Meet your esteemed host, Gary Busey, teeth and all

When it came down to getting a host for our own "Who Wants To Win Two Dollars" (and the spin-off, "Who Wants To Win Four Dollars"), there was really only one choice: Gary Busey.

Largely recognized among his generation's great thespians, Gary Busey has had a long and impressive career in films, and brings more to the table than any of the other "Two Dollar" host candidates.

The best actors the world has ever known have unduplicatable traits that are undeniably their own. Marilyn Monroe's breathy come-ons, Clint Eastwood's icy stare, Jack Nicholson's (and, to a lesser extent, Christian Slater's) cocked eyebrows; these are unmistakably and originally theirs, the things one thinks of when they think of those people.

And alas, in that great tradition, we have Gary Busey's teeth.

Gary Busey is able to portray more human emotion with his teeth than Kevin Spacey can with his entire face. Hell, they're what led Gary to his first Oscar nomination in 1978, for his lead role in "The Buddy Holly Story."

But when it comes down to it, Gary Busey, one of the few actors whose "Behind The Music" could play better than Motley Crue's, will be forever remembered for one role and one role alone: Angelo Pappas, seen-it-all L.A. detective, in 1991's time capsule-worthy "Point Break."

From his introduction, where he stands shirtless over a swimming pool, grudgingly informing a superior that he's "got no idea what a blind man fetchin' bricks from the bottom of a pool has got to do with being an undercover agent" to the moment he misses the ex-Presidents robbing the very bank he's staking out because of his over-involvement in a Calvinand Hobbes cartoon ("for his turkey cemetery!"), Angelo Pappas is a screen icon.

His untimely death at the end of "Point Break" has left a void in my soul for nearly ten years now.

Born on June 29, 1944, in Goose Creek, Texas, to Delmer Lloyd and Virgina Busey, Gary Busey's childhood was full of mischief and dental gags. Gary would go on to college to study theater in the early 1960s, where he studied at Coffeyville Junior College in Coffeyville, KS, Kansas State College, and finally at Oklahoma State University.

Gary used his theater training to break into Hollywood in the 1970s, often times referred to a renaissance of film not previously or since paralleled. But it wasn't until his role in 1980s "Carny," where he starred as Frankie the Carny, the very last person on earth you want to humiliate in the dunk tank, that he began to get recognized not only for his acting chops, but the size of his teeth and the potential camp value of them.

Since then, the Buse has exploited his unusual style right into the waiting and willing hand of Hollywood, playing larger than life screen villains in action staples like "Lethal Weapon" and "Under Siege."

He passed the test of being anyone who's anyone in Robert Altman's 1992 Hollywood mirror "The Player," where he was cast as, who else, but himself, in one of the countless number of cameos in the film (wherein Bruce Willis, Jeff Goldblum, Julia Roberts, Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon also lent their likeness).

It was around this time where Busey started to hone in on his latest forte, which is the low budget (and often times straight-to-video) action flick. One of his biggest years, 1994 would see the release of "Drop Zone" (see Busey fly!), "Surviving the Game" (Busey goes cannibal!), "Chasers" and "Warriors."

But after making yet even more memorable appearances in the Farley/Spade vehicle "Black Sheep," "Carried Away" (which acted as a reunion between him and his fellow psycho/"Chasers" director Dennis Hopper), and "Lost Highway" (where the sold-out opening night audience I was in attendance with yelped in excitement at his name in the opening credits), the Buse went underground, after sustaining a number of setbacks, which included a life threatening motorcycle crash and a life re-affirming bust for possession shrooms.

As a nation awaited his return, in quiet anticipation of what he'd do next, Busey pulled what may have been the ultimate ace up his sleeve: the revealing of his son/clone, Jake Busey.

In his campy screen debut in Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers," Jake Busey, teeth and all, assured the legacy of Busey would carry on well into the 21st century. And in a bit of television history you may have missed, Gary appeared alongside his son in a recent episode of Jake's beleaguered UPN sitcom, "Shasta McNasty."

Recently reborn, you can now find Gary Busey, alongside his "Two Dollars" hosting job, spouting off about how he's found the lord on any number of "Larry King" type talk shows. In an odd twist, you can also find him in a good number of Master P's No Limit films, such as the recent "Hot Boyz," where he stars among giants like C Murder, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal and Master P himself.

Ever the chameleon, (and with a mop of hair rivaled only by David Lynch's ungodly do) Gary Busey is an acting/hosting talent that should be treasured. Truly, he's more than the sum of his teeth. Er, parts.

Unfortunately, one of Gary Busey's finest moments, where he exploded at my dad on an airplane after he thought my dad was ripping on him for a recent motorcycle accident ("MC? MC? What are you talkin' about, MOTORCYCLES???"), is not captured on celluloid. But most Busey moments and roles are. Here is a rundown of the top five Busey moments for your viewing pleasure. Most titles are available at your local video store. And if you're lucky enough, you can catch them on television. For the goods on Busey on television, check out http://www.tv-now.com/stars/busey.html. Really.
5. "Under Siege" (1992)

Busey is military villain extraordinnaire Commander Krill (sounds like, kill!) in this Steven Segal high seas adventure. Though most widely reviled for it's gratuitous Erika Eliniak (who Busey would later reteam with in "Chasers") pops-out-of-a-cake moment, "Under Siege" is in fact more memorable for it's painfully long Busey-in-drag scenes.

Chilling.
4. "Carny" (1980)

In what is single-handedly to blame for the sad degradation of America's carnival circuit, Busey shows the tortured soul that was never meant to be seen, heard from or empathized with, that of an that of a average carny. And you thought your biggest problem was the makeshift ways a good number of these rides were set up with a total lack of respect for what is commonly referred to as "safety."
3. "Black Sheep" (1995)

Busey doesn't stretch too far in this Farley/Spade political comedy (?), where he stars, somewhat self-referentially, as an abandoned school bus dwelling retired army cadet psycho.
2. "Hider in the House" (1989)

In this made-for-television Mimi Rogers starrer, Gary Busey sneakily moves into the upstairs attic of an unsuspecting family's house, emerging only in the daytime to raid the fridge, kill some neighbors, kill some dogs, and to teach the household's young boy how to beat the schoolyard bully's arse. All he wants is a family!
1. "Point Break" (1991)

As Angelo Pappas, it is Busey's job to show his new partner, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) the ropes. And how to order meatball subs at 10:30 in the morning ("Utah, gimme two!"). And how to drink Jack Daniels straight while looking over the case files of the ex-presidents. And how to spout classic Busey-isms ("speak into the microphone, squid brain") to common street thugs. And to talk smack to others on the force who have given up their lives for cases that Pappas and Utah unwittingly blow ("nice tattoo, Harp"). Swayze? Reeves? LORI PETTY? Don't kid yourself. Busey is the real star here.