Exclusive Photo: Antonio Fargas, Portrayed Huggy Bear on ‘Starsky and Hutch’

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CHICAGO – The coolest cat on 1970s TV was Huggy Bear, informant to the cop team of “Starsky and Hutch.” The man who portrayed that fly guy was Antonio Fargas, who also could lay claim as the Godfather of Blaxploitation Films (the run of African American cinema in the late 1960s through the ‘70s). Fargas was honored for his contributions with the Career Achievement Award at the Cinepocalypse Film Festival, Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

Career Achievement Honoree Antonio Fargas, Cinepocalypse Film Festival
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Starting with his participation in the breakthrough film “Putney Swope” (1969), Antonio Fargas was in some of the best Blaxploitation films, including “Across 110th Street” (1972), “Cleopatra Jones” (1973), “Foxy Brown” (1974), “Car Wash” (1976) and even the spoof “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” (1988) as “Flyguy.” He portrayed Huggy Bear on “Starsky and Hutch” from 1975 to ’79.

Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com shot these Exclusive Photos of Antonio Fargas right before he received his Career Achievement Award at the historic Music Box Theatre in Chicago, on November 9th, 2017.

Antonio “Huggy Bear” Fargas in Chicago
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com