Born: December 17, 1945
Birthplace: Benton Harbor, MI
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Earnest Lee Hudson is an American actor. He has appeared in dozens of film and television roles throughout his career, but is perhaps best known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in The Crow (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz (1997–2003). Hudson has also acted in the films Leviathan (1989), The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), Airheads (1994), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Congo (1995), Miss Congeniality (2000) and as Principal Turner in The Ron Clark Story (2006). He had a cameo as Patty Tolan's uncle in the remake of Ghostbusters (2016), and will reprise his role as Winston in the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
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's 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.
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 Bill Jenkins, the uncle of Leslie Jones' lead character Pattie Tolan. In August 2019, he confirmed his involvement in Ghostbusters: Afterlife directed by Jason Reitman, joining original cast members, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Annie Potts. The movie is scheduled for release on June 11, 2021.