until 1961 and then the Cambridge School of Weston. He studied at Tulane University in New Orleans, earning a B.A. in theater and English with a minor in architecture in 1966. His roommate there was future director Bruce Paltrow.

He then earned a master’s degree in fine arts in acting and directing from Boston University in 1967. That mix of acting and directing training shaped his whole career.

His first steady TV job was on the daytime soap Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, where he played Dr. Peter Chernak from 1970 to 1973. In 1971 he made his film debut as Perchik, the young student revolutionary, in Fiddler on the Roof. Guest spots followed on shows such as The Streets of San Francisco, The Waltons, Kojak and The Rockford Files.

What made Starsky & Hutch so important to his career?

Starsky & Hutch turned Glaser into a household name. The ABC series ran for four seasons, from 1975 to 1979, and followed two street-smart detectives in a fictional California city. Glaser played the dark-haired, streetwise David Starsky, and David Soul played his partner, Ken Hutchinson.

The show’s mix of action, humor and loyalty between partners made it a hit.

Glaser also stepped behind the camera during the run. He wrote and directed several episodes, including “Bloodbath,” “Class in Crime” and “Ballad for a Blue Lady.” That early directing work opened the door to his second career.

When the show was remade as a 2004 film with Ben Stiller as Starsky, Glaser made a short cameo as the original Starsky. His on-screen partner David Soul died in January 2024, and Glaser paid public tribute to him as a dear friend.

If you follow famous actors, our profiles of Bryan Cranston and Snoop Dogg cover their stories in the same detail, and the internet star biographies collection on GrandPeoples.com includes Gigi Hadid.

What movies and TV shows has PM Glaser directed?

After Starsky & Hutch, Glaser built a long career as a director. His feature films cover action, sports comedy and family fare:

• Band of the Hand (1986), a crime drama
• The Running Man (1987), the sci-fi action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
• The Cutting Edge (1992), a romance about a hockey player turned figure skater
• The Air Up There (1994), a basketball comedy
• Kazaam (1996), a family film he also produced and helped write

Television kept him busy too. He directed episodes of Miami Vice in the mid-1980s and Amazing Stories in 1987. In the 2000s he worked on Judging Amy, The Agency, Robbery Homicide Division, Third Watch, Las Vegas, E-Ring, Raines and Criminal Minds.

Has he kept acting since the 1970s?

Yes, though acting became one part of a wider career. In 2003 he played Dave Klein, the ex-husband of Diane Keaton’s character, in Something’s Gotta Give. On Third Watch he played Captain Jack Steeper from 2004 to 2005, a show he also directed.

Later TV work includes the recurring role of Alan on Ray Donovan and the part of Leo in season 5 of Grace and Frankie in 2019. He also did voice work in Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers (2010).

In April 2018 he held his first U.S. solo art show, a set of paintings and digital illustrations at Cosmo Lofts in Hollywood. He titled it “Act III,” a nod to the third stage of his creative life after acting and directing.

What is his connection to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation?

Glaser married Elizabeth Glaser in 1980. In 1981 she received a blood transfusion that carried HIV while giving birth to their daughter, Ariel. The virus later passed to Ariel and to their son, Jake.

Ariel died of AIDS in 1988, when she was seven. That same year, Elizabeth and two friends, Susie Zeegen and Susan DeLaurentis, started the Pediatric AIDS Foundation to fund research on HIV in children. Paul and Elizabeth testified together before a congressional task force on pediatric AIDS in 1990, as the foundation’s own history of Elizabeth’s story describes.

Elizabeth died on December 3, 1994, and the group was renamed the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in her honor. Paul stayed involved and helped steer its work toward the global fight against HIV. Jake grew up healthy and has also become a voice for the cause.

Glaser married Tracy Barone in 1996, and they had a daughter, Zoe. He filed for divorce in 2007.

Conclusion

PM Glaser is Paul Michael Glaser, the actor who played David Starsky on Starsky & Hutch from 1975 to 1979. Born in 1943 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he trained in both acting and directing, then directed films like The Running Man, The Cutting Edge and Kazaam, plus dozens of TV episodes. Credits may say P.M. Glaser or Paul M. Glaser, but it’s the same man, also known for his long tie to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. More biographies of famous people are available on GrandPeoples.com.

Frequently asked questions

Is PM Glaser the same person as Paul Michael Glaser?

Yes. PM Glaser and Paul M. Glaser are short forms of Paul Michael Glaser. He has been credited under several versions of his name, including Michael Glaser on one episode of Cannon, but all of them point to the Starsky & Hutch star.

How old is Paul Michael Glaser?

Paul Michael Glaser was born on March 25, 1943, so he is 83 years old as of November 2026. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and grew up in the Boston area before studying at Tulane and Boston University.

Who played Hutch opposite Glaser’s Starsky?

David Soul played Detective Ken Hutchinson, known as Hutch, across all four seasons of Starsky & Hutch from 1975 to 1979. The two stayed friends for decades, and Glaser honored Soul publicly after Soul died in January 2024.

Did Paul Michael Glaser direct The Running Man?

Yes. Glaser directed The Running Man, the 1987 science fiction action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is one of his best-known films as a director, alongside The Cutting Edge (1992), The Air Up There (1994) and Kazaam (1996).

What was Paul Michael Glaser’s first movie?

His film debut was Fiddler on the Roof in 1971, where he played Perchik, the student who marries Tevye’s daughter Hodel. Around the same time he was also appearing on the daytime soap Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.