Buseyisms by Gary Busey

Author:Gary Busey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

With Belinda Bauer.

29. GIFT

Guidance In Future Travel

AFTER ACT OF PIRACY WITH BELINDA, I signed on to shoot an HBO miniseries in the Philippines about the assassination of Benigno Aquino called A Dangerous Life. I brought Belinda with me. Unfortunately, the nature of the material was so intensely political that my life became threatened, requiring bodyguard protection every minute of the day. Midway through the shoot, the dangerous atmosphere in the Philippines forced production to relocate to Sri Lanka. When the show was completed, Belinda wanted to visit her family in Australia. After such an intense shoot, a family trip was just what I needed. My romance with Belinda was stronger than ever, and meeting her parents would really solidify everything. The trip to Australia did a great job of washing the tension from the movie away. It was a real pleasure seeing where Belinda came from and getting to know her roots.

After a very satisfying time in Australia, we headed back to the States on Qantas Airways with one brief stop in Tahiti. When the big 747 landed in Tahiti, the stewardess (yes, we called them stewardesses in the ’80s) came over to me in the upstairs first-class section and said, “Mr. Busey, you have a big surprise coming.”

“A big surprise?”

“Marlon Brando is going to be sitting across the aisle from you on the flight to Los Angeles.”

The Marlon Brando?

I have only been starstruck twice in my life. The first time was in the early ’70s at the beginning of my acting career, probably around 1973. I was going to Universal Studios to see a screening of a television movie I’d just completed called The Law. I drove up to the guard gate in my van.

“What’s your name?”

“Gary Busey.”

“How do you spell that?”

“B-U-S-E-Y.” The guard was older, and he moved slowly, checking the list for a long time.

“You’re not on the list; you have to be on the list to get on the lot.” I was so green at the time I didn’t know what to do or whom to call. Then in front of that guard stand stepped a man with such charisma and power in his posture, smile, and eyes. It was Burt Lancaster.

“Find his name—Busey. B-U-S-E-Y.” Burt Lancaster stood over the guard checking the list. “There it is.” Burt pointed to my name and then turned to me and said, “Remember that we met here. This will be the last time you’ll ever need help getting onto a lot; you’re going to be a big star.” Burt stuck his hand out to shake mine. Sheepishly, I took his hand through the window of my van. It was warm, his grip perfect—not too soft, not too strong. “Keep on,” he said. Then he left. Hearing those words come out of the mouth of Burt Lancaster, an icon since the motion picture industry began (whom I had watched so many times before in interviews and movies), sent me reeling into rookie shock. I didn’t know if Burt actually saw my movie or not, but he definitely saw me, he saw my heart.

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