- Born
- Birth nameEarnest Lee Hudson
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- 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' Ensemble 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).- IMDb Mini Biography By: A. Nonymous
- SpousesLinda Louise Kingsberg(May 25, 1985 - present) (2 children)Jeannie Lou Moore(November 1964 - December 30, 1982) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsMaggie Donald
- Frequently plays good, heroic characters
- Rich serious voice
- Muscular physique
- Has been a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in the San Bernardino County (California) Sheriff's office for 14 years (as of 2003)
- 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".
- Trained for the stage at the Yale University School of Drama.
- 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).
- 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.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content