William Louis Hudson Jr. (born October 17, 1949) is an American musician and actor. He was a vocalist in

The Hudson Brothers The Hudson Brothers were an American musical group formed in Portland, Oregon, consisting of brothers Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson. They were discovered by a record producer while recording music at a local studio, and offered a rec ...

, a band he formed in 1965 with his two younger brothers,

Brett Brett derives from a Middle English surname meaning "Briton" or "Breton", referring to the Celtic people of Britain and Brittany, France. Brette can be a feminine name. People with the surname * Adrian Brett (born 1945) English flutist and writer ...

and

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

. He later had a brief acting career, appearing in supporting roles in ''

Zero to Sixty ''Zero to Sixty'' is a 1977 American comedy film directed by Don Weis and starring Darren McGavin, Sylvia Miles, Joan Collins, Denise Nickerson, and Dick Martin. The film was released on June 23, 1978 and was later reviewed by ''TV Guide'', wh ...

'' (1978), '' Hysterical'' (1983), and '' Big Shots'' (1987). He also appeared in a recurring guest role on the series ''

Doogie Howser, M.D. ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' is an American medical sitcom that ran for four seasons on ABC from September 19, 1989, to March 24, 1993, totaling 97 episodes. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, the show stars Neil Patrick Harris in the ...

''.

Early life

Hudson was born and raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, the eldest of three sons (

and

are his two younger brothers) born to Eleanor (née Salerno) and William Louis Hudson. His mother was Italian American (his maternal grandfather came from Carlentini,

Province of Syracuse The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...

, Sicily, Italy). Hudson, Bil
"2 Versions: The Other Side of Fame and Family"
/ref> He and his brothers were nephews (by marriage) of actor Keenan Wynn. Hudson's father left his family when Hudson was six (famously saying he was going out for a pack of cigarettes), and he stated that his mother had to depend on

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

to support her children. He and his siblings were raised in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

faith.

Career

The Hudson Brothers

Other ventures

As an actor, Hudson appeared in the film '' Big Shots'' (1987), and three episodes of the television series ''

'' from 1989 to 1992. Hudson released his memoir, ''Two Versions: The Other Side of Fame and Family'', in December 2011.

Personal life

In 1974, Hudson dated actress Jill St. John. A year later he became involved with

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

, and they married in 1976. Hudson filed for divorce in 1980 and it was finalized two years later. They have two children,

Oliver Hudson Oliver Rutledge Hudson (born September 7, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Adam Rhodes in the CBS comedy series ''Rules of Engagement'' (2007–2013), Jeff Fordham on the ABC musical drama series ''Nashville'' (2013–20 ...

(b. 1976) and

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations f ...

(b. 1979), who were raised by Hawn and Kurt Russell. Hudson would later accuse Hawn of "willfully alienating" him from their children. Hudson next had a relationship with

Ali MacGraw Elizabeth Alice MacGraw (born April 1, 1939) is an American actress and activist. She gained attention with her role in the film ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She gained an ...

, which dissolved by mid-1981. Hudson married

Cindy Williams Cynthia Jane Williams (born August 22, 1947) is an American actress and producer, known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982). Early life Williams was bo ...

in 1982 and they had two children, Emily (b. 1982) and Zachary (b. 1986) before divorcing in 2000. He also has a daughter (named Lalania) born in 2006 to ex-girlfriend Caroline Graham. In 2018, Hudson's son, Oliver, told

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

that he and his father had begun speaking again after being estranged for many years. Hudson campaigned for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

ic politician

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

' presidential bid in 1988.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Bill 1949 births Male actors from Portland, Oregon American male composers 21st-century American composers American male film actors American male singer-songwriters American people of English descent American people of Italian descent American male television actors American multi-instrumentalists Catholics from Oregon Cleveland High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Living people Musicians from Portland, Oregon Hudson family (show business) Singer-songwriters from Oregon 21st-century American male musicians