Winston Zeddemore

Winston Zeddemore is a male film character who features in Ghostbusters.

Biography

Winston Zeddemore

Winston applied for a job opening late in 1984 after business started to pick up. Janine Melnitz interviewed Winston from her desk. She asked him if he believed in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trans-mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis. Winston replied if there was a steady paycheck in it, he would believe anything she said. The interview was interrupted when the phone rang and by the return of the weary Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz. Winston turned his head and observed them while Janine spoke to the caller. Ray was not pleased to see two free repeaters on the evening worksheet. He walked to the basement. Janine brought Winston to their attention. She introduced him. Winston stood. Ray stopped and turned around. Ray took one look at him and hired him on the spot. He introduced himself and Peter. Peter congratulated Winston and shook his hand. Ray called him over for help then handed him the two Traps and welcomed him aboard. Winston took them both but was uneasy about it. Ray nodded with a grin. Ray took him downstairs to the basement and showed him how the Containment Unit worked. Egon Spengler revealed his latest findings and admitted he was worried about space issues in the the Containment Unit and all his recent data pointed to something big on the horizon. Winston took a cigarette. Ray lit his cigarette then held a light for Winston. Winston asked Egon what he meant by "big." Egon explained with a Twinkie and used it to represent the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Egon estimated that morning's sample indicated the Twinkie was 35 feet long weighing approximately 600 pounds. Ray coughed hard. Winston remarked, "That's a big Twinkie." Ray believed they could be on the verge of a four-fold crossrip, a P.K.E. surge of incredible and even dangerous proportions. Peter walked over to the Containment Unit and mentioned they had a visit from the Environmental Protection Agency then asked how the was grid holding up. Winston gestured from Peter to Egon and implored him to talk about the Twinkie. Peter turned to them and was concerned about the Twinkie.

A couple weeks later, on a Thursday evening, Winston drove Ecto-1 through the FDR Drive Service Road East/Marginal Road, between Avenue C Loop/E. 18th Street & East 20th Street. Ray was studying blueprints in the front passenger seat. Both were smoking. Winston asked Ray if he believed in God. Ray replied he never met Him. Winston revealed he believed and he loved Jesus' style. Ray noted a roof cap was made of a magnesium-tungsten alloy. Winston asked him what was so involved in. Ray reached for the Michelob can on the dash. Ray clarified he was looking at the blueprints for the structural ironwork in Dana Barrett's apartment building, and they were very, very strange. Winston asked him if he remembered something in the Bible about the last days, when the dead would rise from the grave. Ray recalled Revelation 7:12 and recited a verse, "And I looked, as he opened the sixth seal. And behold, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became as black as sackcloth. And the moon became as blood." Winston finished with, "And the seas boiled. And the skies fell." Both called it Judgment Day. Ray noted every ancient religion had its own myth about the end of the world. Ray placed his cigarette back in his mouth. Winston bristled at his use of the word "myth" and asked him if it ever occurred to him that maybe the reason they were so busy lately was because the dead have been rising from the grave, a sign of the apocalypse. Ray was silent with apprehension and looked at him. He suggested a little music and turned on the radio. Winston agreed.

Ray and Winston returned to the Firehouse and saw a large crowd behind the police barricades at N. Moore and Varick. Ray got out the driver's side. Winston got out of the front passenger side, now in his civies. Egon informed Ray the storage facility blew, pointed at Walter Peck, and revealed Peck had the protection grid shut off. Ray was beside himself. Winston guessed that was bad. Ray confirmed and nodded. Peter asked where the Keymaster went. Egon swore and could not believe they lost him. The Ghostbusters were about to take off in search of Louis but Peck, the Police Captain and some police officers barred their way. Peck wanted the Ghostbusters arrested. Egon was angered by his accusations and lunged forward and grabbed Peck's collar. The Ghostbusters were arrested and taken to the NYPD Lock-Up. Winston stood at the perimeter and tried to get the guard's attention as he closed the jail cell so he could make his phone call. Winston explained that he just worked with the Ghostbusters and was not present for the explosion. As Ray and Egon went over the odd details of 550 Central Park West, its architect Ivo Shandor, and Shandor's worship of a god named Gozer who would bring about the end of the world. Ray stated the obvious, they had to get out of jail and find a judge or something. Winston stepped and told them to hold it. He wanted to clarify their plan was to go before a federal judge and say that some moldy Babylonian god was going to drop in on Central Park West and start tearing up the city. Egon corrected him about Gozer: it was a Sumerian god, not Babylonian. Peter joked that there was a big difference. Winston told them no offense, but he was going get his own lawyer. The Ghostbusters were pulled out of jail to go meet with Mayor Lenny in his office at New York City Hall. During the meeting, Winston stepped forward and introduced himself. Winston prefaced that he only worked for the Ghostbusters for a couple of weeks but ghosts were real because he saw shit that would turn him white. The Fire Commissioner visibly reacted to his statement.

The Ghostbusters were given the green light by Mayor Lenny to try to prevent the end of the world. They went to the top of 550 Central Park West and met Gozer. It asked Ray if he was a god. Ray replied, "No." Gozer turned its upper torso and arms back toward the temple then told them to die. Gozer fired lightning from its fingertips at the Ghostbusters. They were shot across the roof and barely clung to the edge of the building. As they gathered themselves, Winston looked down at Ray and told him when someone asked him if he was a god, he should say, "Yes!" Ray nodded. The Ghostbusters opened fire on Gozer but it simply vanished. Winston proclaimed, "And we have the tools. We have the talent!" Peter declared it was "Milla time!" Peter held out his right hand. Ray and Winston were gleeful and did the hand-stack. However, the disembodied voice of Gozer ordered them to choose the form of the Destructor. They all realized Ray thought of something instead of clearing his mind like they did. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was only inflamed by their Proton Streams. Egon proposed they Cross the Streams into the Temple of Gozer. Peter recalled Egon's warning about doing that and they would be in grave danger along with their client, the nice lady who paid them in advance before she became a dog. Egon revealed there was definitely a very slim chance they would survive. They exchanged looks. Winston grumbled the job was definitely not worth another eleven-five a year. The Ghostbusters crossed the streams and saved the world, blowing up Stay Puft and the top part of the building. Ray came to in a corner. He was covered in marshmallow residue. He saw Winston next to him and asked him if he was all right. Winston chuckled and confirmed he was. Winston was also covered in residue. The four Ghostbusters realized Dana Barrett and Louis Tully also survived and liberated them from the charred Terror Dog remains. Before following everyone else down stairs, Winston threw up his hands and cheered. He vigorously exclaimed, "I love this town!" and laughed.

Right before the Christmas 1989 season started, Winston informed Ray he quit and would no longer perform at any parties. Winston was frustrated and declared to Ray he was "tired of taking abuse from over-privileged 9-year-olds" and that "Ghostbusters doesn't exist." Winston visited with Ray, Egon, and Peter before their trial started. After Stephen Wexler issued a warning before the trial started. He stated the law does not recognize the existence of ghosts and he did not believe in them either. He stressed he did not want to hear a lot of malarkey about goblins, spooks, and demons and they were going to stick to the facts in this case only. Winston joked Wexler sounded like a pretty open-minded guy. Egon revealed Wexler's nickname was "The Hammer." Ray asserted it was all in the hands of their lawyer now, Louis Tully. During the Con Edison Supervisor's testimony, Winston sat in his seat in the gallery and was absent for the remainder of the trial. Fortune however turned around for the Ghostbusters after their judicial restraining order was rescinded during a confrontation Peter, Ray, and Egon had in a courtroom with the Scoleri Brothers. With the Ghostbusters back in business Winston managed to return to the team full time. When the Ghostbusters checked out the Manhattan Museum of Art, Winston used a new device, the KUD meter. He also pulled Janosz Poha aside when he tried to block Peter from taking photographs of Vigo. He noticed Ray was just standing on a step ladder starring at the Vigo portrait. He patted Ray and he finally snapped out of it. Winston asked him if he was finished. Ray confirmed he was. Winston asked him if he was all right. Ray was confused by the question and walked away with Winston. Ray assured him he was fine. Winston helped Ray and Egon investigate the mysterious river of slime under the city. They walked down some abandoned train tracks. Ray tripped on the track and yelped. Winston told Ray to watch his step and became uneasy. Ray cited the entrance to the pneumatic railroad was near according to the old transit map he had. Egon was not getting any readings. Winston conceded at least it was too dark to see the cockroaches. Ray informed him it was the subway rats he had to be worried about because they were as big as beavers. Egon stated the rats got to be as big as four to five kilos. Winston was getting annoyed. Ray claimed to hear them behind the walls scratching and guessed there were thousands of them. Winston told him to shut up about the rats. Ray shouted "Hello" and heard the echo. Egon tried next with "Hey" and heard the echo. Winston started to relax and shouted "Hello!" There was no echo. A Disembodied Voice replied, "Wiiiiiinstooooon..." Winston stated he was leaving. Suddenly, they were surrounded by many severed Impaled heads on stakes. Ray, Egon, and Winston screamed. Just as quickly, the heads vanished. Winston was confused about what just happened. Egon suggested they get their Proton Packs before they went any further. Winston agreed.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Winston Zeddemore was a tall, well-built African American male with a professional bearing. His standard Ghostbusters uniform consisted of the recognizable beige flight suit with his name patch stitched on the chest, utility belt, and black gloves. Like his teammates, he carried the proton pack, a heavy particle accelerator worn on the back and connected to a neutrino wand used to capture and contain ghosts. The proton pack became his primary tool and weapon, which he wielded with confidence despite its dangerous volatility.

In personality, Winston was pragmatic, grounded, and deeply reliable. Unlike his colleagues, who often approached ghostbusting from a scientific or eccentric perspective, Winston brought a down-to-earth sensibility that balanced the team. He was not driven by the same intellectual curiosity as Ray or Egon, nor the bravado of Peter, but instead approached his work with steady professionalism and moral clarity. His background as a working man looking for employment gave him a unique perspective that often grounded the Ghostbusters when their theories or eccentricities threatened to distract from the practical dangers at hand.

Powers and abilities

Physiologically, Winston Zeddemore was an ordinary human without scientific or supernatural enhancements, yet his endurance and courage placed him on equal footing with his more eccentric teammates. His resilience allowed him to withstand the intense strain of ghostbusting, including the physical weight of the proton pack and the extreme danger of spectral confrontations. His strength and discipline made him an invaluable member of the team, proving that expertise in paranormal science was not required to be a capable and heroic Ghostbuster.

Notes

• Winston Zeddemore was created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis where he was portrayed by actor Ernie Hudson and featured in the setting of the Ghostbusters universe.

Appearances

• Ghostbusters:

External Links

• Ghostbusters Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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