Hud’s celebrity relative is rock and roll singer, John Mellencamp, also known as John Cougar. Hud, whose full name is Hud Mellencamp, is John’s son. Hud’s two truths and a lie also confirm that John is his celebrity relative.
His two truths and a lie were that his celebrity relative is his mom, a singer, and won a Grammy Award. John won one Grammy in 1983 in the Male Rock Vocalist category for the song “Hurts So Good.” Hud is one of John’s five children overall and his first son with his third wife, Elaine Irwin, making him Hud’s dad. That means Hud’s lie was that his celebrity relative is his mom.
Naomi’s wine bottle clue for Hud in Season 3, Episode 2, also confirmed John as Hud’s celebrity relative, which featured a cherry, a bomb, a painter, an owl, a hurt knee, a sewing needle, and a thumbs up. Though Naomi believed the clue was that Hud’s mom was Runaways member Cherie Currie, the clue was actually a reference to John’s 1987 song, “Cherry Bomb.”
John also confirmed Hud as his son in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2008 in which he revealed that he named Hud after Paul Newman’s character from the 1963 movie Hud. “That kid over there is one tough fuckin’ guy,” John said at the time. “But the first time I saw him fight, I didn’t like it — after it was over, I pulled him aside and said, ‘Hey, you don’t have to fuckin’ do this, ’cause this is serious stuff.’”
Who’s John Mellencamp, Hud’s relative?
If you’re not familiar with rock and roll, John Mellencamp is a singer best known for his brand of heartland rock. He also previously went by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 208.
His big break came in the 1980s with his string Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles including “Hurts So Good,” “Jack & Diane,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses,” and “Cherry Bomb,” which was referenced in Hud’s wine bottle clue in Claim to Fame Season 3. He’s also been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards and has won one, and has sold more than 60 million albums across the world.
John has been married three times. He was married to his first wife, Priscilla Esterline, from 1970 to 1981. He was married to his second wife, Victoria Granucci, from 1981 to 1989. He was married to his third wife, Elaine Irwin, from 1992 to 2011.
John shared one children with Esterline, a daughter named Michelle Suzanne, who was born in 1970. He had two children with Granucci, daughters Teddi, who was born in 1981, and Justie, who was born in 1985. Teddi was also a cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills from Seasons 8 to 10, making her Hud’s second celebrity relative. Along with Hud, John also had one more child with Irwin: son Speck Wildhorse, who was born in 1995.