Gary Busey

Busey has been married three times. He was married to Judy Helkenberg from 1968 to 1990 and to Tiani Warden from 1996 to 2001. He has been married to Steffanie Sampson since 2019. His children include actors Jake Busey and Luke Busey, as well as his daughter Alectra.

On December 4, 1988, Busey suffered severe head injuries in a motorcycle accident while not wearing a helmet. His skull was fractured, and he experienced permanent brain damage. He later described having a near-death experience during surgery. In 1997, he underwent successful surgery to remove a plum-sized cancerous tumor from his sinus cavity.

Busey began his show-business career as a drummer. He played on recordings by Leon Russell and performed with country musicians including Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson. He also played in the band Carp, which released an album on Epic Records in 1969, and used the performance name Teddy Jack Eddy during his early television work in Tulsa.

His first film appearance came in the biker film Angels Hard as They Come. He later had supporting roles in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, A Star Is Born, and Straight Time. His breakthrough arrived in 1978 with The Buddy Holly Story, in which he played Buddy Holly, performed his own guitar work, and sang the vocals. The role brought him an Academy Award nomination and a National Society of Film Critics award for Best Actor.

During the 1980s, Busey appeared in films including Barbarosa, D.C. Cab, Silver Bullet, Eye of the Tiger, and Hider in the House. In Lethal Weapon, he played Mr. Joshua, a brutal assassin opposing Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.

Busey continued with prominent supporting roles in action films during the 1990s. He appeared alongside Danny Glover again in Predator 2, played Pappas opposite Keanu Reeves in Point Break, and portrayed Commander Krill in Under Siege. His other credits from the decade included The Firm, Drop Zone, Black Sheep, Lost Highway, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Busey expanded into reality television with the Comedy Central series I'm with Busey in 2003. He later appeared on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, The Celebrity Apprentice, and Dancing with the Stars, where he competed with Anna Trebunskaya and finished in tenth place. In 2014, he won the fourteenth season of the British reality series Celebrity Big Brother, becoming the show's first American winner.

His later work included voicing Phil Cassidy in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He also appeared as himself in The Simpsons and Entourage. In 2019, he played God in the Off-Broadway musical Only Human, and in 2020 he presided over the web series Gary Busey: Pet Judge.