William Gary Busey

He has been married twice with both marriages ending in divorce. Currently he is in a relationship with Steffanie Sampson.

He has three children, all with different women. His son Jake Busey is also an actor and a musician.

He had a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 1988 which resulted in severe head injuries because he was not wearing a helmet.

Gary Busey was born to a Native American father, Delmer Lloyd Busey and an Irish mother Sadie Virginia. His father was a construction design manager.

He attended Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa and graduated in 1962.

He earned a football scholarship to attend Pittsburg State University and then transferred to Oklahoma State University. But he quit before graduating.

He used to play percussion with the musicians Leon Russell and Willie Nelson while at college.

The musically inclined young man made his entry into the show business as a drummer in a band called The Rubber Band. He also played drums on many of Leon Russell’s recordings under the name Teddy Jack Eddy.

He played the role of Sprunk in a local television comedy show called ‘The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting’ while at Tulsa.

By the 1970’s he began playing several minor roles in television and films. He made his film debut with the biker movie ‘Angels Hard as They Come’ in 1971.

He was given small roles in the movies ‘The Magnificent Seven Ride!’ and ‘Dirty Little Billy’ in 1972.

In one of the episodes ‘The Ancient Warrior’ of ‘Kung Fu’, Season 1 in 1973, he made a brief appearance.

His best known film is ‘The Buddy Holly Story’ in which he played the young musician Buddy Holly. He lost several kilos for this role and also performed the songs himself. He was critically appreciated for this role which earned him several awards and an Academy Award nomination for the Best Actor.