Steven Hill, at 94; played imposing figures in TV dramas . By Anita
Gates New York Times . NEW YORK - Steven Hill, who originated imposing
lead roles on two notable television series, "Mission: Impossible" in
the 1960s and "Law & Order" in the 1990s, died on Tuesday in Manhattan.
He was 94. He lived in Monsey, a hamlet north of New York City. Mr.
Hill was 44 and a veteran stage and television actor in 1966 when he
was cast as Daniel Briggs, the leader of an elite covert-operations
unit, in the new series "Mission: Impossible. But he left after the
first season, paving the way for Peter Graves's six-season run as the
show's lead. Even decades later, Mr. Hill declined to discuss his
reasons for leaving, other than to say that the first season had been a
bad experience. Other sources, including Patrick J. White, author of a
book on the series, "The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier," said
Mr. Hill was dismissed and learned the news only when he read a Daily
Variety announcement that Graves was being hired. According to White,
Mr. Hill had developed a reputation for being difficult. His refusal to
work late on Fridays, because of his observance of the Jewish sabbath,
was also reported to be a problem. In White's book, Mr. Hill's co-star
Martin Landau is quoted as saying, "I felt he was digging his own
grave. Almost a quarter-century after that experience, Mr. Hill took on
the role of the stern, seemingly imperturbable district attorney Adam
Schiff on a new cops-and-lawyers series based in New York, "Law &
Order. He played the role, said to be modeled on long-serving Manhattan
district attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, from 1990 to 2000. Mr. Hill and
Morgenthau often met during the "Law & Order" years and talked about
what the character should do in certain situations. Morgenthau recalled
his reaction when he learned that Mr. Hill was earning $25,000 per
episode: "I used to tell him, 'Steven, when you're ready to retire, let
me know. I want your job. In a 1996 interview with the Washington Post,
Dick Wolf, creator of "Law & Order," called Mr. Hill "the Talmudic
influence on the entire zeitgeist of the series. "Steven has more moral
authority than anyone else on episodic TV," Wolf said. Steven Hill was
born Solomon Krakowsky on Feb. 24, 1922, in Seattle, the son of a
furniture-store owner. He graduated from the University of Washington.
After a stint in radio in Chicago, he moved to New York, making his
Broadway debut in a small role in "A Flag Is Born" (1946), a
pageantlike production written by Ben Hecht, with music by Kurt Weill,
that advocated for the creation of the state of Israel. In 1948, Mr.
Hill played a sailor in the wartime comedy "Mr. Roberts," which starred
Henry Fonda. "It was a thrilling time in my life," Mr. Hill said in
2005. "You could almost smell it from the very first reading that took
place - this is going to be an overwhelming hit. Two years later Mr.
Hill played Bernie Dodd, the stage director who tries to help a
washed-up alcoholic actor, in Clifford Odets's drama "The Country Girl.
Mr. Hill worked in the early years of television, beginning in 1949
with four episodes of the series "Actors Studio. (He was a charter
member of the prestigious organization that gave its name to the show.)
He made his film debut in 1950 in "A Lady Without Passport," a crime
noir starring Hedy Lamarr about a smuggling ring in Cuba. Mr. Hill gave
up acting from 1967 to 1977 and took a variety of jobs, including real
estate sales. When he returned to show business, he appeared in a
string of films, including the romantic comedy "It's My Turn" (1980);
Barbra Streisand's "Yentl" (1983); Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach
Memoirs" (1986); and "Running on Empty" (1988), in which he played the
estranged father of a former student radical (Christine Lahti) living
underground. His final screen appearances were as Schiff on "Law &
Order. Mr. Hill married Selma Stern in 1951, and they had four
children. The couple divorced in 1964. He married the former Rachel
Schenker in 1967 and they had five children. Mr. Hill summed up his
long career, not necessarily with regrets but with a clear eye, in a
1996 interview with The Times. "What we have here is a story of
profound instability and impermanence," he said. "This is what you
learn at the beginning in show business; then it gets planted in you
forever.
