Winston Zeddemore is a fictional character appearing in the Ghostbusters films and TV series. He was played by Ernie Hudson in both movies and was voiced by Arsenio Hall in the first season of The Real Ghostbusters. Buster Jones provided Winston's voice in the remaining seasons, and he reprised the role in a cameo on Extreme Ghostbusters.

Character

Described as the "everyman" of the Ghostbusters, Winston is hired as a member on the spot, seemingly because he is the only applicant at the time. When applying for the job as a Ghostbuster he is questioned extensively by Janine Melnitz as to whether he believes in a large number of supernatural occurrences and beings (such as UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster and the theory of Atlantis among others). He simply replies, "If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say." When he is introduced to Ray Stantz, Ray's response is, "Beautiful. You're hired."

Film role

Winston Zeddemore is a Ghostbuster, but unlike the other members of the team, he is not a scientist with a background in the paranormal. (The novelization notes he is a former Marine.) He is hired later in the company's existence when their business begins to pick up. However, despite not sharing the educational credentials of his coworkers, Winston often serves as a voice of reason and displays far more common sense than the other Ghostbusters. For instance, when the jailed Ghostbusters seriously propose asking a U.S. federal judge to release them because they must fight an invading god, Zeddemore is the only one to remind the others that they would never be believed. An exchange with Ray regarding God, Jesus Christ and the Bible shows that Winston is a religious man to some extent, saying he "loves Jesus' style".

Original script

In the original script, Winston was intended as the smartest and most capable of the Ghostbusters. He held multiple degrees and was a Ph.D. as well as an ex-Marine, making him more suited for the job than the original three. This was discussed in detail in the commentary on the DVD of the original movie; no explanation was given for the change in his character, but it was likely to make him a blue-collar, "everyman" type of character to provide a common person's response to the supernatural happenings witnessed by the group.

The Real Ghostbusters

In one episode of the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, Winston mentions that he did not believe in the supernatural before becoming a Ghostbuster, which shows that he was only looking for a paying job. Nevertheless, he accepts the existence of the paranormal once he witnesses it firsthand.

As shown in the Real Ghostbusters episode, "The Moaning Stones", Winston learns that he is the reincarnation of Shima Buku, a shaman who was at war with an immortal demon known only as the Undying One. In "Devil To Pay", Winston mentions having a girlfriend, but she is never seen on screen.

Winston used to be a construction worker prior to joining the Ghostbusters, as mentioned in "The Ghostbusters in Paris." In another episode entitled "The Brooklyn Triangle", the construction site belonging to Winston's father is the setting for a paranormal version of the Bermuda Triangle called the "Brooklyn Triangle", where various people's belongings are mysteriously disappearing.

In the episode, "Night Game", Winston loves baseball, and his favorite team is the Jaguars. He later takes part in a paranormal baseball game for the fate of Peter Venkman's soul. In several other episodes, most notably "Boodunnit", it is shown that he loves mystery novels and detective stories, and is the one to solve the mystery novel left behind by a deceased mystery writer similar to Agatha Christie and allow her soul to rest, completing the Ghostbusters' assignment. In "Doctor, Doctor" it is also revealed that Winston likes classical literature, including the works of Herman Melville and Charles Dickens. He is also a fan of The Alan Parsons Project.

Driving the Ecto-1

Winston is the only Ghostbuster ever shown actually at the wheel of Ecto-1 for more than a few moments in the two films. As a result, he is almost always shown driving the car in the Real Ghostbusters cartoon. http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035905p1.html

Extreme Ghostbusters

Only appearing in the two part series finale. After the closing down of the Ghostbusters, Winston got his pilot's license, being the first and only Ghostbuster to be a legal pilot.

Name misspelling

The name "Zeddemore" is misspelled as "Zeddmore" in the closing credits of Ghostbusters. As a result it was also sometimes misspelled in scripts and other sources related to The Real Ghostbusters. The name is spelled correctly on the nametag on Winston's jumpsuit, in the shooting script of Ghostbusters (as published in the book Making Ghostbusters), and in the closing credits of Ghostbusters II. The name is also pronounced correctly (with three syllables) by both Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters.

Role in video games

Winston has been noted as being the character most often not featured in video games based upon Ghostbusters media, even when Peter, Ray and Egon are selectable. Most believe this is because Winston was hired later and most of the games have the player begin before the Ghostbusters company was started. It may have been as simple as limited graphics or limited time to make an individual sprite for him, as none of the original three Ghostbusters have individual sprites either, only generic ones. So far, Winston has only been featured as a playable character in Ghostbusters II for NES and the New Ghostbusters II for NES and Game Boy.

Trivia

According to an interview with Arsenio Hall, Ernie Hudson auditioned for the role of Winston in The Real Ghostbusters, but he was rejected.

Ernie Hudson was also on a live-action segment of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, (in 1989, most likely to help advertise for Ghostbusters II), where he is a member of the "Slime Busters" (the others knew it was for the Mario bros., and he lost a coin toss) who helps Mario try to get rid of a ghost inside their office, which eventually possesses Luigi. He saves Luigi from "turning into a drooling, moronic zombie", but Luigi tells them the bad news: "We gota buy a new pizza pan." The Slime Monster, now trapped in the pizza pan, surrenders telling Ernie to save him from the goombas.

The role was originally written for Eddie Murphy, who had to decline the role as he was filming Beverly Hills Cop at the same time. If Murphy had been cast, Zeddemore would have been hired much earlier in the film, and would've accompanied the trio on their hunt for Slimer at the hotel and be slimed in place of Peter Venkman. When Ernie Hudson took over, it was decided that he be brought in later to indicate how the Ghostbusters were struggling to keep up with the outbreak of ghosts.

Quotes

The Real Ghostbusters (cartoon)

• (about Spengler) "Brilliant man, but the attention span of a tumbleweed." ("No-one Comes To Lupusville")
• (after capturing Victor) "Man, I feel like such a bully." ("Victor the Happy Ghost")
• "Some people get cockroaches, we get Imps!" ("Janine's Day Off")
• "If Egon ever flips out, how are we gonna tell?" ("20,000 Leagues Under the Street")
• "You know, I would love you guys to find out what this thing's supposed to be... If I'm going to be disintegrated, I would at least like to know by what." ("Citizen Ghost")
• "Like my daddy used to say... We learn by doing. Let's get it!" ("Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream")
• "It's in its socks, Slimer!" ("The Halloween Door")
• "In other words, you want me to ram the sucker." ("Janine's Day Off")

Ghostbusters (film)

• "If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."
• "Tell him about the Twinkie."
• "Ray, has it ever occurred to you that maybe the reason we've been so busy lately is because the dead have been rising from the grave?"
• "So you're going to go before a federal judge and tell him that some mouldy Babylonian god is gonna start tearing up the city?!... No offense, but I gotta get my own lawyer."
• "I'm Winston Zeddemore, Your Honor. I've only been with the company for a couple of weeks. But I gotta tell you, these things are real. Since I joined these men, I have seen shit that'll turn you white."
• "Ray, if someone asks if you're a god, you say YES!!!"
• "This job is definitely not worth 11 five a year!"
• "I LOVE THIS TOWN!"

Ghostbusters II (film)

• "Sorry, I missed it."
• "I hate Jell-O."

References

• Shay, Don (1985). Making Ghostbusters, New York: New York Zoetrope. ISBN 0918432685

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