Ernie Hudson
Biography
Life Story
As a child growing up in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Ernie Hudson wrote short stories, poems and songs, always thinking that his words might one day come to life on stage. After a short stint in the Marine Corps, he moved to Detroit where he became the resident playwright at Concept East, the oldest black theatre in the country. In addition, he enrolled at Wayne State University to further develop his writing and acting skills and found time to establish the Actors' Emsemble Theatre, where he and other talented young black writers directed and appeared in their own works. After graduating with a B.A. from Wayne State, he was rewarded a full scholarship to the M.F.A. program at the prestigious Yale School of Drama. While performing with the school's repertory company, he was asked to appear in the Los Angeles production of Lonne Elder III's musical "Daddy Goodness," which led to his meeting Gordon Parks, who gave Hudson the costarring role in his first feature film, Leadbelly (1976). Unfortunately, all that followed "Leadbelly" was a year of "bit parts and some harsh lessons about Hollywood," which led Hudson to enroll in another academic doctorate program at the University of Minnesota. He did not complete the program. Through his experience, he learned another vital lesson: "There are those who spend their lives studying it and those who spend their lives doing it." Hudson definitely wanted to be in the second group. Keeping in mind this self-revelation, Hudson accepted the starring role of Jack Jefferson in the Minneapolis Theatre In The Round's production of "The Great White Hope," a role that he put "everything he had into," including shaving his head. A series of starring and guest roles followed on such television shows as Fantasy Island (1977), The Incredible Hulk (1977), Little House on the Prairie (1974), Diff'rent Strokes (1978), Taxi (1978), One Day at a Time (1975), Gimme a Break! (1981), The A-Team (1983) and Webster (1983), as well as costarring roles in the TV movies White Mama (1980) with Bette Davis, Roots: The Next Generations (1979), Women of San Quentin (1983), California Girls (1985), Mad Bull (1977) and Love on the Run (1985). Other feature film credits include The Jazz Singer (1980), The Main Event (1979), Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Penitentiary II (1982), Going Berserk (1983), Joy of Sex (1984) and, of course, the mega-hit Ghostbusters (1984).
Family
Trivia
Graduated from Wayne State University.
He also attended the University of Minnesota.
Trained for the stage at the Yale University School of Drama.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from Benton Harbor High School, but was medically discharged less than three months later due to asthma.
Father of actor Ernie Hudson Jr.. Father and son have appeared together in the HBO series "Oz".
Has been a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in the San Bernardino County (California) Sheriff's office for 14 years (as of 2003)
Auditioned to reprise his Winston Zeddemore role from Ghostbusters (1984) for the animated series adaptation The Real Ghostbusters (1986) but was declined in favor of Arsenio Hall.
Admits that two of his heroes growing up were Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee. He later went on to star with the late Brandon Lee in The Crow (1994).
Enjoys writing.
He has four sons: Ernie, Jr., Rahaman, Andrew, and Ross.
Raised by his grandmother.
His mother died when he was two months old.
Hosted Cinemax's "Summer of a Thousand Movies".
He was on the shortlist for the role of The Master in Doctor Who (1996), until Eric Roberts won the role. His only association with the Doctor Who franchise is a major guest role in Torchwood: Miracle Day: The Middle Men (2011).
Personal Quotes
Being an actor never occurred to me. There was no one even remotely connected to the industry where I was from. It wasn't until I got to college that I realized how much I enjoyed it.
Acting is what I do. I consider it my calling and ministry. It's as important as anything I do in life. It's a journey that has taken me to places beyond my wildest imagination and continues to excite me with its endless possibilities.
After Ghostbusters, a lot of people thought that I was a comedian, but doing more comedies wasn't my goal.
(On his role in Congo) After I saw my performance in that movie, I felt really good about what I was capable of achieving and what I had to offer as an actor.
Doing The Hand that Rocks the Cradle reminded me of the fun I could have while exploring different facets of acting. I loved making that movie, and it also allowed me to re-establish myself as a dramatic actor.
After doing so many different kinds of movies, I've found that the people who recognize me come from all walks of life...and everyone knows me from a completely different role.
(On his first job and why he chose acting as a career) Well the first job I had was a janitor in a manufacturing company, and it wasn't a bad job, a lot of people would have been very happy to have it, but it wasn't what I wanted, and I think having my son made me realize it wasn't what I wanted for him. It's very easy to say to a child, 'You can be whatever you want to be', but then that child in turn looks at me and says, 'But why weren't you what you wanted to be?' So I wanted to give it a good shot and give it my best, so I could at least say I ran a good race and you can too. So once my son was born that's when I knew I had to really get serious. I applied at the University and was not accepted, and then I went and talked to the Admittance Officer face to face and convinced him to give me a chance.
(On getting into acting) I grew up in a very poor family. My mother died when I was two months old, I never knew my father: my grandmother raised me. And none in my family had ever finished High School. But I realized that I wanted to do something more with my life, and after getting married at 18 and my wife getting pregnant, and then suddenly realizing that I had to change things and I finally got accepted to the university and got involved with theatre. And I think I did it primarily because of the birth of my older son, and realizing that things that I wanted to ask of him that I couldn't ask if I didn't absolutely try myself.
