Gary Busey Biography, Son, Net Worth, Wife and Other Interesting Facts

Quick Facts

In the year 1970, a hippie with a loudspeaker made his first acting debut in the film titled The Love-Ins, that same actor, in the same year, also debuted on a television series titled The High Chaparral in the episode “The Badge.” It’s been over four decades and the actor named Gary Busey – who debuted in the 70s, is still very much active in the movie industry. He has a countless number of notable works to his name and seems not to be stopping yet.

Gary Busey’s Biography

Gary began life as a child named William Gary Busey – born in the year 1944 on the 29th day of June in Goose Creek, Texas, United States. He was raised by his parents: a native American dad; Delmer Lloyd Busey who was a construction design manager and his Irish wife Sadie Virginia (née Arnett) who in her time, was a homemaker. The actor has as his siblings – a sister named Carol Barraza and his brother David Busey.

He was enrolled in Nathan Hale High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he was a known prolific football player and graduated in the year 1962. Following his graduation, Gary Busey had a football scholarship from Pittsburg State University located in Pittsburg, Kansas. He began studying in the college but soon grew more interested in acting, as a result of which he withdrew from Pitt State and enrolled in Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, Gary quit from OSU just one class shy of his college graduation.

Though William called it quits with school when he was almost wrapping up his college academic journey, his decision soon began to pay off years later when he started commanding respect in the entertainment industry. He first started off his career as a drummer playing in a band called The Rubber Band. Gary equally played in another band called Carp and was involved in a couple of show businesses before he came to prominence with his film debut.

The actor had rave reviews from his starring in a supporting role on Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) with the likes of and . Several other notable works in the 70s saw Gary Busey making major appearances in them and this followed suit in the 80s, 90s, up to the present time.

Busey has made appearances in movies and television series like Foolin’ Around (1980) as the character Wes, in 1995 Man with a Gun, The Outer Limits; episode: “Revival” (2000), Two and a Half Men; episode: “Frodo’s Headshots” as himself and 2018 The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time.

Net Worth

Gary Busey’s career has seen him record major appearances in a lot of successful screen works. For this and from other sources of income he might have, the veteran actor’s net worth was given to be over $500, 000. No doubt, since the Lethal Weapon (1987) and Entourage (2015) star is still very much active in the industry, his net worth should increase with a couple of more works coming his way.

Family: Wife, Son

William was previously married to professional photographer Judy Helkenberg with whom he had a son named William Jacob “Jake” Busey in the year 1971 in Los Angeles. Jake spent some of his childhood in Malibu, California while the rest was on film sets and musical tours his father was working on at one time or the other. However, in the year 1990 when he was 19, his parents got divorced. He towed his father’s career path as he forged a career in the entertainment industry as an actor, musician, and a film producer.

Busey remained single for the much we know and the period the media covered events in his life from the 90s through the new millennium. In the year 2010, his fiance Steffanie Sampson bore him a son named Luke Sampson Busey. Steffanie, till today, is still recognized as his partner while there are some reports that the pair has called time on their relationship.

In addition to his two sons from the two women he has been involved with, Busey also has a daughter named Alectra who is believed to be older than his first son.

Other Interesting Facts

• He is an avid supporter of the United States President, .
• Gary Busey professed in 1996 that he is a Christian and has remained so ever since.
• He had suffered a cocaine overdose in 1995 and survived a fatal motorcycle accident. These events helped to strengthen his Christian faith.
• The seasoned actor has won a couple of awards some of which include the 1978 New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and 1987 Actor in a Dramatic Series awarded by CableACE Awards.
• He stands at a height of 6 feet or 1.83m while his weight is 75kg or 165 lbs.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.