Ernie Hudson is an American actor best known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series. He portrayed Sergeant Albrecht in the 1994 film The Crow.
Early Life[]
Earnest Lee Hudson was born on December 17, 1945 in Benton Harbor, Michigan to Maggie Donald, a single mother. Ernie‘s mother died of tuberculosis when he was just two months old and he was subsequently raised by his grandmother Arrana.
After he graduated high school, Ernie joined the United States Marine Corps but was dismissed after only three months due to asthma. Eventually, Ernie move to Detroit, Michigan and became the resident play right at Concept East, the oldest black theater company in the United States. Ernie enrolled at Wayne State University to develop his acting and writing skills. Ernie established the Actors Ensemble Theater where he and other young writers directed and appeared in their own work. Ernie attended and graduated from Yale school of drama.
Career[]
One of Ernie’s earliest films was Penitentiary II in 1982. He also landed guest roles in various television series such as The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, and Fantasy Island. Ernie gained fame playing Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters franchise. He also portrayed Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow in 1994. He also became known for his role as Harry McDonald, the FBI superior of Sandra Bullock’s character in the feature film Miss Congeniality in 2000. Ernie was cast in the recurring role as Jacob in the series Gracie and Frankie.
Personal Life[]
Ernie got married to Jeanie Moore in 1963 when she was 16 and he was 18. The marriage produced two sons, Ernie and Rahaman. Ernie and Jeannie divorced in 1976 and their sons lived with Ernie in California. Ernie remarried in 1985 to Linda Kingsberg and they had two sons Andrew and Ross.
Trivia[]
- Ernie is a Christian
- Ernie knew Brandon Lee prior to working with him in The Crow, and he had dinner with Brandon the night before he died
- Ernie made a cameo appearance in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot as the uncle of Leslie Jones’ character Patty Tolan
- Ernie auditioned for the role of Winston Zeddemore in the animated TV series The Real Ghostbusters but the role was given to Arsenio Hall
- Growing up, Ernie has said that his heroes were Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee
- At 47, Ernie was the oldest member of the original main cast of The Crow
- Ernie has a verified twitter account @Ernie_Hudson
- The scene in which Eric gets into Albrecht’s car while Eric is running from the police, Ernie had filmed with Brandon Lee’s stunt double, Chad Stahelski, as Brandon had died sometime before
- The dialog between Eric and Albrecht in The Crow was unscripted.
Gallery[]
