Ernie Hudson and Robin Shelby at the Alabama Phoenix Festival

By Nathan Young on May 30, 2013

This year at the Alabama Phoenix Festival, Robin Shelby came back for her second year. But there was another very special guest in the Ghostbusters movies as well! Ernie Hudson played Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies. Hudson also played Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO’s Oz. Here is some video from me showcasing Robin Shelby and Ernie Hudson at the Alabama Phoenix Festival.

Ernie Hudson loved to talk about how he got into acting in the state of Michigan. He got into acting by chance. He was kind of desperate in life and didn’t know what he wanted to do. Hudson got into acting in 1966 by doing theater in Detroit. Yes, Ernie Hudson has a very strong theatre background! He became the resident playwright at Concept East, the oldest black theatre company in the US. He also went to college to develop his acting and writing skills at Wayne State University. Mr. Hudson even had a stint on the Broadway play Joe Turner Come and Gone!

In Hudson’s own words, “Sadly, theatre does not pay well, acting is where you have to go to make money.” Acting is very hard according to Hudson. He gave some great advice to people who wants to get into the acting business. Pretty much, if you are an actor, you act! Ernie Hudson believes God made no one special in the universe and God will take you where you want to go. It’s a blessing.

When Ernie Hudson made the transition to acting on TV and the movies. It was very hard and it took time to adjust. The hardest part, learning to adjust to the camera. His most famous role was playing Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies. He said he would come back if a third Ghostbusters movie was ever made! Hudson said one of the toughest things in acting is fighting for the integrity of the character. One of his other famous roles was voicing Agent William “Bill” Fowler in the Transformers: Prime cartoon on The Hub.

Providing a voice role on Transformers: Prime was interesting. All of the actors went into one room and after a few hours, they were all done! Ernie Hudson also loved providing the voice of Winston in the Ghostbusters video game. Hudson said “you have to be able to do it all when being an actor.” He loves making a living as an actor on TV and the movies. Ernie Hudson said he was grateful to be in the Ghostbusters movies. And yes, he said the studios are a mean business.

Ernie Hudson stayed on the right path throughout his life. Hudson never knew his father. His mother, Maggie Donald, died of tuberculosis when he was two months old. He was subsequently raised by his maternal grandmother, Arrana Donald. Some people he knew even went to prison. Ernie Hudson finished by talking about Detroit. He is sad to see where Detroit is at today. He is confident Detroit will come back one day! One of Ernie Hudson’s most memorable quotes was ” human beings can reinvent ourselves.” We all should all follow that advice!

Some of Ernie Hudson’s upcoming movies includes Call Me Crazy: A Five Film on Lifetime, You’re Not You, Race to Judgment, High and Outside, Standby, and others!

Robin Shelby was also talking about her time as the character Slimer in the Ghostbusters movies. She has been in musicals and plays since age 11! Her last play was over seven years ago! Of course, Robin Shelby’s most famous role was playing Slimer in the Ghostbusters 2 movie. Yes, Slimer was a costume! Here’s a video of her rehearsing a scene for the movie.

Slimer weighed 40 pounds and Robin wore the costume for 12 hours a day during filming. She could not eat while wearing the costume and only drank some water. They were afraid the costume would get ruined if she ate something. The costume was made out of latex and once all the filming was done, the inside was filled with sweat and grime. She said it was like dead monkeys. One thing fans are afraid might happen if another Ghostbusters movie is made is Slimer will be C.G.I. instead of a costume character.

Robin Shelby calls C.G.I. a perfect storm and is not appropriate for Slimer. If Slimer was made out of C.G.I., Shelby said “the character would not have the heart that brings life to the character.” Robin Shelby loves going to cons and says the Alabama Ghostbusters treats her very well! She gave some advice for people who wants to get into acting. She said you need to get an agent or go out on our own. You need to have your family and friends to see your work. You also need to create your own stuff and be creative to be noticed.

Robin Shelby said being in a cast of actors and actresses creates a bond between friends. She believes anyone that wants to get into acting needs to go through theatre first before appearing in movies or on TV. Robin Shelby really wanted to get into the reality TV show craze we are seeing in America right now. It seems like there are 50 reality shows to the three scripted shows on TV. The reason, the networks want cheap talent and this causes real talent to go down the drain. Robin Shelby says reality TV shows are successful because “people watch them.” Shelby calls out reality TV shows as a bad influence to society. She said there is something wrong with society when people watch reality TV shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. And she did say our society is going in a dangerous direction when we watch cheap reality TV. I agree!

Robin Shelby does the online series called Far From The Tree. Her last episode was over nine months ago and I hope more episodes are coming out soon! Here are a few episodes, you can watch more at: https://www.youtube.com/user/farfromthetreeseries

The Alabama Ghostbusters recorded a podcast episode with Robin Shelby and Ernie Hudson during the Alabama Phoenix Festival. To listen, click the link!

http://www.alabamagb.com/podcasts/algb_podcast_13.mp3

Learn more about the Alabama Ghostbusters at: http://www.alabamagb.com/ By the way, during each Ghostbusters panel the room was filled with people dressed as the Ghostbusters! Here are some pictures of them!