Gary Busey Files For Bankruptcy, Just Like GM?
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(Image credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Actor Gary Busey filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in California, and his publicist says the actor needs a fresh start, just like General Motors.
Busey, who has been featured in dozens of films, including “Lethal Weapon” alongside Mel Gibson and Danny Glover and “Predator 2,” is known now for his eccentric mannerisms and television appearances.
The actor, 67, filed for bankruptcy and indicated he has less than $50,000 in assets, TMZ reported, and between $500,000 and $1 million in various debts.
Among the creditors owed money by Busey are the IRS, various lawyers, UCLA Medical Center, Wells Fargo, and L.A. County Waterworks Districts.
Busey suffered a brain injury after a motorcycle accident in December 1988.
TMZ reports Busey may also be in debt to a woman named Carla Loeffler, who sued Busey for allegedly attacking her at a Tulsa airport back in May.
Michael Conley, Busey’s publicist, provided a statement to ABC News:
“As with many great American institutions, i.e., General Motors, American Airlines, and others who have utilized the strategic business plan of bankruptcy, Gary’s filing is the final chapter in a process that began a few years ago of jettisoning the litter of past unfortunate choices, associations, circumstances, and events, to enable the start of a new and clear path toward peace, happiness, and success with his career and his wonderful new soulmate, Steffanie, and their son, Luke.”
On Monday, TMZ taped Busey, who seemed unfazed by his financial situation, dancing in a parking lot. Busey’s young son, Luke, is also featured in the video.
In an episode of “Celebrity Wife Swap” last month on ABC, Busey spoke in a playful, high-pitched voice, sometimes ended sentences with the word “yay,” and when asked if he goes to church, he replied: “I am church.”
Gary Busey’s girlfriend, Steffanie Sampson, traded places with the wife of pastor Ted Haggard for one week. Sampson went to the Haggard family’s Colorado Springs, Colo., home, while Gayle Haggard went to Busey’s home in Los Angeles.
ABC News’ Suzan Clarke and Luchina Fisher contributed to this story.
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“As with many great American institutions, i.e., General Motors, American Airlines,…” So he thinks he’s a company now?
Posted by: michael k | February 8, 2012, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
If a corporation can be a person,he can be a corporation.
Posted by: Wayne Michael | February 8, 2012, 2:39 pm 2:39 pm
I wonder how many jobs will be saved
Posted by: chuck best | February 8, 2012, 2:46 pm 2:46 pm
I can take a calculated guess that much of Busey’s assets are either in his wife’s name or a protected trust, which is, as a long term strategy, a smart move to minimize his financial exposure. Since this is a short form BK filing some of those creditors may be for notification purposes only with no underlying debt, but I bet it was a perfect storm of medical bills, the likelihood of a civil lawsuit filed by Ms. Loeffler, along with a six month stretch of no income, that afforded him the opportunity to file a Chapter 7. Busey may act irrational on camera, but he apparently has very shrewd advisors. Score one for actors and lawyers, score zero for runaway medical costs and potentially bogus civil lawsuits.
Posted by: Boothe | February 8, 2012, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
Does this mean that Obama is going to bail him out with money that the taxpayers will never re-coupe? Gary Busey is to big of a star to just let him fail. Where would the entertainment industry be without Lethal Weapon or Point Break? This could put the entire industry into a tailspin if we don’t act immediately. In a related story, Johnny Depp says he is financially sound and doesn’t need any government money.
Posted by: Eric | February 8, 2012, 4:48 pm 4:48 pm
Didn’t see that one coming.
Posted by: newcountryman | February 8, 2012, 5:40 pm 5:40 pm
In “Celebrity Apprentice) a few years ago he unabashedly groveled for a job by asking a tanning oil executive if he could push his product. He tried to keep it on the qt, but it ended up being on the show.
Posted by: Earl | February 8, 2012, 11:45 pm 11:45 pm
I feel so sorry for these “Hollywood” idiots.
Posted by: inthegrumpyone | February 9, 2012, 3:56 am 3:56 am
I used to like Busey…looks like he wants to be under the ObamaCare plan now. No respect for his actions. Get a life Busey and stay out of my pocket. Why don’t you get a job as a dancer… you have iobviously mpressed the media w your moves. And Media…this is trash.
I am tired of paying for the likes of Busey, GM Executives and those that CHOSE to live off the Welfare System.
God help the US taxpayor from the likes of the above mentioned!
Posted by: Laura Lee | February 9, 2012, 7:32 am 7:32 am