For the musical about Holly, see Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story

Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story

Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story is a jukebox musical in two acts with a book written by Alan Janes, and music and lyrics by a variety of songwriters. Based on the life and career of early rock and roller Buddy Holly, the musical hews closer to Holly's actual life story than the 1978 film version...

The Buddy Holly Story is a 1978 biographical film

Biographical film

A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...

 which tells the life story of rock music

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

ian Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly

Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...

. It stars Gary Busey

Gary Busey

William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...

, Don Stroud

Don Stroud

Donald Lee Stroud is an American actor and surfer who appeared in many films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and has starred in over 100 films and 175 television shows to date.-Early life:...

, Charles Martin Smith

Charles Martin Smith

Charles Martin Smith is an American film actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Smith was born in Van Nuys, California. His father, Frank Smith, was a film cartoonist and animator, while his uncle Paul J. Smith was an animator as well as a director for the Walter Lantz Studios...

, Conrad Janis

Conrad Janis

Conrad Janis is an American jazz musician and also a theatre, film, and television actor. In the fall of 1953, he played eldest son Edward in the Ezio Pinza situation comedy Bonino on NBC...

, William Jordan

William Jordan

William Jordan may refer to:*Hamilton Jordan , American politician, chief of staff to President Carter*William-Jordan , Crusader baron*William Jordan , American Olympic gold medalist rower...

, and Maria Richwine

Maria Richwine

Maria Richwine is an American actress.Her first movie role was as Buddy Holly's wife Maria, in the 1978 biopic movie The Buddy Holly Story. She also appeared in the television series Three's Company, Sledge Hammer!, and Freddy's Nightmares.-External links:...

, who played Maria Elena Holly

Maria Elena Holly

María Elena Holly is the widow of rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly. She owns the rights to his name, image, trademarks, and other intellectual property.-Early years:...

.

The film was adapted by Robert Gittler

Robert Gittler

Robert Gittler was an American writer best known for writing the screenplay for the Oscar winning motion picture The Buddy Holly Story.Robert Gittler committed suicide in 1978 before the theatrical release of The Buddy Holly Story.-External links:...

 from Buddy Holly: His Life and Music, the biography of Holly by John Goldrosen. It was directed by Steve Rash

Steve Rash

Steve Rash is an American film director and producer best known for directing such films as The Buddy Holly Story, Can't Buy Me Love, and Queens Logic.- External links :...

.

Plot

The film opens with Buddy Holly's beginnings as a teenager in Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

 and his emergence into the world of rock and roll with his fictional good friends and bandmates, drummer Jesse Charles (Don Stroud) and bass player Ray Bob Simmons (Charles Martin Smith), soon to be known as The Crickets

The Crickets

The Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957....

. Their first break comes when they are brought to Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 to record, but Buddy's vision soon clashes with the producers' rigid ideas of how the music should sound and he walks out. Eventually, he finds a more flexible producer, Ross Turner (Conrad Janis), who, after listening to their audition, very reluctantly allows Buddy and the Crickets to make music the way they want.

While there, he meets Turner's secretary, Maria Elena Santiago (Maria Richwine). His budding romance with her nearly ends before it can begin, when her aunt initially refuses to let her date him, but Buddy persuades her to change her mind. On their very first date, Maria accepts his marriage proposal and they are soon wed.

A humorous episode results from a misunderstanding in one of their early bookings. Sol Gittler (Dick O'Neill

Dick O'Neill

Dick O'Neill was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company member of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.He served in the Navy then returned to the theater. In the late...

) signs them up sight-unseen for the famous Apollo Theater

Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...

 in Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

, assuming from their music that they're a black band. When three white Texans show up instead, he is stunned, but unwilling to pay them for doing nothing, he nervously lets them perform and prays fervently that the all-black audience doesn't riot at the sight of the first all-white band to play there. (In real life, that distinction belongs to Jimmy Cavallo

Jimmy Cavallo

Jimmy Cavallo is an American musician best known for performing with his band in the 1956 movie, Rock, Rock, Rock, by pioneering music DJ Alan Freed...

 and The House Rockers, who played at that venue in 1956.) After an uncomfortable start and an initially hostile crowd, Buddy's songs soon win them over and the Crickets are a tremendous hit. Gitler books them to come back several times.

After two years, Ray Bob and Jesse decide to break up the band, feeling overshadowed by Buddy and not wanting to relocate to New York City. Initially, he is saddened by their departure, but he soldiers on. When Maria announces that she is pregnant, Buddy is delighted.

On February 2, 1959, preparing for a concert at Clear Lake, Iowa

Clear Lake, Iowa

Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,161 at the 2000 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related businesses. Clear Lake is also a major stop on Interstate...

, Holly decides to charter a private plane to fly to Moorhead, Minnesota

Moorhead, Minnesota

Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....

 for his next big concert. The Big Bopper

The Big Bopper

Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr. also commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star...

 and Ritchie Valens

Ritchie Valens

Ritchie Valens was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist....

 (who is reluctant to fly, but wins a coin toss with Tommy Allsup

Tommy Allsup

Tommy Allsup is an American musician.He worked with entertainers such as Buddy Holly and Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys...

 for the last seat) join him on the flight. Meanwhile, the Crickets, feeling nostalgic, appear unexpectedly at Maria's door, expressing their desire to reunite the band. They plan to surprise Buddy at his next tour stop. After playing his final song, "Not Fade Away

Not Fade Away (song)

"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly's band The Crickets in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957...

", Holly bids the crowd farewell with "Thank you Clear Lake! C'mon. We love you. We'll see you next year". A caption then reveals the deaths of Holly, Valens, and the Bopper in a plane crash that night

The Day the Music Died

On February 3, 1959, a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, killed three American rock and roll pioneers: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson. The day was later called The Day the Music Died by Don McLean, in his song...

...and the rest is Rock and Roll.

Cast

Actor	Role
Gary Busey Gary Busey William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...	Buddy Holly Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
Don Stroud Don Stroud Donald Lee Stroud is an American actor and surfer who appeared in many films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and has starred in over 100 films and 175 television shows to date.-Early life:...	Jesse Charles (based on Jerry Allison Jerry Allison J.I. Allison is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for The Crickets and co-writer of their Buddy Holly hit "Peggy Sue".... )
Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith is an American film actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Smith was born in Van Nuys, California. His father, Frank Smith, was a film cartoonist and animator, while his uncle Paul J. Smith was an animator as well as a director for the Walter Lantz Studios...	Ray Bob Simmons (based on Joe B. Mauldin Joe B. Mauldin Joe Benson Mauldin, Jr. is ranked among the top rock bassists and became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios, the Los Angeles studio that became the hit factory for Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and other major 1960s rock performers... )
William Jordan William Jordan William Jordan may refer to:*Hamilton Jordan , American politician, chief of staff to President Carter*William-Jordan , Crusader baron*William Jordan , American Olympic gold medalist rower...	Riley Randolph (Lubbock D.J.)
John F. Goff	T. J. (Nashville Producer)
Amy Johnston	Cindy Lou
Conrad Janis Conrad Janis Conrad Janis is an American jazz musician and also a theatre, film, and television actor. In the fall of 1953, he played eldest son Edward in the Ezio Pinza situation comedy Bonino on NBC...	Ross Turner
Albert Popwell Albert Popwell Albert Popwell, , was an African American actor in television and films from the late 1960s. Born in New York City, Popwell started as a professional dancer before taking up a career in acting...	Eddie Foster
Fred Travalena Fred Travalena Frederick Albert "Fred" Travalena III was an American entertainer, specializing in comedy and impersonations.-Early life:...	'Madman' Mancuso (Buffalo, New York D.J.)
Jack Denbo	New York Cabbie
Maria Richwine Maria Richwine Maria Richwine is an American actress.Her first movie role was as Buddy Holly's wife Maria, in the 1978 biopic movie The Buddy Holly Story. She also appeared in the television series Three's Company, Sledge Hammer!, and Freddy's Nightmares.-External links:...	Maria Elena Holly Maria Elena Holly María Elena Holly is the widow of rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly. She owns the rights to his name, image, trademarks, and other intellectual property.-Early years:...
Dick O'Neill Dick O'Neill Dick O'Neill was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company member of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.He served in the Navy then returned to the theater. In the late...	Sol Gittler
Freeman King	Apollo M.C.
Paul Mooney	Sam Cooke Sam Cooke Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
Jerry Zaremba	Eddie Cochran Eddie Cochran Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...

Production

The actors did their own singing and played their own instruments live during the filming, with guitarist Jerry Zaremba overdubbing the guitar parts. Busey, in particular, was admired by critics for recording the soundtrack music for the film live and losing a considerable amount of weight in order to portray the skinny Holly. According to Busey's biography, he lost 32 pounds to look more like Holly, who weighed 146 lbs at the time of his death. His accurate portrayal was aided by knowledge gained from a previous attempt to film part of the Holly life story, the ill-fated Three-Sided Coin, in which he played Crickets drummer Jerry Allison (the film was cancelled by 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

 due to pressure from Fred Bauer and his company, who had made deals with the Holly estate

Estate (law)

An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...

). The screenplay of Three-Sided Coin (by Allison and Tom Drake) revealed many personal details about Holly, and Busey picked up more during off-set conversations with Allison.

The film follows Buddy Holly from age 19 to 22 (1955 to early 1959). Gary Busey was actually 33 when he played the role. Charles Martin Smith, who played Ray Bob Simmons, auditioned for the role of Buddy, but since Busey had been cast, the producers cast him as Simmons because they liked his audition.

Awards

The film won the Academy Award

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 for Best Adaptation Score

Academy Award for Original Music Score

The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...

. Busey was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

, and Tex Rudloff

Tex Rudloff

Tex Rudloff is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film The Buddy Holly Story.-External links:...

, Joel Fein

Joel Fein

Joel Fein was an American sound engineer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film The Buddy Holly Story.-External links:...

, Curly Thirlwell

Curly Thirlwell

Curly Thirlwell is an American sound engineer. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Sound.-External links:...

 and Willie D. Burton for Best Sound.