The “Lethal Weapon” star “was a vegetable in a wheelchair” after the accident. He was taken to hospital with a hole in his head

Gary Busey was born on June 29, 1944 in Goose Creek, Texas. Although he started as a drummer in The Tubber Band, he quickly connected his professional path with the camera. He made his screen debut in the late 1960s in the film “Wild in the Streets”, and gained popularity by playing episodes in productions such as “Kung Fu” and “Gunsmoke”.

He played psychopaths and murderers, gaining spectacular popularity. Then tragedy struck

The real breakthrough in his career came in 1978 with the title role in “The Buddy Holly Story.” However, before he was cast, he planned to create his own storyline. Then he found out that someone had already taken up this topic. He wanted to portray a rock and roll pioneer on screen, so he quickly convinced the producers who offered him cooperation. Ultimately, he received an award for this acting, and his career took off at a dizzying pace. Various offers came to him, but he most willingly accepted the crazy and psychopathic ones. He played, among others: in or “A Stranger in My House”. However, it soon found itself in a drawer.

In his youth, Busey enjoyed risk and adrenaline. In the 1970s, he first took drugs and became addicted. His biggest nightmare was cocaine. – I never took it, but when I tried it, I was immediately addicted – on Oprah Winfrey’s show. On December 4, 1988, the actor came face to face with death for the first time. He was riding a motorcycle at breakneck speed, which resulted in an accident. He fell from the vehicle, hitting his head on the asphalt. He didn’t have a helmet at the time. His life was decided by seconds. Fortunately, there was an ambulance crew in a nearby bar who immediately went to rescue him. “I was brought to the hospital with a hole in my head the size of a half-dollar,” he recalled, adding that he treated it as a sign from God himself. He spent a month in a coma. The prognosis was not very optimistic, but doctors kept his loved ones’ spirits up. – He was a vegetable in a wheelchair, staring at the wall – recalled the actor’s son.

The accident changed his life. He wasn’t the same person anymore

Although Busey eventually regained physical fitness, it turned out that the injuries led to permanent brain damage. He was no longer the same person everyone knew. At first he behaved strangely, then he completely lost control of what he did and said. He became aggressive, often erupted in anger, and lost many skills, including: he could no longer compose. He sought an escape from his problems through addiction, which caused him to overdose for the first time in May 1995. Miraculously, he escaped with his life. He swore then that he would never use stimulants again. – Cocaine was the devil with whom I danced my life. I sent him away and now I only dance with angels, he argued. Soon he returned to the screens, creating excellent roles, including: in “Liberator”, “Game of Survival” or “Na Wave”. Then he disappeared for a moment, only to be remembered again in . However, scandals involving him did not subside, including the most famous ones involving violence and sexual abuse. In August 2023, he was even accused of forced intercourse and harassment, and a few days later the paparazzi caught him masturbating in a park in California.

If you are struggling with addiction or want to find out how you can help a loved one, you can contact the specialists on duty at these numbers:

• National Addiction Helpline (daily from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.): 800-199-990
• Telephone Trust for behavioral addictions (daily from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.): 800-889-880
• Orange line for parents of children drinking alcohol (Monday to Friday, 2-8 p.m.): 801-140-068
• National Emergency Service for Victims of Domestic Violence Blue Line (24 hours a day): 800-120-002

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