Gary Busey is known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor.
26 Facts About Gary Busey
2.
Gary Busey's other starring roles include Gumball Rally A Star is Born, DC Cab, Silver Bullet, Lethal Weapon, Predator 2, Point Break, Under Siege, Rookie of the Year, The Firm, Black Sheep and Lost Highway.
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Gary Busey attended Coffeyville Community College before attending Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, on a football scholarship, where he became interested in acting.
4.
Gary Busey quit school just one unit short of graduation.
5.
Gary Busey began his show business career as a drummer in The Rubber Band.
6.
Gary Busey appears on several Leon Russell recordings, credited as playing drums under the name "Teddy Jack Eddy" a character he created when he was a cast member of a local television comedy show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, called The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting on station KTUL.
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Gary Busey played in a band called Carp, which released one album on Epic Records in 1969.
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Gary Busey continued to play several small roles in both film and television during the 1970s.
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In 1974, Gary Busey made his major film debut with a supporting role in Michael Cimino's buddy action caper Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges.
10.
Gary Busey played one of the primary antagonists opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the action comedy Lethal Weapon.
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Gary Busey appeared in Rookie of the Year, The Firm, Black Sheep, Lost Highway, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
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Gary Busey sang the song "Stay All Night" on Saturday Night Live in March 1979, and on the Late Show with David Letterman in the 1990s.
13.
In 2002, Gary Busey voiced the character Phil Cassidy in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and later reprises the role in the prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in 2006.
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Gary Busey received much praise from critics and fans for his portrayal of the outlandish character.
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In 2003, Gary Busey starred in a Comedy Central reality show, I'm with Gary Busey.
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Gary Busey controversially appeared in the 2006 Turkish nationalist film Valley of the Wolves: Iraq, which was accused of fascism, anti-Americanism, and antisemitism.
17.
In 2005, Gary Busey starred in the horror film The Gingerdead Man as the titular character and crazed killer Millard Findlemeyer.
18.
In March 2009, Gary Busey appeared as a roaster at the Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy.
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Gary Busey returned to reality television in Celebrity Apprentice 4, which premiered in March 2011, and appeared again in Celebrity Apprentice 6.
20.
On December 4,1988, Gary Busey was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet.
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Gary Busey's skull was fractured, and he suffered permanent brain damage.
22.
In 1997, Gary Busey underwent successful surgery to remove a cancerous, plum-sized tumor from his sinus cavity.
23.
The growth was found after Gary Busey began suffering nose bleeds.
24.
Gary Busey described it as essentially weakening his mental "filters" and causing him to speak and act impulsively.
25.
Sophy recommended Gary Busey take valproic acid, with which Gary Busey agreed.
26.
In 2011, Gary Busey endorsed Newt Gingrich during Gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign, but later withdrew his endorsement.