Steven Hill

**Steven Hill** born Solomon Krakovsky February 24, 1922 – August 23, 2016 was an American actor.

## Career

Hill was a founder member of the Actor's Studio in 1947. He made his first movie, _A Lady Without Passport_, in 1950.  In 1952 he reenlisted into the US Navy for two years, and then began concentrating on his acting.  In 1955 he co-starred with Kim Stanley and Lloyd Bridges, _The Goddess_ directed by John Cromwell.

In 1961 a play had caused Hill to rexamine his religion, and he began to follow Orthodox Judaism.  As a result he refused to work on Friday evenings or Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, and he had to give up his stage career.

In 1966 he played the role of Daniel Briggs in the CBS TV series _Mission Impossible_. Briggs was the leader of I.M.F. Steven Hill left the series after one season and was replaced by Peter Graves.  Hill had refused to work extra time or reshoot scenes on Sabbath.  He also took time every day to pray three times.  After leaving _Mission Impossible_, Hill left acting for 10 years, and moved to a Jewish community in Rockland County, New York where he worked in writing and real estate.

Among his works in the 1970s, he played a role in the Abby Mann miniseries "King" (1978) based on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..

The 1980's brought a lot of work to Hill. He performed in movies such as _Eyewitness_ (1981), directed by Peter Yates, _Yentl_ (1983), starring and directed by Barbra Streisand, _Garbo Talks_ (1984) directed by Sidney Lumet, Raw Deal (1986) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, _Legal Eagles_ (1986), with Robert Redford and _Heartburn_ (1986) with Jack Nicholson.

## Law & Order

His best known role is that of District Attorney Adam Schiff, in the NBC TV series _Law & Order_. He played the character of the District Attorney for 230 episodes, between 1990 and 2000.

In 2011, he had a special participation in _Law & Order: Special Victims Unit_.

For Law & Order, Hill was nominated for an Emmy in 1998 and 1999.

## Death

Hill died in Monsey, New York of cancer on August 23, 2016, at the age of 94.

## Filmography

|Year|Títle|Role|class="unsortable"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1955|_Storm Fear_|Benjie|||
|1958|_The Goddess_|John Tower|||
|1959|_Kiss Her Goodbye_|Ed Wilson|||
|1963|_A Child Is Waiting_|Ted Widdicombe|||
|1965|_The Slender Thread_||||
|1966/1967|_Mission Impossible_|Daniel Briggs|TV series||
|1978|_King_|Stanley Levison|TV mini-series||
|1980|_It's My Turn_|Jacob|||
|1981|_Eyewitness_|Lieutenant Jacobs|||
|1981|_Rich and Famous_|Jules Levi|||
|1983|_Yentl_|Reb Alter Vishkower|||
|1984|_Teachers_|Sloan|||
|1984|_Garbo Talks_|Walter Rolfe|||
|1986|_On Valentine's Day_|George Tyler|||
|1986|_Raw Deal_|Martin Lamanski|||
|1986|_Legal Eagles_|Bower|||
|1986|_Heartburn_|Harry Samstat|||
|1986|_Brighton Beach Memoirs_|Mr. Stroheim|||
|1987|_Courtship_|George Tyler|||
|1988|_Running on Empty_|Donald Patterson|||
|1988|_The Boost_|Max Sherman|||
|1990|_White Palace_|Sol Horowitz|||
|1990/2000|_Law & Order_|D.A. Adam Schiff|TV series||
|1991|_Billy Bathgate_|Otto Berman|||
|1993|_The Firm_|F. Denton Voyles|||
|1995|_Where's the Money, Noreen?_|Brian Olmsted|TV movie||
|2011|_Law & Order: Special Victims Unit_|Hospital Guard|TV series||

## References

Series de culto: el otro Hollywood, by Abdessamed Sahali

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Steven Hill
- **image**: Steven Hill Dan Briggs Mission Impossible.JPG
- **caption**: Hill as Dan Briggs on _Mission: Impossible_
- **birth name**: Solomon Krakovsky
- **birth place**: Seattle, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- **death place**: Monsey, New York, U.S.
- **death cause**: Cancer
- **years active**: 1946–1967, 1977–2000
- **occupation**: Actor
- **spouse**:

- **children**: 9
- **awards**: Sylvania Award