Gary Busey | |
|---|---|
 Busey in 2008 | |
| Born | William Gary Busey (1944-06-29)June 29, 1944 (age 80) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingJake |
William Gary Busey (/ˈbjuːsi/; born June 29, 1944) is an American actor. He portrayedBuddy Holly inThe Buddy Holly Story (1978), for which he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor and won theNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor. His other starring roles includeA Star Is Born (1976),D.C. Cab (1983),Silver Bullet (1985),Eye of the Tiger (1986),Lethal Weapon (1987),Hider in the House (1989),Predator 2 (1990),Point Break (1991),Under Siege (1992),The Firm (1993),Drop Zone (1994),Black Sheep (1996) andLost Highway (1997).
William Gary Busey was born inGoose Creek, Texas.[1] While he was in fourth grade, Busey moved toTulsa, Oklahoma, where he later attended Bell Junior High School, then attended and graduated fromNathan Hale High School.[2] Busey attendedCoffeyville Community College[3] before attendingPittsburg State University inPittsburg, Kansas, on a football scholarship, where he became interested in acting.[4] After a knee injury, he then transferred toOklahoma State University inStillwater, Oklahoma, to study theater. He quit school just one unit short of graduation.[5]
Busey began his showbusiness career as a drummer in The Rubber Band.[6] He appears on severalLeon Russell recordings, credited as playing drums under the name "Teddy Jack Eddy"[7] a character he created when he was a cast member of a local television comedy show inTulsa, Oklahoma, calledThe Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting[7] on stationKTUL (which starred fellow TulsanGailard Sartain as "Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi"). For his skits on Uncanny Film Festival, Busey drew on his American Hero, belligerent, know-it-all character. When he toldGailard Sartain his character needed a name, Sartain replied, "Take three: Teddy, Jack and Eddy."[7]
He played in a band called Carp, which released one album onEpic Records in 1969.[8] Busey continued to play several small roles in both film and television during the 1970s. In 1975, as the character "Harvey Daley", he was the last person killed on the seriesGunsmoke (in the third-to-last episode, No. 633 – "The Busters").[citation needed]
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In 1974, Busey played Truckie Wheeler in the ABC television comedyThe Texas Wheelers.[9] During that same year he made his major film debut with a supporting role inMichael Cimino's buddy action caperThunderbolt and Lightfoot, starringClint Eastwood andJeff Bridges.
In 1976, he was hired byBarbra Streisand and her producer-boyfriendJon Peters to play Bobby Ritchie, road manager toKris Kristofferson's character in the remake filmA Star is Born. On the DVD commentary of the film, Streisand says Busey was great and that she had seen him on a TV series and thought he had the right qualities to play the role.
In 1978, he starred as rock legendBuddy Holly inThe Buddy Holly Story with Sartain asThe Big Bopper. For his performance, Busey received the greatest critical acclaim of his career and the movie earned anAcademy Award nomination forBest Actor and theNational Society of Film Critics'Best Actor award for him. In the same year he also starred in the small yet acclaimed dramaStraight Time and the surfing movieBig Wednesday, which is now a minorcult classic.
In the 1980s, Busey's films included the critically acclaimed westernBarbarosa (1982), the comediesD.C. Cab (1983)[10] andInsignificance (1985), theStephen King adaptationSilver Bullet (1985), and the action filmEye of the Tiger (1986). He played one of the primary antagonists oppositeMel Gibson andDanny Glover in the action comedyLethal Weapon (1987). He also starred in the psychological thrillerHider in the House (1989).
In the 1990s, he had prominent supporting roles in successful action films such asPredator 2 (1990),Point Break (1991),Under Siege (1992), andDrop Zone (1994). He also appeared inThe Player (1992),The Firm (1993),Rookie of the Year (1993),Black Sheep (1995),Lost Highway (1997),Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), andSoldier (1998).
Busey sang the song "Stay All Night" onSaturday Night Live in 1979 (season 4, episode 14), and on theLate Show with David Letterman in the 1990s.[11]
In 2002, Busey voiced the character Phil Cassidy in the video gameGrand Theft Auto: Vice City and later reprised the role in the prequelGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in 2006. In 2003, he starred in a Comedy Central reality show,I'm with Busey. In 2005, he also voiced himself in an episode ofThe Simpsons[12] and appeared in the popular miniseriesInto the West. Busey controversially appeared in the 2006 Turkish nationalist filmValley of the Wolves: Iraq (Turkish:Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak), which was accused offascism,anti-Americanism,[13] andantisemitism.[14]
Busey starred in the horror filmThe Gingerdead Man (2005) as the titular character and crazed killer Millard Findlemeyer. In 2007, he appeared as himself in a prominent recurring role onHBO'sEntourage, in which he parodied his eccentric image, ultimately appearing on three episodes of the show. In 2008, he joined the second season of the reality showCelebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.[15] In 2009, Busey appeared as a roaster at theComedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy.
In a series of 2010YouTube advertisements forVitamin Water, Busey appeared as Norman Tugwater, a lawyer who defends professional athletes' entitlements to a cut fromFantasy Football team owners.[16] Busey returned to reality television onCelebrity Apprentice 4 in 2011,[17] and appeared again inCelebrity Apprentice 6. There, he briefly reprised his role as Buddy Holly by performing "Not Fade Away".
In 2014, he became a celebrity spokesperson forAmazon Fire TV. Also that year, he appeared in, and became the first American winner ofCelebrity Big Brother 14. In 2015, he competed on the21st season ofDancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancerAnna Trebunskaya.[18] Busey and Trebunskaya made it to Week 4 of competition but were then eliminated and finished in 10th place.[19]
In 2019, Busey starred as God in the Off-Broadway musicalOnly Human at the Theatre at St. Clements in New York.[20][21] The plot ofOnly Human is described as follows: "Before they were enemies, they were co-workers. Jesus and Lucifer never saw eye-to-eye, but when an extreme case of creative differences gets the best of them, all hell breaks loose. Literally."[citation needed] In a statement on playing God in the upcoming production, he said, "God is everything love is and that love becomes the beginning of blessings and miracles. Playing this role of God is easy because I'm not acting, I'm just believing."[22]
In the web seriesGary Busey Pet Judge (2020) he presided as a petcourt show judge to help resolve problems.
Busey has three children:Jake, Alectra, and Luke.[23][24]
On December 4, 1988, Busey was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet. His skull was fractured, and he sufferedpermanent brain damage.[25][26]
In 1996, Busey publicly announced that he was aChristian, saying "I am proud to tell Hollywood I am a Christian. For the first time I am now free to be myself."[27][28] He cites the motorcycle accident and a 1995cocaine overdose as events that strengthened his Christian faith.[29]
In 1997, Busey underwent successful surgery to remove a plum-sized cancerous tumor from his sinus cavity. The growth was found after he began suffering nose bleeds.[30]
During the filming of the second season ofCelebrity Rehab in 2008, Busey was referred to psychiatristCharles Sophy. Sophy suspected that Busey's brain injury had had a greater effect on him than was realized. He described it as essentially weakening Busey's mental "filters", which led him to speak and act impulsively. Sophy recommended Busey takevalproic acid (Depakote), and Busey agreed.[31]
In 2011, Busey endorsedNewt Gingrich during Gingrich's2012 presidential campaign, but later withdrew his endorsement. In 2015, he endorsedDonald Trump for the2016 United States Presidential election.[32] After the election, Busey said he was "very happy" that Trump had won, but declined to further discuss it, not wanting to talk about politics.[33]
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Actor | The Buddy Holly Story | 3rd place |
| New Generation Award[34] | Won | |||
| New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | 2nd place | ||
| 1979 | Academy Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture Actor – Musical/Comedy | Nominated | ||
| National Society of Film Critics | Best Actor | Won | ||
| 1980 | British Academy of Film and Television Arts | Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles | Nominated | |
| 1987 | CableACE Awards | Actor in a Dramatic Series[citation needed] | The Hitchhiker | Won |
| 1994 | Fallen Angels | Nominated |
