William Louis Hudson Jr.[1] (born October 17, 1949)[2] is an American musician and actor. He was a vocalist in The Hudson Brothers, a band he formed in 1965 with his two younger brothers, Brett and Mark. He later had a brief acting career, appearing in supporting roles in Zero to Sixty (1978), Hysterical (1983), and Big Shots (1987). He also appeared in a recurring guest role on the series Doogie Howser, M.D..
Hudson was born and raised in Portland, Oregon,[2] the eldest of three sons (Brett and Mark are his two younger brothers) born to Eleanor (née Salerno) and William Louis Hudson. His mother was of Italian descent (his maternal grandfather came from Carlentini, Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy).[3][4][5] He and his brothers were nephews (by marriage) of actor Keenan Wynn.[6]
Hudson's father left his family when Hudson was around six[7] (famously[clarification needed] saying he was going out for a pack of cigarettes), and he stated that his mother had to depend on welfare to support her children.[8] He and his siblings were raised in their mother's Catholic faith.[9]
As an actor, Hudson appeared in the film Big Shots (1987), and three episodes of the television series Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1989 to 1992.
Hudson released his memoir, Two Versions: The Other Side of Fame and Family, in December 2011.[10]
Personal life
During his bachelor days, Hudson dated singer Karen Carpenter[11] and actresses Loretta Swit[12] and Jill St. John.[13] In 1975 he became involved with Goldie Hawn, and they married in 1976. Hudson filed for divorce in 1980,[14] and it was finalized right before he remarried in 1982.[15] They had two children, Oliver (b. 1976) and Kate (b. 1979), who were raised by Hawn and Kurt Russell. When Oliver criticized his biological father in a public statement on Father's Day in 2015, Hudson spoke out for the first time to accuse Hawn of "willfully alienating" him from their children through the years.[16]
Hudson next had a relationship with Ali MacGraw, which dissolved by mid-1981.[17][18] His second marriage was to Cindy Williams, with whom he had two children, Emily (b. 1982) and Zachary (b. 1986). They divorced in 2000.[19][20]
In 2006, Hudson fathered daughter Lalania with his then-girlfriend Caroline Graham.[16][21][22]
In 2018, Hudson's son, Oliver, told Larry King that he and his father had begun speaking again after being estranged for many years.[23]
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