Steven Hill of 'Law & Order' dies at 94


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Steven Hill, a versatile character actor in theater, films and television who achieved his greatest success late in life as grumpy District Attorney Adam Schiff on TV's long-running "Law & Order," died today. He was 94.

He died this morning at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, his wife, Rachel, said. The cause of death was not immediately available, but his wife said he suffered from several ailments.

Hill, who also starred for a season in the 1960s series "Mission Impossible," was remembered warmly by "Law & Order" producer Dick Wolf.

"Steven was not only one of the truly great actors of his generation, he was one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. He is also the only actor I've known who consistently tried to cut his own lines," Wolf said in a statement.

Hill, whose more than two dozen films included "Billy Bathgate," ''White Palace" and "Yentl," recalled in 1999 how his presence as "Law & Order's" grouchy legal stickler developed gradually during his 10 years with the show.

"It was like a very pleasant back-and-forth kind of thing," he said. "I'd come up with these ideas, give suggestions on (Schiff's) kind of thinking, and the writers used that as a kind of springboard."