Brett Stuart Patrick Hudson (born January 18, 1953) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was the youngest member of the musical group the

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

, which was formed by his older brothers,

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

and

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

, in 1965. He is now a TV producer and writer.

Early life

Hudson was born and raised in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, the youngest of three boys (

and

are his two elder brothers) born to Eleanor (née Salerno) and William Louis Hudson. His mother was

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

(his maternal grandfather came from

Carlentini Carlentini () is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (Italy). It lies 45 km (28 mi) outside the provincial capital of Syracuse. Naming history In 1551, Viceroy Juan de Vega, 1st Count of Grajal, founded a ne ...

Province of Syracuse The province of Syracuse (; ) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse, a town established by Greeks, Greek colonists arriving from Corinth in the ...

, Sicily, Italy). He and his brothers were nephews of actor

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his wikt:stock-in-trade, stock-in-trade; though he rarely carried the leading actor, lead role, h ...

. Hudson's father walked out on the family when he was six, and Eleanor was forced to raise her boys alone, relying on

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

to raise them during their upbringing. He was raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Career

Hudson formed the production company Frozen Pictures with Burt Kearns. He has produced many television shows including ''All the Presidents' Movies'' with

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

for

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

, ''The Secret History of Rock 'N' Roll'' for

Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former pay-television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cover ...

hosted by

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...

KISS A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

as well as

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

TV's '' A Current Affair''. He also co-wrote and produced the

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

movie '' Cloud 9''. In 2012, Hudson co-produced '' Hansel & Gretel Get Baked'' released theatrically by Tribeca Film. He previewed his movie ''The Chris Montez Story'' with

Chris Montez Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez; January 17, 1943) is an American guitarist and vocalist, whose stylistic approach has ranged from rock & roll to pop standards and Latin music. His rock sound is exemplified in songs such as hi ...

at The Fest for Beatles Fans convention held March 2010 in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...

. He can be heard singing background on an odd assortment of CDs including

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

's 1994 '' The Last Temptation'' and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

's 1999 '' I Wanna Be Santa Claus''. He is also a trumpet player.

Honors and awards

Hudson received the 2009 Las Vegas Film Festival's Golden Ace Award in the Documentary Feature category for '' The Seventh Python''.

Personal life

Hudson married Lavinia Lang in 1992. He was diagnosed with stage 4

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

in 2007 and, after receiving many conventional as well as

alternative cancer treatment Alternative cancer treatment describes any cancer treatment or practice that is not part of the conventional standard of cancer care. These include special diets and exercises, chemicals, herbs, devices, and manual procedures. Most alternative ...

s, has been in remission since 2009. He is the uncle of singer/songwriter Sarah Hudson, actress

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Born to singer Bill Hudson (singer), Bill Hudson and actress Goldie Hawn, Hudson made her film debut in the 1998 drama ''Desert Blue'', which was followed by supporting ...

of ''

Almost Famous ''Almost Famous'' is a 2000 American comedy drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It tells the story of a teenage journalist, played b ...

'' and actor

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 ...

of '' Splitting Up Together''.

Filmography

Producing and directing

Acting

References

External links

* 1953 births Living people American multi-instrumentalists American people of English descent American people of Italian descent Catholics from Oregon Cleveland High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Film producers from Oregon Hudson family (show business) Musicians from Portland, Oregon Singer-songwriters from Oregon Writers from Portland, Oregon American male singer-songwriters {{US-singer-songwriter-stub