The list of accomplishments and contributions of the Hudin Family from East St. Louis is remarkable. From purchasing their freedom from slavery, to serving as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, to being a tennis coach to the late great Arthur Ashe, to working as Hollywood film producers, the Hudlin family’s legacy is rich and substantial.
Norman Ross, retired executive director of the Greater East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, will reveal interesting, impressive history about the Hudlin side of his family during a presentation at noon Wednesday, Feb. 14 at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC).
“We are very proud of some of the accomplishments by our family members within the St. Louis Metropolitan Region,” said Ross, who grew up in East St. Louis. “We feel deeply inspired that they were able to enhance the positive well-being of the total community.”
Ross’s mother is a Hudlin. “I am the oldest son of Dr. Lucille Hudlin-Ross-McClelland, the oldest child and only girl in her immediate Hudlin family of six,” said Ross. “My grandfather Edward W. Hudlin married Myrtle Johnson-Hudlin, and they had six children: Lucille, Warrington, Ervin, Russell, Richard and Edward Hudlin.”
However, Ross begins the history of the Hudlin family with his great-great-great grandmother Sarah Hudlin. Sarah Hudlin had a son, Peter Hudlin, who purchased his freedom in the 1850s, noted Ross, who is the curator for an ancient African history educational mobile exhibit titled: “The Origin and Dynastic Chronology of Ancient Kemet (Egypt).”
Peter Hudlin married Nancy Jane Rutledge, a Cherokee Native American, and they moved to St. Louis in 1855, where Peter Hudlin worked as a freight deliveryman.
“This job position placed him in the perfect situation to work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad to help free slaves on their journey to northern America or Canada,” said Ross. “As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Peter worked with Owen Lovejoy, the great abolitionist minister and brother of the martyred, Elijah P. Lovejoy.”
Peter had two brothers who escaped slavery. Samuel Hudlin fled to Canada and Joseph Hudlin traveled to Chicago, according to Hudlin. Joseph and Peter both worked as conductors on the Underground Railroad run by Owen Lovejoy.
In other family news, Richard A. Hudlin, Ross’s great-grandfather and son of Peter Hudlin, was a graduate of Shurtleff College in Alton and worked as a school principal. He was also a Shakespearean actor, filmmaker and reporter for The St. Louis Globe-Democrat in Missouri and the Westliche Post, a German-language daily newspaper published in St. Louis. Richard Hudlin was also appointed as the postmaster in Clayton, Mo., (1843-1901) by U.S. President William McKinley, Jr.
Ross learned several things about his grandfather, Edward Hudlin, who was the son of Richard A. Hudlin. Edward was a famous horse jockey on the Frank James Farm and Ranch in Missouri. (Frank James was the brother of Jessie James.) While Edward was a soldier in France during World War I, he learned the French-style of stone masonry. When he returned to the U.S., he began his career as a stone mason, according to Ross.
“All stone-built homes, businesses, porches and fences with French-style green mortar trim around each stone in the East St. Louis area were built by my grandfather and his sons,” noted Ross.
Edward Hudlin’s brother, Richard ‘Dick’ Hudlin, was a teacher at Sumner High School in St. Louis. He was also the tennis tutor of Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson. Ashe won three Grand Slam single titles (U.S. Open in 1968, Australia Open in 1970 and Wimbledon in 1975). He was the only Black man ever to win those titles. Gibson won three Grand Slam single titles (French Open in 1956, Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, and the U.S. Open in 1957 and 1958). She was one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line in international tennis.
The women in the Hudlin family also did great things, according to Ross. “For instance, my mother, Dr. Lucille Hudlin-Ross-McClelland, as dean of the SIUE Nursing School, was critical in getting the nursing program accredited at the University,” he said.
“My grandmother, Myrtle Johnson-Hudlin, was a St. Louis elementary school teacher who was attending Stowe College in St. Louis when she married my grandfather, Edward W. Hudlin,” Ross continued. “My great grandmother, Lucille Johnson-McCorkle (on my grandmother’s side of the family) was born a slave 10 years before the Civil War ended. In her last years, she lived with my grandparents in Centreville and taught Sunday School for me and other neighborhood children.”
Other notables that Ross will share during his presentation include:
Warrington Hudlin, founder and owner of Hudlin Insurance Company in East St. Louis
Ervin Hudlin, lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a green beret during the Vietnam War
Russell Hudlin, owner of two drug stores in the East St. Louis area
Edward Hudlin Jr., professor of philosophy at Harvard and SIUE
Richard Hudlin Jr., Illinois circuit judge for St. Clair County
Reginald Hudlin and Warrington Hudlin Jr. (The Hudlin Brothers), major Hollywood film directors, producers and media managers; some of the films they produced include the 1990s films, “House Party,” “Bebe’s Kids” and “Ride,” and later “Boomerang,” “The Great White Hype” and “Marshall.”
Ross received his bachelor’s in biology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He worked in East St. Louis as the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce from 1986-2011. He currently lives in St. Louis.
“I enjoy history and love sharing it,” said Ross. “It is vital that we preserve and tell the important history and contributions of African Americans in East St. Louis and around the world!”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mr. Norman Ross for programming at the LRC in the past, and each time we meet, I am appreciative of being in his presence,” said LRC Program Coordinator Danayka Saavedra Berrocal. “He has a wealth of knowledge of the area and its history, and shares it freely. The LRC is honored to welcome Mr. Ross back on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus.”
The SIUE East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC) is a full-service library available to the East St. Louis and surrounding communities, as well as the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School, SIUE East St. Louis Center staff and programs and other programs and employees on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus. It offers internet access with 10 public computers, a computer lab with 20 computers and a SMART Board available to on-campus classes and community groups. Career services, free library cards, free printing, copying, scanning, faxing, and Notary Public services are designed to provide inclusive access and assistance in one convenient location. LRC is sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).
Photo: Norman Ross, retired executive director of the Greater East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, will present a history on Hudlin family of East St. Louis on Feb. 14 at the SIUE East St. Louis Learning Resource Center.
At the beginning of every year, I make a list of the best moments of the previous year, either personal or professional. Here’s my list for 2023:
1) HELENA GOES TO HARVARD
She going to my alma mater, and she’s loving it!
2) ALEXANDER LOVES PICTURES!
Taking photos, moving pictures…he loves photography and high end cinema. Now he’s going to business meetings with me!
Here’s Alexander taking pictures in London’s Chinatown.
Alexander getting the shot in Lucrene, Switzerland.
Alexander and I reconnecting with Leonard Di Caprio many years after meeting him on the set of DJANGO UNCHAINED.
3) CANDY CANE LANE!
Loved making it, and love that it was #1 around the world opening weekend!
Here I am on some of my favorite locations:
Transforming the Universal back lot to Candy Cane Lane!
Turning a freeway underpass into a magical location.
Me and Eddie Murphy.
Me with Marcus Miller and a full orchestra, recording the score on the Sony Soundstages.
Me, Eddie and producer Brian Grazer.
After the film was finished, we had a special screening at ILM, the great special effects house made the magic come to life. Just touring the facilities was a dream come true!
We do good work for our own satisfaction, but it’s great to be recognized for doing it. It was a good year for me, winning The NAACP Image Award, the AAFCA Award and the Critics’ Choice Award for Sidney, and The Icon Award in Los Angeles and the St Louis Lifetime Achievement Award for a career of important work.
Q & A with the audience at the St.Louis International Film Festival.
4) LOVING WASHINGTON DC!
The celebration of hip hop’s 50th anniversary at the Vice President’s residence was epic! So many friends from the worlds of entertainment, politics and more all in one place!
Like this shot of me with journalist Roland Martin and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
So happy to finally meet Senator Raphael Warnock!
Actress Kat Graham and I are developing a very cool project, but didn’t expect to see her there!
5) THE MOTHERSHIP AND MORE AT THE BLACKSONIAN!
I loved seeing this quote from my Harvard professor Eileen Southern.
I grew up all these albums! Great to see every era of our history immortalized.
So much great art in the museum!
6) Lots of great weddings this year!
Brilliant writer Alice Randall has been a sister to me since college. I was happy to attend the wedding of her daughter Caroline in New York City!
Look out for Alice’s new book on the Black roots of country music!
My dear friend and collaborator Nelson George also got married so I made a second trip to New York to be there. Lots of old friends in attendance.
Our family also attended the wedding of Second Gentlemen’s son…the Vice President officiated.
7) GOODBYE TO A HERO.
It was a tremendous honor to speak at his memorial service this year.
8) So happy that my brother Christopher finally moved to Los Angeles!
9) GIVING BACK TO STUDENTS AT USC.
I brought my kids so they can find who I am through the eyes of others!
10) Finally getting away and spending time with friends and family!
Love this restaurant in Mexico who made a custom menu for me featuring all my work!
Bonus for the 2024: No better way to start the year than with George Clinton!
Reginald Hudlin reached a major milestone in his career when he recently received a lifetime achievement award from the St. Louis International Film Festival.
ST. LOUIS — An East St. Louis native reached a major milestone in his career when he recently received a lifetime achievement award from the St. Louis International Film Festival.
Director and producer Reginald Hudlin credits his Missouri upbringing for being a better storyteller in Hollywood.
Having a film career spanning more than three decades, Hudlin said he’s surprisingly never attended the St. Louis International Film Festival before this year.
However coming home to St. Louis was made just a little bit more memorable with a SLIFF Lifetime Achievement Award to sit beside his Oscar and Emmy nominations.
“When you get a lifetime achievement award, it feels like that’s an acknowledgment of your body of work,” Hudlin said. “Like you know what, you keep doing things that are not embarrassing. They don’t suck, and, in fact, we like them.”
It’s quite the body of work for Hudlin, a proud East St. Louis native.
Whether that’s one of his first hits, “House Party” in 1990 or his latest to-be-released movie “Candy Cane Lane” on Amazon Prime with comedic icon Eddie Murphy.
Not to mention, the football drama “Safety” on Disney+ and another classic “Boomerang” starring Murphy again, Chris Rock and Halle Berry.
SLIFF executive director Bree Maniscalco said Hudlin received the award because he has “reached across and done documentaries. He’s done a series with Oprah about African American males and the role that they play as fathers, filmmakers and actors. That has been incredible.
“He’s directed award shows. He’s also done animated works not just on the big screen but through comic books. They way that he’s getting the youth interested in paper book and then on the screen it’s incredible.”
Hudlin said being from the Midwest helped him get his name in lights, and being around hardworking people was crucial.
His advice for aspiring St. Louis filmmakers is to lean into technology and use their smartphones.
“You can film your own movie and cut it together,” Hudlin said. “You have all this stuff in your pocket. We didn’t have that when I was a kid. We didn’t have pockets when we were kids. So you’ve got all this stuff right in your pocket.”
St. Louis International Film Festival closes out its annual event with a celebration Nov. 19 at the Hi-Pointe Theatre. A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to veteran Hollywood figure and East St. Louis native Reginald Hudlin.
Cinema St. Louis executive director Bree Maniscalco and Hudlin’s longtime friend Lyah LeFlore-Ituen present the award, and I will sit with Hudlin for a live conversation about his noteworthy career.
Director, producer and writer Hudlin, the first Black executive producer of the Emmys as well as a co-producer of the Academy Awards in 2016, first made his mark in the industry producing music videos and making short films in the 1980s.
Hudlin made his directorial debut with “House Party” (1990) and has been busy ever since, from “Boomerang” to “Django Unchained,” “The Great White Hype” to “The Ladies Man,” “Bebe’s Kids” to “The Black Godfather.”
His latest movie “Candy Cane Lane,” starring Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross, is his first Christmas flick, streaming Dec. 1 on Prime Video.
Here, we spotlight 8 essential Hudlin projects.
Kid ‘n Play in “House Party” | Courtesy of St. Louis International Film Festival
“House Party”
1990, director, writer
Hudlin scored big with his directorial debut, a cult classic with rap duo Kid ‘n Play at the center of a wild high school house party. The Library of Congress added “House Party” to its National Film Registry in 2022, the same year a reboot of the movie was released.
Watch “House Party” on Pluto TV, Prime Video.
“Boomerang”
1992, director
Hudlin ventured into adult rom-com fare with “Boomerang,” starring Eddie Murphy as a successful playboy who meets his match in a woman portrayed by Robin Givens, while later finding happiness with his true love played by Halle Berry. The movie was rebooted as a TV series on BET, which ran a couple of seasons beginning in 2019.
Watch “Boomerang” on Prime Video.
“Bebe’s Kids”
1992, writer, producer
Forever etched in urban lingo is the term “Bebe’s Kids,” used to describe a group of really bad young children. The term was taken from Hudlin’s animated movie “Bebe’s Kids” about a man voiced by comedian Robin Harris charged with watching a group of unruly children during an amusement park outing.
Watch it on Prime Video, Pluto TV.
Tim Meadows in “The Ladies Man” (2000). Handout
“The Ladies Man”
2000, director
Hudson successfully took a “Saturday Night Live” skit, not an easy thing to do, and fleshed it out to full-length feature with “The Ladies Man” starring Tim Meadows.
Watch it on Prime Video.
“Django Unchained”
2012, co-producer
Hudlin co-produced this epic, gloriously violent Oscar-nominated western directed by Quentin Tarantino about a freed slave out to rescue his wife from a plantation owner starring Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson.
Chadwick Boseman (left) and Sterling K. Brown in “Marshall” | Courtesy of Open Road Films
“MARSHALL”
2017, director, producer
Boasting a cast that included Chadwick Boseman, St. Louis native Sterling K. Brown, Kate Hudson and Josh Gad, “Marshall” looked at an early career chapter of historic figure Thurgood Marshall, the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell, before he’d go on to become the first Black Supreme Court Justice.
Watch it on Netflix and Prime Video.
Guy Torry in “Phat Tuesdays” | Courtesy of Amazon Studios
“Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip Hop Comedy”
2022, director, producer
“Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip Hop Comedy” is a three-part docuseries detailing Phat Tuesdays, which was a night giving new opportunities to Black comics at the famed Comedy Store in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2005. St. Louis native Guy Torry created and hosted Phat Tuesdays, which helped change the culture of comedy.
Watch it on Prime Video.
“Sidney”
2022, director, producer
Teaming up with producer Oprah Winfrey, Hudlin presented a touching tribute honoring the life and legacy of the Oscar-winning Sidney Poitier, one of the greatest actors to ever live. Among the A-list participants in the documentary are Robert Redford, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Morgan Freeman, Halle Berry, Lou Gossett Jr., Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand and most notably Poitier himself.
Watch it on Apple TV+.
The closing night event also features SLIFF’s juried-competition awards, music from Trackstar the DJ and more.
What St. Louis International Film Festival’s Closing Night Awards Presentation • When 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 • Where Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland Avenue • How much $5 • More infocinemastlouis.org/sliff/festival-home
