Ernie Hudson

**Earnest Lee** "**Ernie**" **Hudson** (born December 17, 1945) is an American character actor. He has appeared in dozens of film and television roles throughout his career but is perhaps best known for his roles as Winston in the *Ghostbusters* film series. He voiced Atticus in the *Infinity Train* pilot. He returned as Atticus in Season 1 of the show in 2019.

## History

### Early life

Hudson was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He never knew his father. His mother, Maggie Donald, died of tuberculosis when he was two months old. He was subsequently raised by his maternal grandmother, Arrana Donald.

Hudson joined the United States Marine Corps immediately after High School, dismissed after only three months due to asthma, before he moved to Detroit, Michigan. He became the resident playwright at Concept East, the oldest black theatre company in the United States. He enrolled at Wayne State University to further develop his writing and acting skills. He established the Actors' Ensemble Theatre where he and other talented young black writers directed and appeared in their own works. Later, he enrolled and subsequently graduated from Yale School of Drama.

In an interview with Belief.net, Hudson stated that he is a practicing Christian, but does not believe that "one church is the right one."

### Career

One of Hudson's early films was in *Penitentiary II* (1982) starring Leon Isaac Kennedy. He landed various guest roles on television series such as *The Dukes of Hazzard* and *The A-Team*. He was on the television series *Fantasy Island* in a first-season episode as a voodoo man named Jamu. Hudson gained fame playing Winston Zeddemore, who enlists with the Ghostbusters in the feature film *Ghostbusters* (1984) and its 1989 sequel. He also auditioned to reprise the role for the animated series, *The Real Ghostbusters*, but it was given to Arsenio Hall. He had a major supporting role as the mentally challenged handyman Solomon in *The Hand that Rocks the Cradle* (1992).

Hudson was cast as Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's series *Oz*. On *Oz*, his son Ernie Hudson Jr. co-starred with him as Muslim inmate Hamid Khan. Hudson also appears as the character Munro in *Congo* (1995) and as Police Sergeant Albrecht in *The Crow* (1994). He switched gears when he played a preacher opening the eyes of a small-town prejudice in the 1950s in *Stranger in the Kingdom*. He is also known for his role as Harry McDonald, the FBI superior of Sandra Bullock's character in the feature film *Miss Congeniality* (2000). He appears in the *Stargate SG-1* episode "Ethon" as Pernaux. Hudson also appeared as Reggie in the film *The Basketball Diaries* (1995). In 2006, he appeared in the television movie *The Ron Clark Story* as Principal Turner. In 2008, he began a recurring role as Dr. Fields on *The Secret Life of the American Teenager*. Hudson also had a recurring role on the final season of *Law & Order* as Lt. Anita Van Buren's boyfriend and then-fiancé.

In 2011, he played Stuart Owens in *Torchwood: Miracle Day*.

Beginning in 2015, Hudson was cast in a recurring role as Jacob, an organic farmer who is the romantic interest for Frankie Bergstein (Lily Tomlin) in the series *Grace and Frankie*.

Hudson appeared in the 2016 *Ghostbusters* reboot, playing as Bill Jenkins, the uncle of Leslie Jones' lead character Pattie Tolan.

## References

1. ↑ Ernie Hudson interview
2. ↑ Who Does Ernie Hudson Play In The New 'Ghostbusters'? The Original Star Has A Cameo

Owen Dennis

**Voice Artists**
Ashley Johnson • Owen Dennis • Jeremy Crutchley • **Ernie Hudson** • Rhys Darby • Kate Mulgrew • Lena Headey •Robbie Daymond • Ben Mendelsohn • Bradley Whitford • Kirby Howell-Baptiste • Kyle McCarley • Isabella Abiera • Diane Delano • Johnny Young • Sekai Murashige • Minty Lewis • Keith Ferguson

**Writers**
Owen Dennis • Madeline Queripel • Cole Sanchez • Lindsay Katai • Alex Horab • Justin Michael

**Storyboarders**
Jessie Wong • Ryan Pequin • Sam Spina • Sofia Alexander • Kellye Perdue • Diana Huh • Marie Lum • Angela Kim • Jacob Winkler • Ryann Shannon • Owen Dennis • Annisa Adjani • Madeline Queripel • Sarah Soh

**Character Designers**
Megan Phonesavanh

**Music**
Chrome Canyon