Bill Hudson (singer)

{{Infobox person

| name = Bill Hudson

| image = File:Bill Hudson.jpg

| caption = Hudson in 1974

| birth_name = William Louis Hudson Jr.

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1949|10|17}}

| birth_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S.

| occupation = Musician, actor

| years_active = 1965–2015

| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Goldie Hawn|1976|1982|end=div}}|{{marriage|Cindy Williams|1982|2000|end=div}}}}

| children = 5, including Oliver and Kate

| relatives = {{ubl|Mark Hudson (brother)|Brett Hudson (brother)|Sarah Hudson (niece)}}

}}

William Louis Hudson Jr.{{cite book| title=Children's Television: The First 35 Years, 1946 - 1981| publisher=Scarecrow Press| location=Lanham, Maryland| page=[https://archive.org/details/childrenstelevis0000wool/page/237 237] |isbn=978-0-810-81557-5| year=1983| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/childrenstelevis0000wool/page/237}} (born October 17, 1949){{cite web | url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/Bill-Hudson.html | title= Bill Hudson Biography | website=Film Reference| access-date= June 28, 2015}} 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..

Early life

Hudson was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, 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).{{cite news| last=Fisher| first=Emily| title=The Hudson Brothers Ensnarled Into the 'Hollywood Situation'| page=2–D| newspaper=St. Petersburg Times| date=May 14, 1975| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VkFSAAAAIBAJ&pg=7213,4427406| via=Google News Archive}}{{cite journal| title=Hudson| journal=McCall's| volume=108| page=32| year=1981}}{{cite news| last=Buck| first=Jerry| title=Cindy Stars In A Disney Movie Christmas Chronicles| agency=Associated Press| page=30| newspaper=The Free Lance-Star| location=Fredericksburg, Virginia| date=November 13, 1986| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=T-dLAAAAIBAJ&pg=5361,2384179| via=Google News Archive}} He and his brothers were nephews (by marriage) of actor Keenan Wynn.{{cite news| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26002595/statesman_journal/| newspaper=Detroit Free Press| title=At Last, the Hudson Brothers Have Got It Made| last=Witbeck| first=Charles| date=July 28, 1974| page=10| via=Newspapers.com}}

Hudson's father left his family when Hudson was around six years old, saying he was going out for a pack of cigarettes.{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|page=30}} His mother had to depend on welfare to support her children.{{cite news| newspaper=Statesman Journal| location=Salem, Oregon| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26002595/statesman_journal/| title=Hudson takes a new act on the road| page=7| date=May 17, 1988| via=Newspapers.com| last=Cowan| first=Ron}} He and his siblings were raised in their mother's Catholic faith.{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|pp=31, 57}}

Career

Hudson was the vocalist for The Hudson Brothers.

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.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Hudson released his memoir, Two Versions: The Other Side of Fame and Family, in December 2011.{{cite news| url=http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/09/kate-hudson-dad-bill-book-goldie-hawn-open-relationship/| journal=Radar Online| title=Kate Hudson's Dad Exposes Dark Secrets In Tell All: Goldie Hawn Wanted Open Marriage| date=September 23, 2011}}

Personal life

During his bachelor days, Hudson dated singer Karen Carpenter{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|p=195}} and actresses Loretta Swit{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|p=44}} and Jill St. John.{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|p=45}} In 1975 he became involved with Goldie Hawn, and they married in 1976. Hudson filed for divorce in 1980,[https://news.google.com/newspapers?dat=19800904&id=GRdOAAAAIBAJ&pg=4943,544332 Goldie's Husband Wants Divorce]. The Virgin Islands Daily News. St. Thomas. Associated Press. September 4, 1980. and it was finalized right before he remarried in 1982.{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|p=114}} 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.{{cite magazine |magazine=Us Weekly |title=Bill Hudson Slams Goldie Hawn, Disowns Children Oliver, Kate Hudson: "I Would Ask Them to Stop Using the Hudson Name" |date=June 28, 2015 |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/bill-hudson-disowns-children-oliver-kate-hudson-slams-goldie-hawn-2015286/ |last=McRady |first=Rachel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201192843/https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/bill-hudson-disowns-children-oliver-kate-hudson-slams-goldie-hawn-2015286/ |archive-date=December 1, 2016}}

Hudson next had a relationship with Ali MacGraw, which dissolved by mid-1981.{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|pp=84, 167}}[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/173984582/ "Warren Couldn't Wash Goldie Out of His Hair"]. The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 23, 1981. {{subscription required}}. His second marriage was to Cindy Williams, with whom he had two children, Emily (b. 1982) and Zachary (b. 1986). They divorced in 2000.{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|p=204}}{{cite news| title=Cindy Williams' Husband: All About 'Laverne & Shirley' Star's Marriage To Goldie Hawn's Ex, Bill Hudson| url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/celebrity/cindy-williams-husband-all-about-laverne-shirley-star-s-marriage-to-goldie-hawn-s-ex-bill-hudson/ar-AA16VuXO| first=Sabrina| last=Picou| date=January 30, 2023| website=MSN| access-date=2023-02-01}}

In 2006, Hudson fathered daughter Lalania with his then-girlfriend Caroline Graham.{{sfn|Hudson|Smitherman|2011|p=198}}{{cite news| last=Willis| first=Kim| title=Kate Hudson hopes to reunite with her estranged dad Bill's kids: 'It would be nice to connect'| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/01/10/kate-hudson-misses-her-estranged-siblings-everybodys-getting-older/6615085002/| access-date=2023-01-31| date=January 10, 2021| newspaper=USA Today| language=en-US}}

In 2018, Hudson's son, Oliver, told Larry King that he and his father had begun speaking again after being estranged for many years.{{cite magazine |magazine=People |url=https://people.com/tv/oliver-hudson-now-keeping-touch-estranged-dad-bill-hudson/ |title=Oliver Hudson Says He's Now 'Keeping in Touch' with His Estranged Father Bill Hudson |last=Miller |first=Mike |date=March 26, 2018}}

Hudson campaigned for Democratic politician Michael Dukakis' presidential bid in 1988.

Filmography

Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1974–1975	Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show	himself
1978	Zero to Sixty	Eddie
1978	Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park	Man in Kiss Booth
1978	The Millionaire	Eddie Reardon	Television film
1980	The Love Boat	Dr. Louis DaCosta	1 episode
1983	Hysterical	Frederic Lansing / Casper
1986	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color	Tom Burke	Episode: "Help Wanted: Kids"
1987	Big Shots	Mr. Dawkins
1989	Just Like Family	Tom Burk	TV series, 5 episodes
1989–1992	Doogie Howser, M.D.	Michael Plenn	3 episodes