Bill Hudson (singer)

American musician and actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American musician and actor[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]
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* Brett Hudson (brother)
* Sarah Hudson (niece)

**William Louis Hudson Jr.** (born October 17, 1949) is an American musician and actor. He was a vocalist in The Hudson Brothers, a band he formed in 1965 with his two younger brothers, Brett and Mark. He later had a brief acting career, appearing in supporting roles in *Zero to Sixty* (1978), *Hysterical* (1983), and *Big Shots* (1987). He also appeared in a recurring guest role on the series *Doogie Howser, M.D.*.

## Early life

Hudson was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, the eldest of three sons (Brett and Mark are his two younger brothers) born to Eleanor (née Salerno) and William Louis Hudson. His mother was Italian American (his maternal grandfather came from Carlentini, Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy). He and his brothers were nephews (by marriage) of actor Keenan Wynn.

Hudson's father left his family when he was six (famously saying he was going out for a pack of cigarettes), and he stated that his mother had to depend on welfare to support her children. Of Italian descent on their mother's side, he and his siblings were raised in the Roman Catholic faith.

## Career

### Other ventures

As an actor, Hudson appeared in the film *Big Shots* (1987), and three episodes of the television series *Doogie Howser, M.D.* from 1989 to 1992.

Hudson released his memoir, *Two Versions: The Other Side of Fame and Family*, in December 2011.

## Personal life

In 1974, Hudson dated actress Jill St. John. A year later he became involved with Goldie Hawn, and they married in 1976. Hudson filed for divorce in 1980 and it was finalized two years later. They have two children, Oliver Hudson (b. 1976) and Kate Hudson (b. 1979), who were raised by Hawn and Kurt Russell. Hudson would later accuse Hawn of "willfully alienating" him from their children.

Hudson next had a relationship with Ali MacGraw, which dissolved by mid-1981.

Hudson married Cindy Williams of *Laverne & Shirley* in 1982 and they had two children, Emily (b. 1982) and Zachary (b. 1986) before divorcing in 2000.

He also has a daughter born in 2006 to ex-girlfriend Caroline Graham.

In 2018, Hudson's son, Oliver, told Larry King that he and his father had begun speaking again after being estranged for many years.

Hudson campaigned for Democratic politician Michael Dukakis' presidential bid in 1988.

## References

1. ↑ Template:Cite book
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bill Hudson Biography". FilmReference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/Bill-Hudson.html.
3. ↑ Fisher, Emily (May 14, 1975). "The Hudson Brothers Ensnarled Into The Hollywood Situation' .", *St. Petersburg Times* (St. Petersburg, Florida), pp. 2–D.  Template:Free access
4. ↑ Template:Cite journal
5. ↑ Buck, Jerry (November 13, 1986). "Cindy Stars In A Disney Movie Christmas Chronicles.", *The Free Lance-Star* (Fredericksburg, Virginia), pp. 30.  Template:Free access
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Hudson, Bill "2 Versions: The Other Side of Fame and Family"
7. ↑ Witbeck, Charles (July 28, 1974). "At Last, the Hudson Brothers Have Got It Made", *Detroit Free Press* (Detroit, Michigan).  Template:Open access
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cowan, Ron (May 17, 1988). "Hudson takes a new act on the road", *Statesman Journal* (Salem, Oregon).  Template:Open access
9. ↑ Radar Staff (September 23, 2011). "Kate Hudson's Dad Exposes Dark Secrets In Tell All: Goldie Hawn Wanted Open Marriage".
10. ↑ Dougherty, Margot; Adelson, Suzanne (June 5, 1989). "Cindy Williams and Bill Hudson Really Do Act Just Like Family". People. https://people.com/archive/cindy-williams-and-bill-hudson-really-do-act-just-like-family-vol-31-no-22/.
11. ↑ Associated Press (4 September 1980). Goldie's Husband Wants Divorce. *The Virgin Islands Daily News*.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 McRady, Rachel (June 28, 2015). "Bill Hudson Slams Goldie Hawn, Disowns Children Oliver, Kate Hudson: "I Would Ask Them to Stop Using the Hudson Name"". *Us Weekly*. American Media, Inc. https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/bill-hudson-disowns-children-oliver-kate-hudson-slams-goldie-hawn-2015286/.
13. ↑ Warren Couldn't Wash Goldie Out of His Hair *The Philadelphia Enquirer*, August 23, 1981.
14. ↑ Miller, Mike (March 26, 2018). "Oliver Hudson Says He's Now 'Keeping in Touch' with His Estranged Father Bill Hudson". *People*. Meredith Corporation. https://people.com/tv/oliver-hudson-now-keeping-touch-estranged-dad-bill-hudson/.

## External links

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