Gary Busey

American actor with a roller coaster career and steadily rising credits, intermixed with cocaine, booze and weight problems. He received an Oscar nomination for "The Buddy Holly Story" in 1978, and in 1987, received considerable notice for "Lethal Weapon," Among his TV credits, he played in the mini-series, "A Dangerous Life." He performed his own dangerous life script on Sunday, 12/04/1988 when he got his customized $15,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle out of the shop. Busey was barely 100 feet into the street when his motorcycle skidded, throwing him onto the street, wearing no helmet. He was taken into emergency surgery to repair the damage, but faced a long recovery. By the middle of the week, Busey was able to speak with his wife Judy and 17-year-old son Jake. California was, at that time, one of 28 states with no helmet law. His accident brought public attention to the dangers of head injuries and led to the passage of helmet laws. It was not the first time that he had been close to death. When he was 22, he survived a serious auto accident, and in 1985 he rode a thin line with alcohol and cocaine addiction. Busey has dabbled in music since his teen-age years in Texas and Oklahoma and began his career as a singer-drummer in the late '60s with a group called "Carp," which released an album for Epic. With ex-members of The Band, bassist Rick Danko and keyboardist Garth Hudson, he set up a mini-tour of three Southern California concert dates in 1989. He was also booked into a several picture contracts. Busey's career continued in films, not music, which remained a secondary love. However his marriage to Judy folded along the way. On 9/23/1996, he married actress Tiani Warden, 29, in Dallas, the second marriage for them both. She had saved his life the year before on 5/04/1995 when she found him unconscious from a drug OD and called 911. They celebrated their wedding with sobriety, he for 16 months and she for ten months, as rededicated Christians. He filed divorce action from Tiani on 6/09/1998, divorced, irreconcilable differences. Soon after, he and Tiani reconciled due to Busey becoming a born-again-Christian with Bible classes and counseling. His salvation was short-lived as cops arrested Busey on 1/25/1999 for spousal battery. Tiani called the cops to report that Busey had tackled her and knocked her to the ground during an argument. He was released on $2,500 bail. The final divorce action was filed 6/27/2000 in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences. In May 1997 he had surgery to remove a plum- sized tumor from his sinus cavity. He underwent radiation therapy until September. On 12/02/2001, Busey was arrested at his Malibu home for spousal abuse after his ex-wife, Tiani, called police for help. Link to Wikipedia biography