Steven Hill, played DA Adam Schiff on ‘Law & Order’, dead at age 94

Steven Hill, the actor who played New York County District Attorney Adam Schiff on NBC’s “Law & Order” has passed away. He was 94.

Born Solomon Krakovsky in Seattle to Russian immigrants, Mr. Hill was an observant Orthodox Jew who refused to work on the Jewish Sabbath, Variety magazine reported.

The religious stipulation “effectively ended the actor’s stage career” according to Variety and also may have played a role in Mr. Hill’s loss of the lead role in CBS’s hit spy adventure program “Mission: Impossible” series after only one season.

After losing that role, Variety noted, Mr. Hill took a break from acting, working in real estate in New York for 11 years, returning to the small screen for a role in NBC’s 1978 miniseries on the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King. 

Mr. Hill co-starred on “Law & Order” for 10 years. While a supporting role with relatively few lines and screen time each episode, his performance was beloved both by “Law & Order” fans and the program’s creator, veteran TV 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,” Mr. Wolf said in a statement mourning Mr. Hill’s passing, Deadline Hollywood reported.