Steven Hill - wikipedia Steven Hill For other people named Steven or Stephen Hill, see Stephen Hill ( disambiguation ). Steven Hill Hill as Dan Briggs on Mission : Impossible Solomon Krakovsky ( 1922 - 02 - 24 ) February 24, 1922 Seattle, Washington, U.S. August 23, 2016 ( 2016 - 08 - 23 ) ( aged 94 ) Monsey, New York, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1946 -- 1967, 1977 -- 2000 Height 1.82 m ( 6 ft 0 in ) Spouse ( s ) Selma Stern ( m. 1951 ; div. 1964 ) Rachel ( m. 1967 ) Children 9 Awards Sylvania Award Steven Hill ( born Solomon Krakovsky ; February 24, 1922 -- August 23, 2016 ) was an American actor. His two better - known roles are district attorney Adam Schiff on the NBC television drama series Law & Order, whom he portrayed for 10 seasons ( 1990 -- 2000 ), and Dan Briggs, the original team leader of the Impossible Missions Force on the CBS television series Mission : Impossible, whom he portrayed in the initial season of the show ( 1966 -- 1967 ). Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Debut 2.2 Actors Studio member 2.3 Early screen work 2.4 TV 's Golden Age 2.5 Mission : Impossible 2.6 Hiatus and return to acting 2.7 Law & Order 3 Personal life 3.1 Orthodox Judaism 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External links Early Life Hill was born Solomon Krakovsky or Solomon Berg in Seattle, Washington, to Russian Jewish immigrants. After graduating from West Seattle High School in 1940, Hill served four years in the United States Naval Reserve. In the 1950s, Hill moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. Career Debut Hill made his first Broadway stage appearance in Ben Hecht 's A Flag Is Born in 1946, which also featured a young Marlon Brando. Hill said that his big break came when he landed a small part in the hit Broadway show Mister Roberts. `` The director, Joshua Logan, thought I had some ability, and he let me create one of the scenes, '' said Hill. `` So, I improvised dialog and it went in the show. That was my first endorsement. It gave me tremendous encouragement to stay in the business. '' Hill said this was a thrilling time in his life when, fresh out of the Navy, he played the hapless sailor Stefanowski. `` You could almost smell it from the very first reading that took place ; this is going to be an overwhelming hit, '' said Hill. `` We all felt it and experienced it and were convinced of it, and we were riding the crest of a wave from the very first day of rehearsals. '' Actors Studio member In 1947, Hill joined Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Julie Harris, among others, as one of the 50 fortunate applicants ( out of about 700 interviewed ) to be accepted by the newly created Actors Studio. Early screen work Hill made his film debut in 1950 in A Lady Without Passport. He then re-enlisted in the Navy in 1952 for two years and, when he completed his service, resumed his acting in earnest. Strasberg later said, `` Steven Hill is considered one of the finest actors America has ever produced. '' When he was starting out as an actor, Hill sought out roles that had a social purpose. `` Later, I learned that show business is about entertaining, '' he said. `` So, I 've had to reconcile my idealistic feelings with reality. '' TV 's Golden age Main article : Golden Age of Television Hill was particularly busy in the so - called `` Golden Age '' of live TV drama, appearing in such offerings as The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1960, where he portrayed Bartolomeo Vanzetti. `` When I first became an actor, there were two young actors in New York : Marlon Brando and Steven Hill, '' said Martin Landau, who later became Hill 's castmate in the first season of Mission : Impossible. Landau went on to admit, `` A lot of people said that Steven would have been the one, not Marlon. He was legendary. Nuts, volatile, mad, and his work was exciting. '' In 1961, Hill had an unusual experience when he was cast as Sigmund Freud on Broadway in Henry Denker 's A Far Country, portraying Freud at the age of 35. For on April 12, 1961, the night of a sold - out performance for the Masters Children 's Center of Dobbs Ferry, Hill was stricken with a virus which incapacitated him so severely that as a direct result, just as the curtain was about to rise, the producers decided to cancel the performance. Among the notables in the audience were Joseph P. Kennedy, Jack Benny, and Richard Rodgers. The audience were invited to exchange their ticket stubs for other performances. The understudy was not ready to replace Hill, so Alfred Ryder, the play 's director, stepped into the role of Freud for one performance. In 1961, he was cast as B.E. Langard in the episode `` Act of Piracy '' of the ABC series, Adventures in Paradise, which starred Gardner McKay. He appeared in the original Robert Stack ABC / Desilu crime drama, The Untouchables episode `` Jack ' Legs ' Diamond, '' giving a compelling, cold, evil performance as the eponymous character, and a similar sinister role as a bedridden ( following an accident ), ruthlessly manipulative millionaire in `` The White Knight, '' a 1966 black - and - white, third - season episode of The Fugitive, which starred David Janssen. Hill 's early screen credits include The Goddess and A Child Is Waiting. Mission : Impossible Hill was the original leader of the Impossible Missions Force, Dan Briggs, in the series Mission : Impossible beginning in 1966. The phrase `` Good morning, Mr. Briggs... '' was a fixture early in each episode, where a tape recording he retrieved detailed the task he must accomplish. However, he was replaced in the show in 1967 after the end of the first season. As one of the few Orthodox Jewish actors working in Hollywood, he made it clear in advance of production that he was not able to work on the Sabbath ( i.e., sundown Friday to dusk Saturday ), and that he would leave the set every Friday before sundown. However, despite Hill 's advance warnings, the show 's producers were unprepared for his rigid adherence to the Sabbath, and on at least one occasion, Hill left the set while an episode was still in the midst of filming. The producers used a number of ways of reducing the role of Hill 's character Dan Briggs whereby his character would only obtain and hand out the mission details at the start of certain episodes being unable to take further part as he was known to people they would encounter ( used at least three times ), or Briggs would need to don a disguise and another actor would then play his role incognito until the conclusion of the mission ( and episode ) when Briggs peeled off a face mask. On other occasions, Briggs was waiting to pick up the team at the end. Usually, Martin Landau 's character ( Rollin Hand ) took over as the team leader for missions in Briggs 's absence, Landau being initially a `` special guest star '' for the first season, not even included in the show 's original opening credits. According to Desilu executive Herb Solow, William Shatner once burst into his office, claiming `` Steve asked me how many Jews worked on Star Trek. He was recruiting a prayer group of 10 guys to worship together on top of the studio 's highest building and only had six Jews so far from Mission. He asked if I would come and bring Nimoy and Justman and you. '' Hill was briefly suspended from the show near the end of the season, during the production of episode 23, titled `` Action ! '' In it, for the only time, Barbara Bain 's character Cinnamon Carter obtained the mission details through the taped instructions, even though Landau 's character, Rollin Hand, then actually led the team. The suspension was imposed after he refused to climb the rafters via a soundstage staircase as was called for in the script. This incident was ostensibly unrelated to any religious observances of Hill 's. Consequently, Hill was written out of that episode and when he returned to Mission : Impossible for the five remaining episodes of the season, his role was severely reduced. Hill was not asked to return for season two, and was replaced as the show 's star by Peter Graves. No onscreen explanation was ever given regarding Dan Briggs 's later absence from the series. Hiatus and return to acting After appearing in Mission : Impossible, Hill did no acting work for the following 10 years. Hill had what he calls `` tremendous periods of unemployment '' in his career. `` What we have here is a story of profound instability and impermanence, '' he said of his own career. `` This is what you learn at the beginning in show business ; then it gets planted in you forever. '' Hill left acting in 1967 and moved to a Jewish community in Rockland County, New York, where he worked in writing and real estate. Patrick J. White, in The Complete `` Mission : Impossible '' Dossier, quoted Hill as having said later, `` I do n't think an actor should act every single day. I do n't think it 's good for the so - called creative process. You must have periods when you leave the land fallow, let it revitalize itself. '' After 10 years, he was ready to begin acting again. `` They say you ca n't quit show business, '' he said in 1977. `` It took 10 years, but I could n't get it out of my system. So I called an agent and put him to work. '' Hill returned to work in the 1980s and 1990s, playing parental and authority - figure roles in such films as Yentl ( 1983 ), Garbo Talks ( 1984 ), Neil Simon 's Brighton Beach Memoirs, Heartburn ( 1986 ), Running on Empty ( 1988 ), Billy Bathgate ( 1991 ), and The Firm ( 1993 ). Hill also appeared as a mob kingpin in Raw Deal ( 1986 ), an action vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hill played New York District Attorney Bower in the 1986 comedy - drama Legal Eagles, foreshadowing his appearance as Adam Schiff in Law & Order. Law & Order Hill became best known, and to an even greater degree than from his role in Mission : Impossible, as Adam Schiff in the NBC TV drama series Law & Order, a part that he played for 10 seasons, from 1990 to 2000. Hill 's character was loosely modeled on the real former district attorney of New York, Robert Morgenthau, and Morgenthau reportedly was a fan of the character. Hill admitted that he found the character of Adam Schiff the hardest role he ever had, because of all the legal jargon he had to learn. `` It 's like acting in a second language, '' said Hill. Hill added that he agreed with the show 's philosophy, saying that `` there 's a certain positive statement in this show. So much is negative today. The positive must be stated to rescue us from pandemonium. To me it lies in that principle : law and order. '' Hill earned another Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series in 1997. At the time of his departure from Law & Order, Hill was the longest - serving member of the original cast ( his tenure was twice that of runner up Chris Noth ) ; by the time the series was cancelled in 2010, Hill was the fourth - longest serving cast member altogether ( behind S. Epatha Merkerson at 17 seasons, Sam Waterston at 16, and Jerry Orbach at 11 and a half ). Hill also appeared in commercials for TD Waterhouse, an investment brokerage firm, and was eventually replaced by fellow Law & Order castmate Sam Waterston. Personal Life Hill and his first wife, Selma Stern, were married in 1951 and had four children before divorcing in 1964. Hill married his second wife, Rachel, in 1967 and they had five children. Hill died in Monsey, New York on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, at the age of 94. Among his children is his son, named Joshua Hill, otherwise known as Rebbe Hill. He is known in the Jewish community for his tapes for children. Orthodox Judaism Appearing in the play A Far Country in 1961 had a profound effect on Hill 's later life. In one scene, a patient screams at Freud, `` You are a Jew ! '' This caused Hill to think about his religion. `` In the pause that followed I would think, ' What about this ? ' I slowly became aware that there was something more profound going on in the world than just plays and movies and TV shows. I was provoked to explore my religion. '' He was inspired by Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky ( 1899 -- 1968 ), the late Skverrer Rebbe, to adhere to strict Orthodox Judaism, observing a kosher diet, praying three times a day, wearing a tallit katan ( four - cornered fringed garment ) beneath his clothes, and strictly observing Shabbat. This made Hill unavailable for Friday night or Saturday matinee performances, effectively ending his stage career and closing many film roles to him, most notably The Sand Pebbles. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1950 A Lady Without Passport Jack 1955 Storm Fear Benjie 1958 The Goddess John Tower Credited as Steve Hill 1959 Kiss Her Goodbye Ed Wilson 1963 A Child Is Waiting Ted Widdicombe 1965 The Slender Thread Mark Dyson 1970 Miracle of Survival : Israel 's Heroic Battle for Life Narrator 1980 It 's My Turn Jacob 1981 Eyewitness Lt. Jacobs Rich and Famous Jules Levi Yentl Reb Alter Vishkower 1984 Teachers Sloan Garbo Talks Walter Rolfe 1986 On Valentine 's Day George Tyler Raw Deal Martin Lamanski Legal Eagles Bower Heartburn Rachel 's Father Brighton Beach Memoirs Mr. Stroheim Courtship George Tyler 1988 Running on Empty Mr. Patterson The Boost Max Sherman White Palace Sol Horowitz 1991 Billy Bathgate Otto Berman The Firm F. Denton Voyles Plays an FBI director Television Year Title Role Notes 1949 Suspense Guest star Episode : `` The Serpent Ring '' ( S 2 : Ep 7 ) Actors Studio Guest star 4 episodes 1950 Suspense Dolph Romano Episode : `` My Old Man 's Badge '' ( S 2 : Ep 29 ) Credited as Steve Hill 1952 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Guest star Episode : `` The Man that I Marry '' ( S 1 : Ep 16 ) Danger Guest star Episode : `` The Hero '' ( S 2 : Ep 28 ) Lux Video Theatre Hank Episode : `` A Legacy For Love '' ( S 3 : Ep 7 ) 1953 The Philco Television Playhouse Guest Star Episode : `` The Long Way Home '' ( S 5 : Ep 17 ) 1954 Goodyear Television Playhouse Mr. Frank Episode : `` The Inward Eye '' ( S 3 : Ep 11 ) 1954 Goodyear Television Playhouse Guest star Episode : `` The Arena '' ( S 3 : Ep 21 ) The Philco Television Playhouse George Episode : `` Middle of the Night '' ( S 7 : p 1 ) The Philco Television Playhouse Horace Mann Borden Episode : `` Man on the Mountain '' ( S 7 : Ep 3 ) 1956 Playwrights ' 56 Walter Uhlan Episode : `` Lost '' ( S 1 : Ep 9 ) 1957 Studio One Slim Breedlove Episode : `` The Traveling Lady '' ( S 9 : Ep 28 ) Alfred Hitchcock Presents Joe Kedzie Episode : `` Enough Rope for Two '' ( S 3 : Ep 7 ) 1958 DuPont Show of the Month Guest star Episode : `` The Bridge of San Luis Rey '' ( S 1 : Ep 5 ) 1959 Playhouse 90 Agustin Episodes : `` For Whom the Bell Tolls, part 1 '' ( S 3 : Ep 23 ) `` For Whom the Bell Tolls, part 2 '' ( S 3 : Ep 24 ) 1960 Playhouse 90 Dr. Edward Gutera Episode : `` Journey to the Day '' ( S 4 : Ep 14 ) Sunday Showcase Bartolomeo Vanzetti Episodes : `` The Sacco - Vanzetti Story, part 1 '' ( S 1 : Ep 29 ) `` The Sacco - Vanzetti Story, part 2 '' ( S 1 : Ep 30 ) The Untouchables Jack `` Legs '' Diamond Episode : `` Jack `` Legs '' Diamond '' ( S 2 : Ep 2 ) 1961 Adventures in Paradise B.E. Langard Episode : `` Act of Piracy '' ( S 2 : Ep 18 ) 1962 Route 66 Frank Madera Episode : `` A City of Wheels '' ( S 2 : Ep 17 ) The Untouchables Joseph December, Jr. Episode : `` Downfall '' ( S 3 : Ep 22 ) The Eleventh Hour Guest star Episode : `` There Are Dragons in This Forest '' ( S 1 : Ep 2 ) Ben Casey Ollie Episode : `` Legacy From A Stranger '' ( S 2 : Ep 4 ) 1962 Dr. Kildare Dr. Chandra Ramid Episode : `` The Cobweb Chain '' ( S 2 : Ep 8 ) 1963 Ben Casey Dr. Keith Bernard Episode : `` I 'll Be Alright In The Morning '' ( S 2 : Ep 14 ) Naked City Stanley Episode : `` Barefoot on a Bed of Coals '' ( S 4 : Ep 34 ) Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Ruben Fare Episode : `` Something About Lee Wiley '' ( S 1 : Ep 2 ) Espionage Andrew Evans Episode : `` The Incurable One '' ( S 1 : Ep 3 ) 1964 The Greatest Show on Earth Guest star Episode : `` Corsicans Do n't Cry '' ( S 1 : Ep 16 ) Alfred Hitchcock Presents Charlie Osgood Episode : `` Who Needs an Enemy ? '' '' ( S 2 : 28 ) 1965 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Robert Manners Episode : `` Thanatos Place Hotel '' ( S 3 : Ep 15 ) Kraft Suspense Theatre Guest star Episode : `` The Safe House '' ( S 2 : Ep 26 ) Rawhide Marty Brown Episode : `` The Gray Rock Hotel '' ( S 7 : Ep 30 ) 1966 The Fugitive Glenn Madison Episode : `` The White Knight '' ( S 3 : Ep 26 ) 1966 -- 67 Mission : Impossible Dan Briggs Main cast 1977 The Andros Targets Ed Conway Episode : `` In The Event of my Death '' ( S 1 : Ep 4 ) 1978 King Stanley Levison TV miniseries 1984 -- 85 One Life to Live Aristotle Descamedes Recurring 1986 Between Two Women Teddy Petherton TV Movie 1988 Thirtysomethng Leo Steadman Episode : `` Business as Usual '' ( S 1 : Ep 15 ) Columbo Mr. Marosco Episode : `` Murder, Smoke and Shadows '' ( S 8 : Ep 2 ) 1990 -- 2000 Law & Order Adam Schiff Main cast 2000 Law & Order : Special Victims Unit Adam Schiff Episode : `` Entitled '' ( S 1 : Ep 15 ) 2003 E 's 101 : Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment Interview See also Biography portal Theatre portal Film portal Television portal References Jump up ^ `` Steven Hill ''. Jump up ^ Law & Order : The Unofficial Companion Jump up ^ Joseph F. Clarke ( 1977 ). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 84. Jump up ^ Adrian Room ( 1 July 2010 ). Dictionary of Pseudonyms : 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 229. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7864 - 5763 - 2. Jump up ^ `` What Do You Want To Know ? ''. The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. 11 June 1972. p. 179 -- via Newspapers.com. ^ Jump up to : `` Signoff ; On ' Law and Order, ' a Real Idealist '', The New York Times, February 2, 1996. ^ Jump up to : `` Steven Hill Biography ''. biography.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Steven Hill ''. nndb.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Purdum, Todd ( March 6, 2005 ), `` Mister Roberts ' Goes to Washington '', The New York Times. Jump up ^ Robert Lewis ( 1996 ) ( 1984 ). `` Actors Studio, 1947 ''. Slings and Arrows : Theater in My Life. New York : Applause Books. p. 183. ISBN 1 - 55783 - 244 - 7. At the end of the summer, on Gadget 's return from Hollywood, we settled the roster of actors for our two classes in what we called the Actors Studio - using the word ' studio ' as we had when we named our workshop in the Group, the Group Theatre Studio... My group, meeting three times a week, consisted of Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Maureen Stapleton, Eli Wallach, Mildred Dunnock, Jerome Robbins, Herbert Berghof, Tom Ewell, John Forsythe, Anne Jackson, Sidney Lumet, Kevin McCarthy, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, Patricia Neal, Beatrice Straight, David Wayne, and - well, I do n't want to drop names, so I 'll stop there. In all, there were about fifty. Jump up ^ Dick Kleiner : `` The Actors Studio : Making Stars Out of the Unknown, '' The Sarasota Journal ( Friday, December 21, 1956 ), p. 26. `` That first year, they interviewed around 700 actors and picked 50. In that first group were people like Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Tom Ewell, John Forsythe, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, Margaret Phillips, Maureen Stapleton, Kim Stanley, Jo Van Fleet, Eli Wallach, Ray Walston, and David Wayne. '' ^ Jump up to : Sobiski, John, Steven Hill : Hollywood 's Most Talented Curmudgeon. Jump up ^ `` Theater : New Play on Broadway ''. Time. April 14, 1961. Retrieved May 24, 2010. Jump up ^ Zolotow, Sam ( December 22, 1960 ), `` Co-Stars Named for ' Far Country ' '', The New York Times. ^ Jump up to : `` ' Far Country ' Not Given '', The New York Times, April 12, 1961. Jump up ^ Esterow, Milton ( April 13, 1962 ), `` Director with Actor Complex Replaces Ill Star in Freud Role '', The New York Times. ^ Jump up to : Gates, Anita ( August 23, 2016 ). `` Steven Hill, Who Starred on ' Law & Order ' and ' Mission : Impossible, ' Dies at 94 ''. New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2016. Jump up ^ Solow, H ; Justman, R ( 1996 ), Inside Star Trek : The Real Story, Pocket Books, p. 99. Jump up ^ White 1991, pp. 98 -- 99. Jump up ^ White 1991, pp. 60 -- 61, 100. ^ Jump up to : `` New Play on Broadway '', The New Times, April 14, 1961. Jump up ^ Kitman, Marvin ( 2000 - 08 - 02 ). `` Another crime perpetrated on ' Law & Order ' ''. Entertainment. CNN. Archived from the original on 2006 - 12 - 05. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Robert Morgenthau '', J source ( Biography ), Jewish virtual library. Jump up ^ `` Robert Morgenthau -- Manhattan DA '', NY Mag. Jump up ^ `` Petira of R ' Shlomo ( Steven ) Hill Z'L ( UPDATED ) ''. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ Dagan, Carmel ( 2016 - 08 - 23 ). `` Steven Hill, D.A. Adam Schiff on ' Law & Order, ' Dies at 94 ''. Variety. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ BENSOUSSAN, Barbara ( June 30, 2010 ), `` The Master Storyteller : Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Hill Tells His Story '', Mishpacha ( 315 ). Jump up ^ Barnes & Noble, Miracle of Survival : Israel 's Heroic Battle for Life. Jump up ^ The Classic TV Archive, The Andros Targets ( 1977 ). Jump up ^ Schemering, Christopher ( September 1985 ). `` One Life to Live ''. The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. Ballantine Books. pp. 158 -- 166. ISBN 0 - 345 - 32459 - 5. Jump up ^ Waggett, Gerard J. ( November 1997 ). `` One Life to Live ''. The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. Harper Paperbacks. pp. 163 -- 188. ISBN 0 - 06 - 101157 - 6. Bibliography White, P ( 1991 ), The Complete Mission : Impossible Dossier, Avon Books. External links Steven Hill on IMDb Steven Hill at TV Guide Steven Hill at TV.com BNE : XX4960506 BNF : cb14040189d ( data ) GND : 1112206329 ISNI : 0000 0000 3300 1211 LCCN : n91103971 SNAC : w64r25vp VIAF : 26247073 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_Hill&oldid=854018049 '' Categories : 1922 births 2016 deaths 20th - century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American Orthodox Jews American people of Russian - Jewish descent Baalei teshuva Jewish American male actors Male actors from Seattle United States Navy sailors People from Monsey, New York Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from June 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016 Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu تۆرکجه Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Malagasy Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe ייִדיש 12 more Edit links This page was last edited on 8 August 2018, at 12 : 04 ( UTC ). 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Question: who played adam schiff on law & order
Answer: Steven Hill