Ernie Hudson

Ernie Hudson
Hudson at the 2017 Phoenix Fan Fest
Born	Earnest Lee Hudson[1] (1945-12-17) December 17, 1945 (age 78) Benton Harbor, Michigan, U.S.
Education	Wayne State University (BFA) University of Minnesota Yale University
Occupations	Actor playwright producer
Years active	1973–present
Spouses	Jeannie Moore ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1976)​ Linda Kingsberg ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	4, including Ernie Hudson Jr.

Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters franchise. Hudson has also acted in the films Leviathan (1989), The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The Crow (1994), Airheads (1994), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Congo (1995), Miss Congeniality (2000), and The Ron Clark Story (2006).

On television, his most prominent role was Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz (1997–2003). Hudson has also appeared in the television shows St. Elsewhere (1984), The Last Precinct (1986), 10-8: Officers on Duty (2003–2004), Desperate Housewives (2006–2007), The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013), Law & Order (2009–2010), the voice of Agent Bill Fowler in Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), Franklin & Bash (2012–2014), Grace and Frankie (2015–2020), and L.A.'s Finest (2019–2020). Since 2022, Hudson has appeared as Herbert "Magic" Williams on the NBC drama Quantum Leap.

He had a cameo as Patty Tolan's uncle in the remake of Ghostbusters (2016), and reprised his role as Winston in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and its sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024).