William Gary Busey was born in Goose Creek, Texas on June 29, 1944. His family relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, while he was in fourth grade. He went to Bell Junior High and Nathan Hale High School. He attended a minor college in Kansas before transferring to Pittsburg State University on a football scholarship. He aspired to be a professional football player until he blew out his knee and was forced to forfeit his athletic scholarship. He transferred to Oklahoma State University and dropped out after only one class. In college, he grew interested in performing.
Personal Life
Busey married Judy Helkenberg for the first time. Jake Busey, their only child, was born in 1971. Jake, like his father, is an actor. In 1990, Busey and Helkenberg divorced.
Busey has two more children: Alectra, a daughter from a previous relationship, and Luke, a boy born to his wife Steffanie Sampson in 2010. Steffanie is a clinical hypnotherapist and a comedian.
Busey was critically injured in a motorbike accident in 1988. He was not wearing a helmet and had a cracked skull. Busey died momentarily during brain surgery for the subdural hematoma he sustained in the accident. He claimed to have gone to the other side and obtained spiritual information when he was dead. Doctors suspected that the collision and skull fracture caused lifelong brain damage. Busey isn’t certain he has brain damage.
Busey had a plum-sized malignant tumour removed from his sinuses in 1997. Because of the malignancy, he has no sinuses or tear ducts.
Busey was hooked on cocaine throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He overdosed in May 1990 and claimed not to have taken cocaine since.
Gary was reportedly evicted from his Malibu property in 2008 after allegedly failing to pay rent. Unfortunately, Gary Busey has had some financial difficulties. Gary Busey filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in California on February 6, 2012, claiming to be more than $500,000 in debt. Busey indicated in the documents that he had less than $50,000 in actual assets and around $500,000-$1 million in debt to different parties such as the IRS, Wells Fargo, UCLA Medical Center, and others.
Career
Busey began his career as an artist as a drummer in a band in the 1960s and 1970s under the aliases “Teddy Jack Eddy” and “Sprunk.” Busey made his film debut in a supporting role in “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” in 1974, alongside Clint Eastwood. He earned his first breakout role in “The Buddy Holly Story” in 1978. Busey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as the eponymous character. For this portrayal, he received the National Society of Film Critics’ Best Actor award. Busey appeared in a number of films throughout the 1980s, including “Silver Bullet,” “Insignificance,” “Barbarosa,” and “Bulletproof.” Busey appeared in the “Lethal Weapon” films as an opponent to Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s characters.
Busey featured in several high-profile films in the 1990s, including “Point Break,” “Predator 2,” “Under Siege,” “Rookie of the Year,” “The Firm,” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” Busey appeared in the Comedy Central reality programme “I’m With Busey” in the 2000s, as well as voicing himself in an episode of “The Simpsons” and performing in the television mini-series “Into the West,” among other appearances on TV and in cinema. Busey has done voiced work for the video game “Grand Theft Auto.” Busey made a contentious appearance in the Turkish nationalist film “Valley of the Wolves” in 2006. The film was called fascist, anti-Semitic, and anti-American. Busey was featured in three episodes of HBO’s “Entourage” in 2007 as an even more bizarre caricature of himself.
Busey appeared on many reality television series in the late 2000s, including “Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew,” “Celebrity Apprentice 4”, “Celebrity Apprentice 6,” “Celebrity Paranormal Project,” and “Celebrity Fit Club.” He was the first American to win the UK edition of “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2014. He appeared on the 21st season of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2015. Busey was teamed with Anna Trebunskaya, a dancer. They were eliminated in the fourth week of the tournament, finishing in tenth place.
Busey was cast as God in the Off-Broadway musical “Only Human” during the summer of 2019.
Busey appears in the Amazon Prime television show “Gary Busey: Pet Judge” in 2020. On the programme, Busey rules over a court where petitioners and defendants settle disputes over their dogs. It’s not like a reality show. It’s scripted and acted, and it’s as bizarre and entertaining as it sounds.
Net Worth
Gary Busey has lived in Malibu, California, for many years. In Malibu, he is frequently spotted food shopping and going about his business. Gary Busey is a $500 thousand net worth American film and stage actor. Gary Busey’s most well-known films are “The Buddy Holly Story,” “The Firm,” “Lost Highway,” “Point Break,” and “Black Sheep.” He’s also appeared on TV programmes including “Gunsmoke,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Law & Order,” and “Entourage.” Busey is also well-known for his appearances on reality series such as “Celebrity Apprentice” (on which he has been twice, in Seasons 4 and 6) and “Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew.”
Facts
| Net Worth: | $500 Thousand |
| Date of Birth: | Jun 29, 1944 (78 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Baytown |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.82 m) |
| Profession: | Actor, Musician, Voice Actor |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
