Billy Green Bush

Billy Green Bush
Born	William Warren Bush (1935-11-07) November 7, 1935 (age 89) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Other names	Billy Greenbush
Occupation	Actor
Spouse	Carole Kay
Children	Clay, Lindsay, Sidney

William Warren Bush (born November 7, 1935) is an American actor usually credited as Billy Green Bush, and sometimes as Billy Greenbush.

Typecast

Bush is a character actor, typically projecting in his screen appearances the good-ol'-boy image. He portrays mostly sheriffs and state troopers, although in his repertoire there are the occasional villains.^[1]

Film

Bush's film work includes appearances in The Savage Seven (1968), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Monte Walsh (1970), The Jesus Trip (1971), The Organization (1971), Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (1972), The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972), 40 Carats (1973), Electra Glide in Blue (1973)^[2] where his performance caused some critics to characterize his screen persona as "irrepressibly unique";^[3] Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Mackintosh and T.J. (1975), The Call of the Wild (1976), The Beasts Are on the Streets (1978), The Jericho Mile (1979), Tom Horn (1980), The River (1984), The Hitcher (1986), Critters (1986), Rampage (1987) and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993).^[4]

Television

Bush has appeared frequently on television, including a recurring role as Bobby Angel on Hill Street Blues and an episode of M*A*S*H, in which his character, “Cowboy”, tries to kill commanding officer Henry Blake.^[4]

He twice portrayed Vernon Presley, the father of Elvis Presley, first in the 1988 TV movie Elvis and Me, which was based on the 1985 memoir of the same name by Presley's ex-wife Priscilla, and then in the short-lived weekly series Elvis in 1990.^[5][6]

Personal life

Bush is the father of twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (retired child actresses who alternately starred as Carrie in Little House on the Prairie) and actor Clay Greenbush.^[4]

Selected filmography

• Unholy Matrimony (1966) - Eavesdropping Husband (uncredited)
• The Savage Seven (1968) - Seely
• The Reivers (1969) - Patron
• Five Easy Pieces (1970) - Elton
• Monte Walsh (1970) - Powder Kent
• The Jesus Trip (1971) - Tarboro
• The Organization (1971) - Dave Thomas
• Welcome Home, Soldier Boys (1972) - Sheriff
• The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972) - Frank Culpepper
• M*A*S*H (1972) - John "Cowboy" Hodges
• Mister Brown (1972)
• 40 Carats (1973) - J.D. Rogers
• Electra Glide in Blue (1973) - Zipper
• Gunsmoke (1973) - Kermit
• Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) - Donald
• Mackintosh and T.J. (1975) - Luke
• The Call of the Wild (1976) - Redsweater
• The Invasion of Johnson County (1976) - Frank Canton
• The Beasts Are on the Streets (1978) - Jim Scudder
• The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982) - Ray Thomas / Sheriff Carl Decker
• The Jericho Mile (1979) - Warden Earl Gulliver
• Tom Horn (1980) - U.S. Marshal Joe Belle
• The River (1984) - Harve Stanley
• The Hitcher (1986) - Trooper Donner
• Critters (1986) - Jay Brown
• The Deliberate Stranger (TV - 1986) - Officer Bradley
• Rampage (1987) - Judge McKinsey
• Conagher (1991) - Jacob Teale
• Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) - Sheriff Ed Landis (final film role)

References

1. Biography, The New York Times; accessed September 6, 2017.
2. Greenspun, Roger (August 20, 1973). "Electra Glide in Blue (1973) Screen: Guercio's 'Electra Glide in Blue' Arrives:Director Makes Debut With a Mystery The Cast Police Officer Tracks Recluse's Killer". The New York Times.
3. Riding shotgun: Review of Electra Glide in Blue, DVD Outsider
4. Billy Green Bush at IMDb
5. Bio Rotten Tomatoes
6. "Quality production fails to ignite audience", Elvis InfoNet, February 1, 2013.

External links

• Billy Green Bush at IMDb
• Billy Green Bush at the TCM Movie Database
• Billy Green Bush at Rotten Tomatoes
• Wm. Green Bush at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection