Steven Hill Dead At 94: ‘Law & Order’ Creator Dick Wolf, Celebrities And More React

Known for his roles as District Attorney Adam Schiff on “Law & Order” and a starring role in the 1960s TV series “Mission: Impossible,” actor Steven Hill has died Tuesday. He was 94 years old. Hill, who got his start on Broadway, starred in NBC’s “Law & Order” for 10 years. After news of Hill’s death broke, “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf released a statement about the actor.

“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,” said Wolf. “He is also the only actor I’ve known who consistently tried to cut his own lines. He will be missed but fortunately he can be seen ubiquitously on ‘Law & Order’ reruns.”

Other celebrities such as actors Orlando Jones and Richard Schiff have taken to Twitter to pay their respects.

While known for his TV roles, Hill was a standout in New York theater and an original member of The Actors Studio in New York. In the book “Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball,” Martin Landau called Hill “legendary.”

“When I first became an actor, there were two young actors in New York: Marlon Brando and Steven Hill,” said Landau. “A lot of people said that Steven would have been the one, not Marlon. He was legendary. Nuts, volatile, mad, and his work was exciting.”

The cause of Hill's death has not been revealed but his wife Rachel revealed that the actor suffered from multiple ailments.