Born to a Native American father and an Irish mother, Gary Busey grew up in Oklahoma (Note Added: On "I'm With Busey" Gary has said that he's only one-eighth Native American. Meh.) He then graduated from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, a school name that I find mildly amusing. Having already tried hobbies/careers as various as riding bulls and drumming for a band with Willie Nelson (who is one of his best friends, along with Cheech Marin oddly enough), Gary turned towards acting. After an acclaimed stint in Tulsa TV, Gary began his film career in 1971 with a biker movie called Angels Hard as They Come, 17 years before his nearly fatal motorcyle crash in 1988. (You will find Gary's own commentary on the accident in the Words of Wisdom section.)

Paying homage to his musical past, Gary actually performed his own songs for his starring role in The Buddy Holly Story (1978). His winning performance caught the attention of Hollywood, and he was nominated for an Oscar for the role. High hopes surrounded the critically-acclaimed Gary, who seemed perched on the verge of a very successful career.

One of the biggest impediments to this success was Gary's increasingly serious cocaine addiction. According to the responsible journalism of hollywoodjesus.com, "In 1979 a man who introduced himself as the devil delivered a gift to Busey's door. The present was a large rock of cocaine with GB carved in it." 

Having succumbed to the devil (pictured to the left), Gary's personal life soured. More and more he was typecast in the role of the sinister bad guy in movies like Lethal Weapon (1987), Predator 2 (1990), and Under Siege (1992). Whereas these roles were a step down from his leading man days, I see no real tragedy in this, as he was very good at being evil (and creepy).

The real tragedy occurred after 1993, when Gary began to disappear from our national consciousness, finding work only in lesser features (such as Hot Boys (1999), a Master P production starring Silkk the Shockker) and made-for-TV movies.

In what could be interpreted as an encouraging turn, Gary Busey saw the light in 1996, turning his life away from Satan's drugs and toward Christ (read Gary's own creative stories about Christ, angels and the devil in the Words of Wisdom section).

Despite his dramatic conversion, Gary has continued to be surrounded with rumors of spousal abuse and marital tension. Apparently, at one time his second wife, Tiani Warden, even nicknamed him "Gary Abusey." After an abortive divorce attempt in 1998, the couple officially parted ways in a divorce filed on June 28th, 2000. Tiani has had Gary arrested for domestic abuse twice (that I know of) in early 1999 and late 2001. All these things aren't very funny, so let's turn once again to look at the picture of Martin Short. Ahh, that's better, isn't it?

Despite problems at home, Gary remains a big fan of Jesus, recently becoming an ordained minister. Apparently, Jesus loves him too, as Gary survived what sounds like a whopper of a surgery in 1997, in which a tumor variously described as the size of a "plum" or a "baby's fist" was removed from his sinus cavity. 

Credit: buseyworld.com