Gary Busey: How This Man Survived After Fractured Skull, Overdosed Cocaine… And Become Hollywood legend!

Vivek Jaiswal
5 min readJan 9, 2021

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Gary Busey is a real Hollywood legend. People remembered him for his memorable roles in the movies Leathal Weapon, Predator 2 and Point Break.

If you dont know about this man, you are missing out. You have no idea what this man is upto.

In this short article, you will know everything you need to know about this man.

You will know how he survived in near to death motorcycle accident. You will know how addicted he was to cocaine. And how he, after all this, won the academy award for best actor.

So, without wasting any time, let’s look…

1. Who Is The Gary Busey?

Gary Busey is known as a famous American film and voice actor, and music composer.

In 1971, He began his film acting career in the movie named Angels Hard as They Come. Then he appeared in over 150 movies, with several action movies.

Besides these movies, he made a guest appearance on various TV Shows like Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, Scrubs, Impractical Jokers, and Entourage.

He was nominated for Academy Award for Best Actor for his buddy holly role in the movie The Buddy Holly Story. He won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor.

2. Early Life of Gary Bussey:

On June 29, 1944, Gary Busey was born in Goose Creek, Texas.

He was raised in Oklahoma with his father, Delmer Lloyd Busey, a construction design manager, and mother, Sadie Virginia, a homemaker.

He attended Pittsburg State University in Kansas for a football scholarship. But because of his knee injury, he had to abandon his dream to pursue his professional sports career.This accident was the turning point for his life.

After this accident, he got his interest in the theatre. He become more obsessed with acting.

Then later, he was shifted to Oklahoma State University. But he wanted to quit, So, he dropped out of the university without graduating.

3. Personal Life of Gary Busey

In 1968, Gary Busey married Judy Hulkenberg. They had one child together named Jake Busey. After living together for several years, in 1990, Gary and Judy take divorce. At this time, their son Jake was 19 years old.

Then in 1994, he formed a warm relationship with a stunt coordinator Tracy Hutchinson. Gary had one daughter with Tracy, and Her name is Alectra.

Then in 1996, he married actress Tiani warden. Tiani warden worked together with Gary in three movies. But After married together for five years, they took the divorce in 2001.

In 2010, Gary, finance Steffanie Samson gave her first child.

In 1988, Gary Busey highly injured in a motorcycle accident. Because he was not wearing any helmet, his skull was fractured, and he was diagnosed with brain-damaged. This accident was a significant perspective shift for Gary Busey. He no longer sees life the same way.

In May 1995, he suffered from an overdose of cocaine. Then he decided, he will not touch this cocaine anymore in his entire life. And for more than 18 years, he kept his promise and never touched it again.

In 1997, Garry Bussey noticed something strange. It was that his nose was bleeding. And with a medical test, he found he had a cancerous plum-sized tumour in his sinus cavity. This tumour eliminated by a successful operation.

4. Acting Career of Gary Bussey

In late 1971, Gary Busey enters into the world of the cinematic universe. He made his first movie debut as a lead role for a biker film “Angels Hard as They Come.”

In the late 1970s, he got a supporting role in the significant movies — A Star is Born and Straight Time.

After performing a supporting role in these movies, Gary was ready to hit his first success. After these movies, he appeared as a lead role in the film The Buddy Holly Story.

He showcased his passion for this movie. Infact, he showcases his musical roots to the world by performing his guitar and vocal work. For this movie alone, he earned the Academy award.

In Gary’s next year’s career, he appeared in more sinister roles for action movies. He worked with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in some significant action movies like Lethal Weapon, Predator 2, and Point Break.

Gary Busey in Leathal Weapon

5. Quick facts About Gary Busey:

  • Real Name: William Gary Busey
  • Nickname: Barry Goosey
  • Profession: Film Actor, Voice actor, Film Composer
  • Net worth: $500 thousand
  • Height: 5'11
  • Body Measurements: 32–26–32
  • Birthday: June 29, 1944
  • Age: age 76
  • Birthplace: Baytown, Texas, United States
  • Nationality: American
  • Religion: Christe

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Vivek Jaiswal
Vivek Jaiswal

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