The Hudsons aunt (their father's sister) was married to Keenan Wynn, the actor and son of Ed Wynn. Through that connection they got into the Disney company (Ed Wynn was in the original Willy Wonka movie, as I recall - and other Disney films.) Bill and I stayed with Uncle Keenan for a few days once and it was quite an experience. Keenan was hanging out with Lee Marvin at the time, so we were in interesting company. I remember a day of motorcycle riding out near Malibu that was very bizarre! Every once in a while I get some news about the Hudson's, and I've see Bill and Mark occassionally on TV. I saw Bill once in a cheesey made-for-TV movie, and Mark was featured prominently in an A&E biography program on Cher (Mark dated her for a while.) I also heard from our travel agent that Mark had bought a house next door to him on Arrowhead Lake, which was quite a coincidence! And while I was in LA working on my "After All These Years" CD, the owner of the studio told me that Mark was at that time embroiled in some kind of sexual harrassment case at the company where he was working. My tenure with the group came at a time when I was disillusioned with school (I was attending University of Oregon at the time) and was looking for something in the music industry to satisfy my quest for fame and fortune. It was an odd relationship throughout my entire time with the group. I lived with them, their mother, their uncle and grandparents in a small house in SW Portland, Oregon. I slept on the living room couch and we rehearsed in the basement where the house-ghost, Zack, lived. We played regularly on weekends all over Oregon, Washington and N. California, driving to gigs in a van full of gear. We were quite popular in the armory dance circuit at the time and had records out on the Jerden label (out of Seattle) that were being played in local markets around the Northwest. It was a fun time, for the most part, although I do remember being bullied a lot by the three brothers. It was a strange transitional time in my life, during which I met and married my first wife, who was a high school class-mate of the boys'. I recall they all attended our wedding, and I think that may have been the last time I saw them. It was another lifetime. And yes, Josh - Bill is Kate's father. Goldie is her mother. I think Kate was primarily raised with Kurt Russell as a father, though. I'm sure Bill was in her life to some degree, but I'm not sure how close they were during her formative years. For some more info on my life and times with The Hudson Brothers see my Memorial Day post below.
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