Gil Hill

Gilbert R. "Gil" Hill, a part-time actor who gained worldwide fame playing Inspector Todd alongside Eddie Murphy in the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise, has died. He was 84.

Hill died Monday in Detroit. The cause was pneumonia, according to multiple news sources.

Hill played the boss of Murphy's character, Axel Foley, in the "Beverly Hills Cop" films.

Born Gilbert Roland Hill Nov. 5, 1931, in Birmingham, Alabama, Hill moved with his mother and sister to Washington, D.C., when he was a young boy.

He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1950 and was stationed at Selfridge Air Force Base near Detroit, Michigan, where he would live for the rest of his life.

He worked in law enforcement during the late 1950s, first for the Wayne County Sheriff's Department and then the Detroit Police Department. He became a detective in 1969. He retired from the force as a commander in 1989.

He soon joined local politics, becoming a member of the Detroit City Council and later its president.

Although Hill was offered other acting roles outside of the "Beverly Hills Cop" films, he chose part-time acting.

Hill was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Dolores Hooks.