Editing Gary Busey (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
[[File:Texas Wheelers cast.JPG|thumb|right|Busey (standing), [[Mark Hamill]] and [[Jack Elam]] from ''[[The Texas Wheelers]]'', 1974]]
Busey began his showbusiness career as a drummer in The Rubber Band.<ref>Johnny Carson Show August 23, 1985.</ref> He appears on several [[Leon Russell]] recordings, credited as playing drums under the name "Teddy Jack Eddy"<ref name="Teddy Jack Eddy">[http://tulsatvmemories.com/mazeppa2.html Tulsa TV Memories.com], Gary Busey reference as Teddy Jack Eddy in Tulsa, Okla.</ref> 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''<ref name="Teddy Jack Eddy" /> on station [[KTUL]] (which starred fellow Tulsan [[Gailard Sartain]] as "Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi"). For his skits on Uncanny Film Festival, Busey drew on his American Hero, belligerent, know-it-all character. When he told Gailard Sartain his character needed a name, Sartain replied, "Take three: Teddy, Jack and Eddy."<ref name="Teddy Jack Eddy" />

He played in a band called Carp, which released one album on [[Epic Records]] in 1969.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p16310|pure_url=yes}} Carp] at [[AllMusic]].</ref> Busey continued to play several small roles in both film and television during the 1970s. In 1975, as the character "Harvey Daley", he was the last person killed on the series ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' (in the third-to-last episode, No. 633&nbsp;– "The Busters").{{cn|date=September 2024}}
===Rise to prominence===
[[File:Gary Busey (1976).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Busey at the premiere of ''[[A Star Is Born (1976 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' in 1976]]
In 1974, Busey played Truckie Wheeler in the ABC television comedy ''[[The Texas Wheelers]]''.<ref>Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present'', Ballantine Books, 1979, page 619.</ref> During that same year he 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]].

In 1976, he was hired by [[Barbra Streisand]] and her producer-boyfriend [[Jon Peters]] to play Bobby Ritchie, road manager to [[Kris Kristofferson]]'s character in the remake film ''[[A Star Is Born (1976 film)|A Star is Born]]''. On the DVD commentary of the film, Streisand says Busey was great and that she had seen him on a TV series and thought he had the right qualities to play the role.

In 1978, he starred as rock legend [[Buddy Holly]] in ''[[The Buddy Holly Story]]'' with Sartain as [[The Big Bopper]]. For his performance, Busey received the greatest critical acclaim of his career and the movie earned an [[Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] and the [[National Society of Film Critics]]' [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor|Best Actor award]] for him. In the same year he also starred in the small yet acclaimed drama ''[[Straight Time]]'' and the surfing movie ''[[Big Wednesday]]'', which is now a minor [[Cult film|cult classic]].

===Mid-career===
In the 1980s, Busey's films included the critically acclaimed western ''[[Barbarosa]]''  (1982), the comedies ''[[D.C. Cab]]'' (1983)<ref>''[[People (American magazine)|People]]'' May 15, 1989, pp. 65–68.</ref> and ''[[Insignificance (film)|Insignificance]]'' (1985), the [[Stephen King]] adaptation ''[[Silver Bullet (film)|Silver Bullet]]'' (1985), and the action film ''[[Eye of the Tiger (film)|Eye of the Tiger]]'' (1986). He played one of the primary antagonists opposite [[Mel Gibson]] and [[Danny Glover]] in the action comedy ''[[Lethal Weapon]]'' (1987). He also starred in the psychological thriller ''[[Hider in the House (film)|Hider in the House]]'' (1989).

In the 1990s, he had prominent supporting roles in successful action films such as ''[[Predator 2]]'' (1990), ''[[Point Break (1991 film)|Point Break]]'' (1991), ''[[Under Siege]]'' (1992), and ''[[Drop Zone (film)|Drop Zone]]'' (1994). He also appeared in ''[[The Player (1992 film)|The Player]]'' (1992), ''[[The Firm (1993 film)|The Firm]]'' (1993), ''[[Rookie of the Year (film)|Rookie of the Year]]'' (1993), ''[[Black Sheep (1996 film)|Black Sheep]]'' (1995), ''[[Lost Highway (film)|Lost Highway]]'' (1997), ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]'' (1998), and ''[[Soldier (1998 American film)|Soldier]]'' (1998).

Busey sang the song "Stay All Night" on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in 1979 (season 4, episode 14), and on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' in the 1990s.<ref>{{YouTube|hwNSXNXA3nU|Gary Busey – Stay All Night}}</ref>

In 2002, Busey voiced the character Phil Cassidy in the video game ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]]'' and later reprised the role in the prequel ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories]]'' in 2006. In 2003, he starred in a Comedy Central reality show, ''[[I'm with Busey]]''. In 2005, he also voiced himself in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''<ref>{{cite episode | title = On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister | episode-link = On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister | series = The Simpsons | series-link = The Simpsons | network = Fox | airdate = June 3, 2005 | season = 16 | number = 11 }}</ref> and appeared in the popular miniseries ''[[Into the West (miniseries)|Into the West]]''. Busey controversially appeared in the 2006 Turkish nationalist film ''[[Valley of the Wolves: Iraq]]'' ({{langx|tr|Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak}}), which was accused of [[fascism]], [[anti-Americanism]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4700154.stm |work=BBC News | title=Turkish rush to embrace anti-US film | date=February 10, 2006 | access-date=May 3, 2010}}</ref> and [[antisemitism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,402432,00.html |title=Turkish Film Uproar: Attacking the American Enemy on Screen|work=Der Spiegel |date=February 22, 2006 |access-date=January 7, 2012}}</ref>

Busey starred in the horror film ''[[The Gingerdead Man]]'' (2005) as the titular character and crazed killer Millard Findlemeyer. In 2007, he appeared as himself in a prominent recurring role on [[HBO]]'s ''[[Entourage (American TV series)|Entourage]]'', in which he parodied his eccentric image, ultimately appearing on three episodes of the show. In 2008, he joined the second season of the reality show ''[[Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew]]''.<ref>Archive of {{cite web |url=http://blog.vh1.com/2008-06-10/new-slate-of-celebs-check-into-rehab-2-with-dr-drew/ |title=Celebs Check Into Rehab 2 With Dr. Drew |access-date=March 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613005309/http://blog.vh1.com/2008-06-10/new-slate-of-celebs-check-into-rehab-2-with-dr-drew/ |archive-date=June 13, 2008 }}, [[VH!]] [[press release]], June 10, 2008.</ref> In 2009, Busey appeared as a roaster at the [[Comedy Central Roast]] of Larry the Cable Guy.

===Later work===
In a series of 2010 [[YouTube]] advertisements for [[Vitamin Water]], Busey appeared as Norman Tugwater, a lawyer who defends professional athletes' entitlements to a cut from [[Fantasy football (American)|Fantasy Football]] team owners.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_norman_tugwater_ready_to_sue_for_pro_athletes_fantasy_rights/ |title='Lawyer Norman Tugwater' Ready to Sue for Pro Athletes' Fantasy Rights |date=August 30, 2010 |last=Cassens Weiss |first=Debra |work=[[ABA Journal]] |publisher=[[American Bar Association]]}}</ref> Busey returned to reality television on ''[[The Apprentice (American season 11)|Celebrity Apprentice 4]]'' in 2011,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tvdonewright.com/2010/11/celebrity-apprentice-season-four-cast-revealed/ |title=Celebrity Apprentice Season Four Cast Revealed |last=Wright |first=Adam |date=November 18, 2010 |publisher=TVDoneWright.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129202802/http://tvdonewright.com/2010/11/celebrity-apprentice-season-four-cast-revealed/ |archive-date=November 29, 2010 }}</ref> and appeared again in ''[[The Apprentice (American season 13)|Celebrity Apprentice 6]]''. There, he briefly reprised his role as Buddy Holly by performing "Not Fade Away".

In 2014, he became a celebrity spokesperson for [[Amazon Fire TV]]. Also that year, he appeared in, and became the first American winner of ''[[Celebrity Big Brother (British series 14)|Celebrity Big Brother 14]]''. In 2015, he competed on the [[Dancing with the Stars (American season 21)|21st season]] of ''[[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]''. He was paired with professional dancer [[Anna Trebunskaya]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/cast-announcement|title=Dancing with the Stars Season 21 Cast Announcement|work=ABC|date=September 2, 2015|access-date=September 2, 2015}}</ref> Busey and Trebunskaya made it to Week 4 of competition but were then eliminated and finished in 10th place.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/dancing-with-the-stars/dancing-with-the-stars-recap-m-57650.aspx|title='Dancing with the Stars' Recap: Most Memorable Years for the Top 10|work=buddytv.com|access-date=October 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824180449/http://www.buddytv.com/articles/dancing-with-the-stars/dancing-with-the-stars-recap-m-57650.aspx|archive-date=August 24, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2019, Busey starred as God in the Off-Broadway musical ''Only Human'' at the Theatre at St. Clements in New York.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Clement |first1=Olivia |title=Gary Busey to Star in Off-Broadway Musical Only Human |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/gary-busey-to-star-in-off-broadway-musical-only-human |website=Playbill.com |access-date=August 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Greg |title=Gary Busey To Play God In Off Broadway Musical 'Only Human' This Fall |url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/gary-busey-off-broadway-only-human-god-theater-musical-1202633485/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=June 17, 2019 |access-date=August 26, 2019}}</ref> The plot of ''Only Human'' reinterprets the story of [[Jesus]] and [[Lucifer]] as co-workers who don't get along, with God as "The Boss".<ref name=":0" /> In a statement on playing God in the upcoming production, he said, "God is everything love is and that love becomes the beginning of blessings and miracles. Playing this role of God is easy because I'm not acting, I'm just believing."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |title=Gary Busey to Play the Role of God in Off-Broadway Musical |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/gary-busey-god-off-broadway-musical-only-human-848334/ |website=RollingStone.com |date=June 17, 2019 |access-date=August 26, 2019}}</ref>

In the web series ''[[Gary Busey Pet Judge]]'' (2020) he presided as a pet [[court show]] judge to help resolve problems.