Jayme Deerwester

USA TODAY

Steven Hill, best known for playing gruff New York District Attorney Adam Schiff on NBC's Law & Order, died Tuesday at the age of 94 in New York.

His wife Rachel confirmed his death at Mt. Sinai Hospital to the Associated Press but didn't specify the cause of death, saying he'd suffered from multiple ailments.

As Schiff, Hill spent 10 years (1990-2000) delivering one-liners to his assistant district attorneys that could be topped only by his late co-star Jerry Orbach, who played Det. Lennie Briscoe.

“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,” series creator Dick Wolf said in a statement to the Associated Press.

Hill was the longest-serving member of the original cast, although he didn't appear until the second episode, in which he replaced Roy Thinnes as the D.A. During his time, he oversaw two prosecutors — first Michael Moriarty (1990-1994) and then Sam Waterston — and a host of assistants played by Richard Brooks, Jill Hennessy, Carey Lowell and Angie Harmon.

“It was like a very pleasant back-and-forth kind of thing,” Hill said, recalling how he worked with the writing staff to hone Schiff character's trademark grouchiness. “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.” He also studied up on the law, reasoning, “I believe the audience needs to feel you understand what the heck you’re talking about and they can tell if you don’t.”

His tenure on Law & Order far outlasted his other major TV role as Daniel Briggs on Mission Impossible, which he only played for one season.

An Orthodox Jew, Hill (born Solomon Krakovsky) became serious about his religion in the early 1960s and kept the Sabbath while shooting both TV series. Though it was explicitly stated in his contract that he would be unavailable from 4 p.m Friday until sundown on Saturdays, it became a point of contention on the Mission Impossible set. He was replaced by Peter Graves in 1967 and then quit acting for a decade. (This was partly because his Sabbath restrictions all but ruled out theater roles and made movie roles a challenge as well, though he felt the sabbatical actually helped his acting.)

He resurfaced in 1977 with some TV guest work. But he managed to find continuous work as a character actor in film and TV until Law & Order came calling in 1990.

Hill made his film debut in 1950's A Lady Without Passport opposite Hedy Lamarr. His other movie credits include Yentl (1983), Brighton Beach Memoirs and Legal Eagles (both released in 1986), The Firm (1993), White Palace (1990).

Hill was married twice. He was with his first wife, Selma Stern, from 1951 to 1964 and fathered four children with her. He had another five children with his second wife, Rachel, whom he married in 1967.

Contributing: The Associated Press