Steven Hill

Steven Hill (born Solomon Krakovsky; February 24, 1922 – August 23, 2016) was an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as district attorney Adam Schiff on the NBC television drama series Law & Order (1990–2000) and Dan Briggs on the CBS action television series Mission: Impossible (1966–1967). For the former, he received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

His film roles include The Goddess (1958), A Child Is Waiting (1963), The Slender Thread (1965), Yentl (1983), Legal Eagles (1986), Raw Deal (1986), Running on Empty (1988), Billy Bathgate (1991), and The Firm (1993).

Early life Hill was born Solomon Krakovsky in Seattle, Washington, to Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire, Hillel Krakovsky (born Chrakovsky; 1888–1975) and Lena Rosen (1898–1999). His father, who owned a furniture store, emigrated from Dmytrivka, Ukraine. Known as Sol, he decided to become an actor at age six when he played the lead in The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

After graduating from Garfield High School in 1939, Hill attended the University of Washington and served four years in the United States Navy during World War II. He graduated from the University of Washington and moved first to Chicago "The director, Joshua Logan, thought I had some ability, and he let me create one of the scenes," said Hill.

Actors Studio member In 1947, Hill joined Brando, Montgomery Clift, and Julie Harris, among others, as one of the 50 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. Strasberg later said, "Steven Hill is considered one of the finest actors America has ever produced." 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 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 (1958), A Child Is Waiting (1963),

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 sound stage 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.

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.

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 (1986), Heartburn (1986), Running on Empty (1988), The Boost (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. and Morgenthau reportedly was a fan of the character. Hill admitted that he found the character of Adam Schiff his most difficult role because of all the legal jargon he had to learn.

Personal life Family Hill and his first wife, Selma Stern, were married in 1951 and had four children before divorcing in 1964. In 1967 Hill married his second wife, Rachel Schenker, and they had five children. He resided in Monsey, New York for many years.

Orthodox Judaism In a 1969 interview with The Jewish Press, Hill said: "I used to ask myself, 'Was I born just to memorize lines?' I knew there had to be more to life than that. I was searching—trying to find the answers—to find myself—and I did." Hill said that he had gone home to Seattle ten years earlier and was "feeling depressed because I seemed to be leading an aimless existence. Oh sure, I was a star with all the glamour and everything. But something was missing. My life seemed empty—meaningless."

Appearing as Sigmund Freud in the play A Far Country in 1961 had a profound effect on Hill. In one scene, a patient screams at Freud, "You are a Jew!" This caused Hill to think about his religion. and started adhering to Orthodox Judaism. He observed a kosher diet, prayed three times a day, wore a tallit katan (four-cornered fringed garment) beneath his clothes, and strictly observed Shabbat.

Death Hill died of cancer in a New York hospital on August 23, 2016, at the age of 94. 1980 It's My Turn Dr. Jacob Gunzinger

Eyewitness Lieutenant Jacobs Rich and Famous Jules Levi 1983 Yentl Reb Alter Vishkower

Teachers Sloan Garbo Talks Walter Rolfe

On Valentine's Day George Tyler Raw Deal Martin 'The Hammer' Lamanski Legal Eagles Bower Heartburn Rachel's Father Brighton Beach Memoirs Mr. Stroheim 1987 Courtship George Tyler

Running on Empty Mr. Patterson The Boost Max Sherman 1990 White Palace Sol Horowitz 1991 Billy Bathgate Otto Berman 1993 The Firm US Attorney F. Denton Voyles

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 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) 1954Goodyear Television Playhouse Mr. Frank Episode: "The Inward Eye" (S 3:Ep 11) Guest Star Episode: "The Arena" (S 3:Ep 21)The Philco Television Playhouse George Episode: "Middle of the Night" (S 7:p 1) 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 1958 DuPont Show of the Month Guest Star Episode:"The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (S 1:Ep 5) 1959 Playhouse 90 Agustin Episodes: 1960 Dr. Edward Gutera Episode: "Journey to the Day" (S 4:Ep 14) Sacco-Vanzetti Story Bartolomeo Vanzetti Presented on 'NBC Sunday Showcase (1960) Nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards as "program of the year" 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 Don't Cry" (S 1:Ep 16) The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Charlie Osgood Season 2 Episode 28: "Who Needs an Enemy?" 1965 Robert Manners Season 3 Episode 15: "Thanatos Palace Hotel" 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) 1966–1967 Mission: Impossible Dan Briggs Main cast (season 1), 27 episodes 1977 The Andros Targets Ed Conway Episode: "In the Event of My Death" (S 1:Ep 3) 1978 King Stanley Levison TV miniseries 1984–85 One Life to Live Aristotle Descamedes Recurring 1986 Between Two Women Teddy Petherton TV movie 1988 Thirtysomething Leo Steadman Episode: "Business as Usual" (S 1:Ep 15) 1989 Columbo Mr. Marosco Episode: "Murder, Smoke and Shadows" (S 8:Ep 2) 1990–2000 Law & Order Adam Schiff Main cast (seasons 1–10); final appearance 2000 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Episode: "Entitled" (S1:Ep 15) 2003 E's 101: Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment Himself Interview