In 1970, a hippie with a loudspeaker made his first acting debut in the film entitled The Love-Ins. The same actor also made his debut that same year in a television series called The High Chaparral in the episode “The Badge”. It was over four decades ago, and the actor named Gary Busey, who made his debut in the 1970s, is still very active in the film industry. He has countless remarkable works to his credit and doesn’t seem to have stopped yet.
Gary Busey Biography
Gary began his life as a child named William Gary Busey – born in 1944 on June 29, 1944, in Goose Creek, Texas, United States of America. He was raised by his parents: his father, a Native American, Delmer Lloyd Busey, who was a design engineer, and his Irish wife Sadie Virginia (née Arnett), who was a housewife in her day. The actor has like his siblings – a sister named Carol Barraza and his brother David Busey.
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He was enrolled at Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was a well-known, prolific soccer player and graduated in 1962. After graduating, Gary Busey had a football scholarship from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. He began studying there, but soon became more interested in acting, so he withdrew from Pitt State and enrolled at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, Gary left OSU only one class before graduating college.
Although William called it dropping out of school when he almost finished his college education, his decision began to pay off years later when he began to gain respect in the entertainment industry. He began his career first as a drummer who played in a band called The Rubber Band. Gary also played in another band called Carp and was involved in a number of show businesses before becoming known with his movie debut.
The actor received rave reviews for his starring role in a supporting role in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) with the likes of Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges. Gary Busey had major appearances in several other notable works of the 1970s, which followed in the 1980s and 1990s until the present.
Busey has appeared in films and television series such as Foolin’ Around (1980) as the character Wes, Man with a Gun, The Outer Limits (1995); Episode: “Revival” (2000), Two and a Half Men; Episode: “Frodo’s Headshots” as himself and 2018 The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time.
Gary Busey Net Worth
Throughout his career, Gary Busey has had significant appearances in many successful film works. For this and from other sources of income he might have, the veteran actor’s net worth was estimated at over $500,000. No doubt, since the start of Lethal Weapon (1987) and Entourage (2015) is still very active in the industry, his net worth is likely to increase with a few more works to come.
Family: Wife, Son
William was previously married to professional photographer Judy Hulkenberg, with whom he had a son named William Jacob “Jake” Busey in Los Angeles in 1971. Jake spent part of his childhood in Malibu, California, while the rest was spent on film sets and musical tours that his father worked on sooner or later. However, in 1990, when he was 19 years old, his parents divorced. He dragged his father’s career along with him as he embarked on a career in the entertainment industry as an actor, musician, and film producer.
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Busey remained single for what we know and for the time the media covered events in his life from the 1990s to the new millennium. In 2010 his fiancée Steffanie Sampson gave birth to a son named Luke Sampson Busey. Steffanie is still recognized as his partner today, while there are some reports that the couple has taken time out for their relationship.
In addition to his two sons by the two women he had a relationship with, Busey also has a daughter named Alectra, who is believed to be older than his first son.
Other Interesting Facts
- He is a fervent supporter of the President of the United States, Donal Trump.
- Gary Busey professed Christianity in 1996 and has remained so until today.
- He suffered a cocaine overdose in 1995 and survived a fatal motorcycle accident. These events helped to strengthen his Christian faith.
- The experienced actor has won a number of awards, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s New Generation Award in 1978 and the Actor in a Dramatic Series of the CableACE Awards in 1987.
- He stands at a height of 6 feet or 1.83m while his weight is 75kg or 165 lbs.