Line #22 Creator/GaryBusey


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gary_busey.jpg]]
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3	->'''Gary Busey:''' ''[to his reflection]'' HOW AM I DOING TODAY GARY BUSEY?
4	->'''Gary Busey's Monster Reflection:''' YOU'RE DOING GREAT!
5	->'''Gary Busey:''' GOOD! THEN I'LL KEEP IT UP!
6	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''
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8	William Gary Busey (born June 29, 1944 in Goose Creek, Texas) is an American actor.
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10	Busey began his career in 1968, and his popularity skyrocketed ten years later with ''Film/TheBuddyHollyStory''. From there, Busey had acclaimed and memorable roles such as ''Film/ThunderboltAndLightfoot'' and ''Film/LethalWeapon''. He is one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood with over 150 movie roles under his belt, which doesn't even include his television and a handful of video game roles.
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12	A motorcycle enthusiast, Busey was famous for not wearing a helmet. That would all change after December 4, 1988, when he got into a motorcycle accident and seriously damaged his skull in the process. Busey spent several months in physical therapy regaining control of his entire body, and he suffered brain damage that "weakened his mental filters." The total extent of the damage wasn't fully realized until two decades later, and the general view of him now is that he's absolutely ''crazy.'' It's a fair assessment; interviews with him and anecdotes from people who have met him paint the picture of an erratic and, at times, unsettling personality. Thankfully, Busey has taken this in stride and even [[AdamWesting embraced the image somewhat.]]
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14	Busey has something of a cult following due to his hammy performances. He also battled with drug abuse and in 1995, he had a cocaine overdose and never did drugs again. He's also the father of Creator/JakeBusey.
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17	!!Partial filmography:
18	* 1973: ''Film/LollyMadonnaXXX'' as Zeb
19	* 1974: ''Film/ThunderboltAndLightfoot'' as Curly
20	* 1976: ''Film/TheGumballRally'' as Gibson
21	* 1976: ''Film/{{A Star Is Born\|1976}}'' as Bobbie Ritchie
22	* 1978: ''Film/TheBuddyHollyStory'' as Music/BuddyHolly
23	* 1978: ''Film/BigWednesday'' as Leroy "The Masochist" Smith
24	* 1978: ''Film/StraightTime'' as Willy Ruskin
25	* 1980: ''Film/{{Carny}}'' as Frankie
26	* 1983: ''Film/DCCab'' as Dell
27	* 1985: ''Film/SilverBullet'' as Uncle Red
28	* 1986: ''Film/LetsGetHarry'' as Jack
29	* 1987: ''Film/{{Lethal Weapon\|1987}}'' as Mr. Joshua
30	* 1988: ''Film/ADangerousLife'' as Tony O'Neil
31	* 1990: ''Film/{{Predator 2}}'' as Peter Keyes
32	* 1991: ''Film/{{Point Break\|1991}}'' as Pappas
33	* 1992: ''Film/UnderSiege'' as Commander Krill
34	* 1993: ''Film/TheFirm'' as Eddie Lomax
35	* 1993: ''Film/RookieOfTheYear'' as Chet Steadman
36	* 1994: ''Film/SurvivingTheGame'' as Doc Hawkins
37	* 1994: ''Film/DropZone'' as Ty Moncrief
38	* 1996: ''Film/{{Black Sheep\|1996}}'' as Drake Sabitch
39	* 1997: ''Film/LostHighway'' as Bill Dayton
40	* 1998: ''Film/{{Soldier}}'' as Church
41	* 1998: ''Film/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'' as the Highway Patrolman
42	* 2000: ''[[Film/{{Apocalypse}} Tribulation]]'' as Tom Canboro
43	* 2002: ''Film/HoodedAngels'' as the Sheriff
44	* 2003: ''Film/GhostRock'' as Jack Pickett
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46	!!Tropes relating to the actor:
47	* AdamWesting: So much so that this trope could even be renamed after Gary instead. He seems to have no issue whatsoever lustily embracing his eccentric image and mining it for humor.
48	* AsHimself:
49	** He holds the honor of being the very first ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' target to be fully based on a real person, and even voiced his virtual counterpart. Doubles as AdamWesting, since his in-game persona is arguably even ''crazier'' than he is in real life.
50	** He also has cameos as himself in ''Film/ThePlayer'' and ''Film/{{Entourage}}''.
51	* ChronicallyKilledActor: Busey has died in quite a few films, mostly stemming from villain roles, including ''Film/LethalWeapon'', ''Film/Predator2'', ''Film/PointBreak1991'', and ''Film/UnderSiege''. And reportedly was the last actor to get killed on ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}''.
52	* AxCrazy: Plays a LOT of roles like this and is very good at it.
53	* CloudCuckoolander: His public image is most definitely this.
54	* LargeHam: Absolutely. It just isn't a Gary Busey performance if there aren't teethmarks left in the scenery afterwards. Especially [[EvilIsHammy when he plays bad guys.]]
55	* MadeOfIron: By all rights Gary Busey should be dead. That's not a knock at him, but his life is full of events that should have killed him. Even before the motorcycle crash he was heavily addicted to alcohol and cocaine. The accident left him with a hole in his head the size of a 50-cent piece. He spent two hours in surgery just to remove the blood clots that formed after his accident. The doctors told him that 50 percent of all patients with injuries like his die in the hospital. When he first regained consciousness he wasn't even able to swallow due to how much fine motor control he had lost. He managed to regain most if not all of his own fine motor control. Then he gave up alcohol and cocaine, survived a relapse in 1995 that nearly killed him, and has managed to stay sober since. And to top things off in 1997 he had a tumor removed from his sinuses that was giving him frequent nose bleeds.
56	* MessyHair: His hair is always unkempt.
57	* OlderThanTheyLook: In his late seventies but hasn't aged very much since the late 80's/early 90's. All the more impressive given all he's been through as listed above.
58	* RealMenLoveJesus: Gary certainly thinks so. He says his faith was strengthened by everything he lived through, but his overdose in 1995 was what really made him believe.
59	* SouthernFriedGenius: Busey hails from Goose Creek, Texas, and graduated from high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
60	* TheTeetotaler: He hasn't touched a drop of booze in years.
61	* TemptingFate: Busey was famous for riding a motorcycle without a helmet, which led to his 1988 motorcycle accident.

Context Creator / GaryBusey