LOS ANGELES - He was nominated for an Emmy 30 times as producer and writer, bagging 10 trophies.

On Sunday, Steven Bochco, who helped shape modern TV drama with innovative shows such as Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, died at 74.

A family spokesman said he succumbed to cancer, reported trade publication Variety.

Bochco pushed artistic boundaries and did not take nonsense from anybody, including network executives, critics and even stars like David Caruso, who quit during the first season of NYPD Blue.

But the industry lauded his ground-breaking efforts, with the Producers Guild of America giving him a lifetime achievement award in 1999.

Bochco, on his part, documented his life in autobiography Truth Is A Total Defence: My Fifty Years In Television, which he self-published in 2016.

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