Grand L. Bush
Grand Lee Bush (born December 24, 1955) is an American actor of stage, television and major motion pictures.
Grand L. Bush | |
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Grand L. Bush at a Los Angeles-area aquatic center in 2012 | |
Born | Grand Lee Bush December 24, 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1976–2002 |
Spouse(s) | Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush (1994–present) |
Early life and education
Bush was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actor Robert Bush and his wife Essie Bush.[1] Shakespearean-trained, Bush studied film and theatre at the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy, University of Southern California and the Strasberg Academy in Hollywood. He continued his education by performing at the historic Globe Theatre,[1] the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and the annual Shakespeare Festival in Garden Grove, California.[2]
Career
In 1977 he landed a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Good Times. Bush later acted in other television episodics and miniseries, including Roots, before joining the cast of the rock musical Hair in 1979, in which he performed a solo. Bush also performed in other musical dramas, including the TV series Fame and the feature film Streets of Fire.
In 1983, Bush won a nomination for a Canadian Genie Award in the category of "Best Performance by a Foreign Actor" for his role in the feature film Hard Feelings.
Bush appeared in such blockbusters as Lethal Weapon Hollywood Shuffle, Die Hard and Colors, the latter of which sparked a friendship between Bush and director Dennis Hopper and Hopper directed Bush in a total of three feature films: Colors, Chasers, and Catchfire. Bush was cast in the 1989 James Bond feature film Licence to Kill. He portrayed a lieutenant in the horror film The Exorcist III and had a small role in Demolition Man. Bush also played actor Todd Bridges' father in Building Bridges, an autobiographical short film about the rise and fall of the child star of Diff'rent Strokes.
In 1994, Bush was cast in the role of Balrog in the action/comedy Street Fighter, directed by Steven E. de Souza. The ensemble cast also included Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na and Raúl Juliá. To prepare for his role, Bush trained with kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez in Bangkok, Thailand, and Brisbane, Australia.
Writer/producer Dean Devlin and Bush worked together on two television series (Hard Copy on CBS in 1987 and The Visitor on Fox in 1997). Bush and actor Robert Davi co-starred in three films together (Die Hard, Licence to Kill, and Maniac Cop 3). Bush has guest-starred in a total of five projects on which Nicholas Corea is credited as either a writer, producer or director (The Renegades 1983, The Incredible Hulk, Airwolf, Renegade, and Walker, Texas Ranger).
More than 35 feature films in which Bush has appeared have been archived as Turner Classic Movies.[3]
Personal life
In 1991, Bush met his future wife, Sharon Crews, on the set of Freejack, a science fiction feature that stars Emilio Estevez, Rene Russo and Mick Jagger. Crews was on assignment for Black Entertainment Television (BET) to interview Bush, et al., during the Atlanta, Georgia, location filming. They married 1994.[2]
Filmography
Title | Year | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Hair | 1979 | Ensemble Dancer / Solo Artist: Flesh Failures | |
Sunnyside | 1979 | Teddy | |
Stir Crazy | 1980 | Slowpoke | |
The Night the City Screamed | 1980 | Herbert Lee | |
Vice Squad | 1982 | Black Pimp | |
Night Shift | 1982 | Mustafa | (as Grand Bush) |
Hard Feelings | 1982 | Latham Lockhart | |
Weekend Pass | 1984 | Bertram | |
Streets of Fire | 1984 | Reggie / The Sorels | |
Brewster's Millions | 1985 | Rudy | |
The Color Purple (1985 film) | 1985 | Randy | |
Lethal Weapon | 1987 | Detective Dan Boyette | |
Hollywood Shuffle | 1987 | Mandingo / Ricky Taylor / Hood #5 | |
Colors | 1988 | Larry Sylvester | |
Die Hard | 1988 | FBI Agent Johnson | |
Licence to Kill | 1989 | DEA Operative Hawkins | |
Lethal Weapon 2 | 1989 | Detective Jerry Collins | |
Bad Influence | 1990 | Club Bartender | |
Catchfire | 1990 | Bank Teller | |
The First Power | 1990 | Reservoir Worker | |
The Exorcist III | 1990 | Sgt. Mel Atkins | |
Secret Agent 00 Soul | 1990 | Ben Douglas | |
Wedlock | 1991 | Jasper | |
Freejack | 1992 | Boone | |
Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence | 1993 | Willie | |
Demolition Man | 1993 | Zachary Lamb | |
Chasers | 1994 | Vance Dooley | |
Street Fighter | 1994 | Balrog | |
Forrest Gump | 1994 | Black Panther Leader | |
Turbulence | 1997 | Marshal Al Arquette | |
Favorite Son | 1997 | Rev. Ross | |
Building Bridges | 2000 | Todd Bridges' Dad / Jim | |
Shark Hunter | 2001 | Rob Harrington | |
New Alcatraz | 2002 | Sgt. Quinn |
References
- "Grand L. Bush Biography (1955–)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
- Biography for Grand L. Bush at IMDb
- "Filmography for Grand L Bush". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 19, 2019.