Former Detroit Council President Gil Hill Dies
Gil Hill, ex-City Council President, policeman and Eddie Murphy’s boss in Beverly Hills Cop, has passed away.
Former Detroit City Council President Gil Hill has died.
He was a fixture in Detroit for more than four decades.
Hill spent 30 of those years with the Detroit Police Department, eventually becoming head of the homicide division.
He was elected to the Detroit City Council in 1989 and became its president about a decade later.
Hill was known for a smooth, cooperative style of leadership punctuated by occasional cutting remarks.
It was a contrast to the persona he developed nationally as an actor portraying Eddie Murphy’s profane boss in the Beverly Hills Cop movies.
Hill also narrowly lost a bid to become mayor of Detroit shortly after the 9/11 attacks, when Kwame Kilpatrick was first elected to the city’s top job.
Hill had reportedly battled respiratory issues for several years.
He was 84 years old.
