The Ghostbusters Cartoon Rejected Ernie Hudson For An Absurd Reason

The 1986 animated series "The Real Ghostbusters" was, as we all know, an adaptation of Ivan Reitman's 1984 ultra-hit feature film "Ghostbusters." The makers of the animated series added the "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 alter the title.

The title change comes with a twinge of irony, 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 elected not to use likenesses of the film actors, and the show's character designer, Jim McDermott, came up with designs that stood out more for animation. The four Ghostbusters were given different-colored uniforms, a departure from the all-beige jumpsuits they wore in the movie. Their faces and hair were also dramatically changed (Egon was made into a blonde). These were the "Real" Ghostbusters?

Also the voice cast was very different. Frank Welker played Ray, and captured the spirit of the character, even if he didn't sound alike. Maurice LaMarche nailed a pretty good Harold Ramis impersonation. Lorenzo Music, the voice of Garfield, played Peter with a laconic appeal. And Arsenio Hall brought all the show's human energy as Winston. Wouldn't the "Real" Ghostbusters feature at least one of the film's original cast members?

It seems that we almost had at least one real Ghostbuster on "The Real Ghostbusters," anyway. Ernie Hudson famously auditioned to play Winston for the animated series ... and was infamously rejected. Hudson spoke with the AV Club back in 2012, and he revealed that his audition went poorly because the director, in a weird criticism, thought Ernie Hudson didn't sound enough like Ernie Hudson.

Hudson was pulled back and forth on "The Real Ghostbusters." He had been in contact with the show's producers, and he was told the role of Winston was pretty much guaranteed to him. After all, he originated the role. He still had to audition, but Hudson was under the impression that it was more a formality than a test of his already-proven talents. Sadly, when he went in to record, the show's director immediately started beefing with him. In Hudson's words: 

"Yeah, I did, and it was funny, 'cause they said, 'You don't have to audition for the part, 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, that's all wrong! When Ernie Hudson did it in the movie...' And I'm like, 'Well, wait a minute: I am Ernie Hudson!'" 

"The guy" is not named, but I think we can all collectively scoff at him. Despite the headbutting, Hudson was told after the audition that the part was still his. Hudson went away to work on a movie, awaiting the call inviting him to sign the contract. But the call never came. It wasn't until later that he learned Arsenio Hall had taken over the role. Why? Hudson never learned why he was rejected. Did he give a bad performance? Did the directors want to distance themselves from the 1984 movie? Whatever the reason, Hudson was miffed, saying: 

"I was really disappointed because the thought of someone else doing Winston was not something I felt great about. Arsenio's a friend, so there's no disrespect to him. But they had me come in and read, and even though they said I wasn't auditioning. I dunno, I guess I was just there to have the director get on my nerves. Who knows what happened there? Whatever the case, I didn't get the part. Unfortunately."

Hudson luckily returned for the 2016 remake of "Ghostbusters," and the sequels "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire."