Anthony Cromwell Hill, a treasured journalist, writer, documentarian and videographer, died suddenly in his home on Jan. 24. He was 72.  

He was born on Sept. 2, 1951 at Boston Lying-In Hospital and grew up in Watertown and Cambridge.

Tony, as he was known to his many friends, graduated from Harvard University in 1973, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in American history and literature. During his years at Harvard, he wrote for The Harvard Crimson, an experience that launched a journalism career that included the Boston Phoenix, The Real Paper and Newsweek. It eventually led to his reporting for and producing segments for The Ten O’Clock News on WGBH. He subsequently produced pieces for WCVB-TV’s Channel 5 evening magazine show, Chronicle.   

His videography career included signature pieces on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Paradox of Boston and John Silber, the seventh president of Boston University. Honoring John Silber was thoroughly enjoyed by even by Mr. Silber himself.

He also wrote and directed a feature video film for television called Return to Glory as a more authentic historical response to Edward Zwick’s award-winning film Glory, which sought to honor the first African-American soldiers of the 54th Union regiment to fight in the Civil War.  

A master of the bon mot, with a comprehensive knowledge of music and a winning way with words, he possessed an uncanny sensitivity that led him to discern the hidden essence of a person within minutes of saying “hello.” This innate talent helped him produce scores of documentary interviews with dignitaries and celebrities that included Henry Kissinger, Elie Wiesel, Leonard Nimoy and Angela Lansbury, to name but a few. 

Tony came from a family of superbly-educated African-American intellectuals that boasted a history of firsts. His father, Henry Aaron Hill, who died in 1979, was the first African-American PhD in chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the first African-American president of the American Chemical Society, which still honors him every year by giving a scholarship award in his name.  

His mother, Adelaide M. Cromwell, was a graduate of Smith College and received graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr and Radcliffe. She was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She co-founded the first African Studies department at Boston University in 1953 and then later founded the African American Studies program at Boston University in 1969. She was the first African-American faculty member to teach at Smith College, Hunter College and Boston University.   

His mother’s aunt Otelia Cromwell was, in 1899, the first African-American graduate of Smith College and the first African-American woman to receive a PhD from Yale University. Tony’s uncle and godfather was Massachusetts Senator Edward W. Brooke 3rd, the first African-American to win the Senate since Reconstruction. 

A resident of Cambridge and, for many years, Martha’s Vineyard, Tony served on the boards of the Boston Lyric Opera, the Commonwealth School and was an honorary member of Sundance Institute.

He leaves behind his longtime companion Vita Paladino, her son Erik and her many family members, as well as his precious godchild, Zoe Rose Guastella and many dear friends and classmates.  

A celebration of his life will be held at the Harvard Club of Boston on Sunday, March 3 at 1:30 p.m. It will be followed by a concert performed by the Bach, Beethoven & Brahms Society in Harvard Hall.

Memorial donations may be made to the Bach, Beethoven & Brahms Society, P.O. 15136, Boston, MA 02215 or at BBBSociety.org.

Condolences may be shared at Bell-O’Dea Funeral Home at bellodeafuneralhome.com.