At 79, Gary Busey's Looks Changed after He Had Brain Injury, Couldn't Eat & Walk – People Say He 'Needs Help ASAP'

• Actor Gary Busey was on the verge of life and death because of one of his mistakes.
• Busey was in a road accident that landed him in a wheelchair, leading to a brain injury, surgery, and inability to walk and eat.
• At 79, Busey is barely recognizable. Fans who once saw him sitting in a park without pants have insisted that the actor needs urgent help.

Gary Busey is a successful actor known for his impressive acting range at the peak of his career. The star, born on June 29, 1944, made his acting debut in the action movie "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot."

Before he ventured into acting, where his intense performances stand out, Busey dabbled in music with a band known as "Carp" and "The Rubber Band."

The actor, who was born in Goose Creek, Texas, earned an Oscar nomination in 1978 for playing rock legend Buddy Holly in "The Buddy Holly Story."

After his incredible performance in the film, Busey starred in other famous productions such as "Lethal Weapon," "Barbarosa," "Point Break," "Silver Bullet," and "Under Siege."

Busey has had a fulfilling career over the past five decades. His most recent appearance was in 2019, where he played God in "Only Human," an off-Broadway musical.

Busey had also once envisioned a career in football. The actor attended Pittsburg State University in Kansas on a football scholarship. However, after a knee injury, he abandoned his dream of a professional football career and pursued acting.

As for his personal life, the "Predator 2" actor has been married thrice and divorced twice. Busey met his first wife, Judy Helkenberg, at Coffeyville Community Junior College, where he was a student and football player.

The pair met during Busey's first football game, and he admitted he was spellbound at first sight. He recalled Helkenberg had blond hair, was in tiny red shorts, a small-fringed red shirt, and wore a large bird helmet that covered her face.

The duo got into a relationship and later had an unconventional engagement. Busey remembered he was practicing with his friends in the garage when the phone rang. He picked it up, and it was Helkenberg, who was in Kansas by then.

After exchanging greetings, Helkenberg surprised Busey by and said, "It's time for us to get married." The actor wasn't sure he had heard her correctly, and when she repeated it, it was clear that Helkenberg had proposed as she declared, "I want to be your wife."

Busey and Helkenberg tied the knot in 1968 and had a son together, Jake Busey, born in 1971, before divorcing in 1990.

The actor then married Tiani Warden, his second wife, in 1996, but the pair separated in 2000 after Busey was arrested and charged with spousal abuse.

Busey may be enjoying the fact that he is a great father and grandfather; however, his quality of life seems to have deteriorated.

Busey Was in a Tragic Motorcycle Accident

In 1988, Busey was in a motorcycle accident that resulted in a major head injury because he wasn't wearing a helmet. His son, Jake, said his father's personality changed after the accident as he could no longer censor himself. "I felt like I lost my dad on December 4, 1988," he revealed.

The actor has no clear memory of the accident but often talks about what happened as per the stories he put together. Busey said he was riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle with no helmet when it moved sideways uncontrollably at the intersection of Washington and Robertson boulevards.

Busey reacted by hitting the front brake, which sent the motorcycle's back over to the front and he fell to the ground. The actor said the impact hurt his head so badly that he didn't recall what happened afterwards.

The actor was lucky that when the accident occurred, paramedics were nearby, and a police car was passing through. He was quickly taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and underwent surgery for hours. His injuries were so severe that the doctors gave him only a two percent chance of survival.

Busey called what he went through after the operation a mystical experience. "I passed away after brain surgery," he said. However, the actor refused to call it death, arguing there was nothing like death. He noted that when he briefly passed away, his soul was surrounded by angels, who appeared like balls of light:

"Angels are balls of light this big, breathing and shining, you can't look at an angel right into the light, or you'll go down in your stomach cause of the light and the love and the incredible feeling they give you. Angels give you the truth."

He added that the balls of light were too many to count, but three angels came toward his soul. Busey said one ball of light, which he called the mother-of-pearl, told him he was going in a good direction and should look for help in the spiritual realm. He recalled:

"…one spoke to me in an androgynous voice. It went…You may come with us now, or you may return to your body and continue your destiny."

Busey made a decision to return back to life, but according to Jake, the road to recovery was long and tough. Jake, who was 17 when the accident occurred, taught his father how to walk, eat, and feed himself for two and a half months.

Jake said that teaching his father these things at his age was a very difficult task. The actor also said the accident affected his brain adversely. He said he would see things he had seen before, but it always felt like it was his first time seeing them.

The 79-year-old said his faith helped him through that difficult time of recovery after the accident. He added that he went through a spiritual epiphany and that even though the experience felt like a setback, it was actually an opportunity for him to find a better way to do things.

Busey was faced with another tough medical experience when he was diagnosed with brain cancer after he shot "Point Blank." The actor was on set in Hawaii when he started nosebleeding profusely.

He managed to stop the bleeding and complete his scenes, but when he got home, it resumed. Busey visited his doctor, Scott Bateman, in Malibu, who ruled out nosebleeding and sent him to Dr. Chester Griffiths.

Griffiths took a polyp out of his sinuses, and it tested positive for cancer, which the doctor didn't know was curable. Busey went into another major surgery to take out all the cancer.

The surgery took seven hours, and after all the cancer was removed, a few doctors told him that he would still need radiation to remove the cancer roots that caused it.

The "A Star is Born" actor went through radiation, but he regretted agreeing to it as it distorted his face, pulling his eyes down and his nose up. These effects hindered Busey from making a living as an actor.

With the help of Dr. Frank Ryan, his face was reconstructed. It scared Busey, who felt his identity, which was the core of his truth, was reborn. However, he added that he had to make peace with his new physical appearance.

After his two tragedies, Busey had a difficult time getting on his feet, and he soon became bankrupt. In 2012, the actor filed for bankruptcy, claiming he was more than $500,000 in debt.

Busey's son, Jake, also went through hard times in 2010 and 2011. Ten years before he was cast on "Stranger Things" season three, his house burnt down, and with just a few gigs, he was surviving from paycheck to paycheck. At some point, he lived in his car and sometimes crashed at some of his friends' houses.

Father and son have managed to rebuild themselves to some extent over the years, as Jake is now a successful actor in his own measure, while Busey currently has a net worth of $500,000.

Busey said he was proud that he had passed down everything he was as a person, including the hard parts of his life, to his son. "It's a union of heaven between the two of us," he believed.

Fans Now Believe Busey Needs Urgent Help

Busey now lives with his third wife, Steffanie Sampson. Together, they're raising their 13-year-old son, Luke Sampson Busey, who was born in 2010.

Busey met Sampson in her beauty shop. He had visited the shop twice, but on his third visit, he noticed her. The actor said one thing led to another and now they've been together for 15 years.

According to Sampson, she and Busey became friends at first. However, she started thinking about her age and how she wanted to have a family, and when she broached the idea to Busey, he agreed and said, "Let's have a kid."

Busey, who adores his wife, said she was his soulmate and a replica of the angel that came to save him during that brief time he passed away after his motorcycle accident:

"She's a beautiful partner in every way, even though we do butt heads a few times, but that's just another visual of our love together."

Jake agreed with his father as he said Busey, who is now hard of hearing, would probably be living in older people's homes were it not for Sampson. Busey also added that Sampson is so good to him that she moderated his behavior.

Sampson, who is a standup comedian and a hypnotherapist, also spoke lovingly of her husband, saying he was different and commending his work.

As per Busey, Sampson has changed his life and personality. The actor said that through paying attention to his wife, organizing, listening, and caring for her, he had learned a lot about what it takes to be a great woman:

"She's so multitalented in so many directions. I've been watching her grow up, and she's been watching me grow down."

As for being a father to his youngest son, Busey proudly declared that he was the best dad in the world and that he had a trophy and a picture of him and Luke to prove it. The actor's wife also commended his parenting and said he and Luke were best of buddies.

The couple's son, Luke, is an adorable and relaxed person with platinum blond hair and a toothy smile. He looks almost similar to Jake and his father when they were children.

Apart from his two sons, Busey has a daughter, Alectra Busey, aged 29. His daughter was born to the actor and his ex-partner, Tracy Hutchinson, in 1994.

Busey became a grandfather when his son, Jake, welcomed his daughter, Autumn Aurelia Busey, with his partner, April Hutchinson. Jake and his daughter spend lots of time together, which the father shares on Instagram.

In one post, the two were having so much fun outdoors when they visited the new Los Angeles stadium. "What an amazing day," said Jake in the Instagram caption.

Jake also celebrated Father's Day in 2021 with his daughter. The two were the perfect father-daughter duo as Jake shared a picture of them hugging and grinning excitedly. Jake said that they were winding down after enjoying pizza and mac and cheese.

Busey may be enjoying the fact that he is a great father and grandfather; however, his quality of life seems to have deteriorated. The actor was recently spotted pants down at a park bench in Malibu.

His photo while pants down was shared on YouTube, and fans sympathized with him. One person said the actor "might have dementia" or other age-related brain disorders. "Is this surprising? Gary needs help ASAP. He was a nice man. TBI, it's not a laughing matter," another fan commented.

Others suspected Busey's actions were in relation to the impact of his motorcycle accident and his old age, suggesting he needs medical help. "Agree, this man needs help. It's very sad, he doesn't know what he is doing. Putting him in prison or wherever isn't going to do him any good," a fan added.

Busey, who was once an idol for many and acted next to legends such as Keanu Reeves and Mel Gibson, is now only a shadow of his former self. Fans hope the actor will get the help he needs.