Ernie Hudson

He was born in December 17, 1945, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, US. His mother died from tuberculosis when he was only two months old. He was therefore brought up by his maternal grandmother. Being brought up by a single woman was very tough in poverty and an era where civil rights did not exist. The struggles during the growing years helped him to see life differently and made him a stronger person. His initial life experiences taught him perseverance. He has been working in the industry for over four decades.

He was first married in 1963 to 1976 to Jeannie Moore and in 1985 to Linda Kingsberg in 1985. He has two sons from each of his wives: Ernie Jr, Rahaman, Andrew and Ross.

During his childhood he used to write short stories, poems and songs, in the hope that someday they would come to life on stage. After his high school, he served in the marine corps for three months, but had to leave due to asthma. He then shifted to Detroit, Michigan to follow his dream of writing. Here he joined Concept East (oldest black theatre company in the US) as a resident playwright. The Actor’s Ensemble Theatre was established by him. This gave space to various young black writers including himself, to direct, write and perform their own work. At the same time he enrolled in the Wayne State University, from where he completed graduation. This was followed by him completing the M.F.A Program with full scholarship in the Yale School of Drama. During this time he was asked to appear in a musical “Daddy Goodness”. This in turn led to his meeting with Gordon Parks, who gave him an opportunity to work on a feature film, “Leadbelly”. After his work in "Leadbelly" he felt that the industry was harsh. He enrolled in a doctorate program at the University of Minnesota. He was unable to complete this as he realised that it was more important to learn by doing it rather than by studying about it. He started his career in filmography in 1976 and has worked as an actor, a playwright and a producer. Hudson gained fame from his work in Ghostbuster as "Winston Zeddemore" in 1984. Over the years, he has worked in various movies. He was cast as Warden Leo Glynn in "OZ", a series aired on HBO where he Co stars with his son, Ernie Hudson Jr. He also gained popularity for his performance in productions like: "Miss Congeniality", "The Basketball Diaries", "The Crow", and "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle".

He has also been a part of numerous TV shows. He has been the Reserve Deputy Sheriff in the San Bernardino County (California) Sheriff’s office since 2003.