The 1986 animated series “The Real Ghostbusters” was, as we all know, an adaptation of Ivan Reitman’s hit 1984 feature film “Ghostbusters.” The creators of the animated series added “The Real” to the title for legal reasons, as CBS still owned the rights to the name “The Ghost Busters”, the title of their 1975 Larry Storch sitcom. When DIC Entertainment was hired by Columbia Pictures to make a direct adaptation of Reitman’s film, they had to change the title.
The title change comes with a heartache, however, as “The Real Ghostbusters” was made without the participation of Reitman or any of the original 1984 cast members. The film starred Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz, Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler and Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore. The animated series chose not to use likenesses of the film’s actors, and the series’ character designer Jim McDermott came up with designs that stood out more for the animation. The four Ghostbusters were given different colored uniforms, as opposed to the all-beige jumpsuits they wore in the film. Their faces and hair were also drastically changed (Egon became blond). These were the “real” Ghostbusters?
Additionally, the voice cast was very different. Frank Welker played Ray and captured the spirit of the character, even though he didn’t look like him. Maurice LaMarche did a pretty good imitation of Harold Ramis. Lorenzo Music, the voice of Garfield, played Peter with laconic appeal. And Arsenio Hall brought all the human energy of the series in the role of Winston. Wouldn’t the “real” Ghostbusters feature at least one of the original actors from the film?
It looks like we almost got at least one real Ghostbuster in “The Real Ghostbusters,” anyway. Ernie Hudson auditioned to play Winston in the animated series…and was infamously rejected. Hudson spoke with the AV Club in 2012, and he revealed that his audition went poorly because the director, in a strange criticism, thought Ernie Hudson didn’t look enough like Ernie Hudson.
Ernie Hudson was rejected from The Real Ghostbusters
Hudson has been shot back and forth in “The Real Ghostbusters.” He had been in contact with the producers of the series and was told that the role of Winston was almost guaranteed to him. After all, he’s the one who originated the role. He still had to audition, but Hudson felt like it was more of a formality than a test of his already proven talents. Unfortunately, when he went to record, the show’s director immediately started harassing him. In Hudson’s words:
“Yes, I did, and it was funny, because they said, ‘You don’t have to audition for the role, but the director wants to hear you read the material.’ So I went in to read the material, and the guy said, “No, no, no, this is all wrong!” When Ernie Hudson did it in the movie…’ And I’m like, ‘Well, wait a minute: I am Ernie Hudson! »
“The guy” isn’t named, but I think we can all collectively make fun of him. Despite the headbutt, Hudson learned after the audition that the role was still his. Hudson left to work on a film, waiting for the call inviting him to sign the contract. But the call never came. Only later did he learn that Arsenio Hall had taken over the role. For what? Hudson never knew why he was rejected. Did he give a bad performance? Did the directors want to distance themselves from the 1984 film? Whatever the reason, Hudson was upset and said:
“I was really disappointed because the idea of someone else playing Winston wasn’t something I was happy with. Arsenio is a friend, so no disrespect to him. But they brought me in to read, and even though they said I wasn’t auditioning. I don’t know, I guess I was just there for the director to piss me off. Who knows what happened there? Anyway, I Didn’t get the role unfortunately.”
Hudson happily returned for the 2016 remake of “Ghostbusters” and the sequels “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.”
