Buddy Holly Archives

By Sherri Cruz | For the Avalanche-Journal

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Buddy Holly tattoos, Buddy Holly glasses, even a Buddy Holly flash mob.

You couldn’t ask for more on Buddy Holly Day in Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Holly, accepted Holly’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Capitol Records building on Vine Street.

Gary Busey speaks next to Maria Elena Holly during a ceremony on Wednesday where Buddy Holly’s star was unveiled on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Busey portrayed Holly in the movie “The Buddy Holly Story.”

Big stars and big fans were there. Holly’s music was playing.

Gary Busey, who starred as Holly in “The Buddy Holly Story,” began by saying: “This is a magical day.”

Busey said he wasn’t chosen to play Holly by the studios or the casting agents.

“I do sincerely feel in my heart, Charles Hardin Holly chose me to play him in the movie,” Busey said.

The actor was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Holly. Music producer Peter Asher and Phil Everlyof the Everly Brothers also spoke.

Asher produced “Listen to Me: Buddy Holly,” a Holly tribute record released Tuesday, featuring artists Stevie Nicks, Zooey Deschanel and Chris Isaak. Asher donned a pair of Holly’s trademark horn-rimmed glasses while he spoke.

He said they were the first pair of glasses he ever bought. “These are the actual glass from back then.”

Maria Elena Holly choked up when she talked about what Holly might think of the day. She also thanked the fans.

“I’m saying now, my dear Buddy, you loved to go to the movies. You told me one of your dreams was to write scores for movies and make your mark in Hollywood,” she said. “Well, my dear, half of your dream unfortunately didn’t come true, but the other came true with a beautiful star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

The fans were in full force.

Peter Asher speaks next to Maria Elena Holly during a ceremony on Wednesday where Buddy Holly's star was unveiled on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.

A flash mob — in Buddy Holly glasses of course — performed “Not Fade Away.” When they finished they yelled: “Happy Birthday Buddy Holly!”

Wednesday would’ve been his 75th birthday.

Larry Stump and his wife, Laurene, drove up from Phoenix. “We came just for this,” he said.

He brought a poster from Buddy Holly’s last performance. He remembers being in high school the day Holly died in a plane crash in Iowa in 1959.

“After we heard about it, we left school,” Stump said. “Me being in trouble my whole senior year, I got in trouble for leaving.”

Mike Randall and his wife, Janine, also from Phoenix, wouldn’t have missed the ceremony for the world.

They both play in a Buddy Holly tribute band.

Brad Tierney stood out in the crowd with a little bit of a Buddy Holly look going on.

“I’ve always been a huge Buddy Holly fan,” he said.

He and his girlfriend, Kristy Helton, also a Holly fan, are from Iowa.

Pat Tyson’s interest in Buddy Holly’s music rose after watching “The Buddy Holly Story.” She said he was one of a kind.

“Even his look with the horned-rimmed glasses defied the look of the time.” She drove from Glendale, Calif.

Jennifer Shaw’s dad got her into Holly and roots rock ’n’ roll when she was a little girl. Her father used to come to Lubbock every year for Buddy Holly week.

After her father died, she got a tattoo — Buddy Holly glasses across her back.

Kevin Magowan, the man who worked to get Holly’s star on the Walk of Fame, was feeling fine.

“I feel blessed, grateful and thankful. It’s a dream come true. You plant the seeds, you water them, you work hard. Then the day comes,” he said. “That’ll be the day is today.”