October 29, 2025
By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
CAMBRIDGE – Harvard Square area has been home for a lot of “local celebrities” over the years. They may not be household names outside of Massachusetts or even Cambridge, but many people remember them well and were touched or influenced by their character. One such person was Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, better known as Brother Blue, the storyteller.
Photo/Wikimedia Commons
Captivating audiences
Brother Blue served as a first lieutenant in the army during World War II, graduated from Harvard in 1948, and earned a master’s in playwriting from the Yale School of Drama with a Ph.D. from Cincinnati’s Union Graduate School. During his struggles in playwriting, the Ohio native discovered he had a gift for captivating audiences while describing his stories. With his wife Ruth at his side while bedecked from head-to-toe in blue attire and his trademark butterflies painted on his face and hands, Brother Blue told his stories to local prison inmates. He also brought his storytelling to festivals, college campuses and stages across the globe including the Bahamas, England, Canada, Italy and Russia.
Commentors like memorablem72 took to Facebook to share, “I remember seeing him perform in Beverly. I loved him so much. He was one of a kind who would make you feel better about yourself. I wish I could have introduced my kids to him.”
TenBearsII added, “I was a child growing up in the city of Cambridge, Brother Blue would appear from nowhere, while we were in camp, bored by the activities, he would show up and tell us a story. He would captivate children and adults alike, he was a Griot in every sense of the word, I saw him tired in years as the winter of our lives took shape. While he tired, the shine in his eyes, the hope on his lips and the sweet love in his heart never diminished. He continued to do his thing until the thing was done, no one else could do his job, He was the ONLY ONE!! He taught us about me, and he taught us about you. There was only one and incomparable, Brother Blue!!! I love and Treasure you Griot!!!”
Soothing the emotionally wounded
Brother Blue did not have a standard job. He made his living weaving stories while often walking about Harvard Square or downtown Boston barefoot. His educational credentials would have allowed him to counsel the emotionally wounded within the walls of a warm and welcoming office. Instead, he chose to go where the emotionally wounded dwelled be it a prison, bar, street corner or homeless shelter. He was named the official storyteller of both Cambridge and Boston by resolution by both city councils.
Born into poverty rife with childhood memories tarnished by racism, neither of Brother Blue’s parents went beyond the third grade. His father, a bricklayer, was once beaten by muggers for refusing to hand over money he was planning to mail to Brother Blue. Despite his Ivy League education, Brother Blue’s intentions were to attend Harvard Law School and as an attorney he would set free all those who did not belong in jail. He did not chase after economic freedom either but rather the freedom to be like a butterfly and like butterflies, epitomize hope.
He was cast as a modern Merlin in the 1981 film “Knightriders,” and his show “Street Corner Classics with Brother Blue,” on Cambridge Community Television was a fan favorite. Two books have been written about him: “Brother Blue: A Narrative Portrait of Brother Blue A.K.A. Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill” in 1995 and “Ahhhh! A Tribute to Brother Blue and Ruth Edmonds Hill,” released in 2003.
The beloved street poet and philosopher who encouraged his listening audience to imagine bigger worlds, died in 2009 at the age of 88. At the time, The Boston Globe had reported that even on his deathbed Brother Blue had one last story to tell – a love story.Brother Blue was Cambridge’s beloved storyteller, street poet and philosopher