Actor Steven Hill, best known for his roles as District Attorney Adam Schiff on "Law & Order" and Dan Briggs on the "Mission: Impossible" TV series, has died. He was 94 years old.
Hill's daughter, Sarah Gobioff, confirmed his death Tuesday to The New York Times. He lived in Monsey, New York.
Hill was born in 1922 in Seattle. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for four years before moving to New York to pursue a career in acting.
He appeared in a string of Broadway productions, but had a hard time making ends meet through his performances, according to an interview with The New York Times in 1996. He then turned to television, which was in its golden age.
Hill landed the starring role as Dan Briggs on the CBS action show "Mission: Impossible," which debuted in 1966. He left the show after one season.
He began portraying District Attorney Adam Schiff in 1990. The character was based loosely on the career of Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. He later told The New York Times that the legalese used on "Law & Order" made it "like acting in a second language."
However, he said, "the whole concept of that title hit me."
He played Schiff for a decade, appearing in 230 episodes.
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