{{Short description|American actor}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Billy Green Bush | image = | caption = | birth_name = William Warren Bush | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1935|11|7|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = Billy Greenbush | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1966–1993 | children = Clay, Lindsay, Sidney | spouse = Carole Kay }}
'''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.<ref name=nyt>[https://archive.today/20130130063520/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/9848/Billy-Green-Bush/biography Biography], ''The New York Times''; accessed September 6, 2017.</ref>
==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)<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9807E7D61631E63BBC4851DFBE668388669EDE|title=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.|first=Roger|last=Greenspun|authorlink=Roger Greenspun|date=August 20, 1973}}</ref> where his performance caused some critics to characterize his screen persona as "irrepressibly unique";<ref>[http://www.dvdoutsider.co.uk/dvd/reviews/e/electra_glide_in_blue.html Riding shotgun: Review of Electra Glide in Blue], DVD Outsider</ref> ''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).<ref name="imdb"/>
==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.<ref name="imdb" />
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.<ref name="rot">[https://archive.today/20130201140657/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/billy_green_bush/biography.php Bio] Rotten Tomatoes</ref><ref>[http://www.elvisinfonet.com/spotlight_elvistvshow.html "Quality production fails to ignite audience"], Elvis InfoNet, February 1, 2013.</ref>
==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.<ref name="imdb">{{IMDb name|name=Billy Green Bush|id=0124100}}</ref>
==Selected filmography== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * 1966 ''Unholy Matrimony'' as Eavesdropping Husband (uncredited) * 1968 ''The Savage Seven'' as Seely * 1969 ''The Reivers'' as Patron * 1970 ''Five Easy Pieces'' as Elton * 1970 ''Monte Walsh'' as "Powder" Kent * 1971 ''The Jesus Trip'' as Tarboro * 1971 ''The Organization'' as Dave Thomas * 1972 ''Welcome Home, Soldier Boys'' as Sheriff * 1972 ''The Culpepper Cattle Co.'' as Frank Culpepper * 1972 ''M*A*S*H'' as John "Cowboy" Hodges * 1972 ''Mister Brown'' * 1973 ''40 Carats'' as J.D. Rogers * 1973 ''Electra Glide in Blue'' as Officer "Zipper" Davis * 1973 ''Gunsmoke'' as Kermit * 1973 ''The Rookies'' as Country Marc Rogers * 1974 ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' as Donald Hyatt * 1975 ''Mackintosh and T.J.'' as Luke * 1976 ''The Call of the Wild'' as "Redsweater" * 1976 ''The Invasion of Johnson County'' as Frank Canton * 1978 ''The Beasts Are on the Streets'' as Jim Scudder * 1978-1982 ''The Incredible Hulk'' as Ray Thomas / Sheriff Carl Decker * 1979 ''The Jericho Mile'' as Warden Earl Gulliver * 1980 ''Tom Horn'' as U.S. Marshal Joe Belle * 1984 ''The River'' as Harvey "Harve" Stanley * 1986 ''The Hitcher'' as Trooper Donner * 1986 ''Critters'' as Jay Brown * 1986 ''The Deliberate Stranger'' (TV) as Officer Bradley * 1987 ''Rampage'' as Judge McKinsey * 1991 ''Conagher'' as Jacob Teale * 1993 ''Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' as Sheriff Ed Landis (final film role) {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|name=Billy Green Bush|id=0124100}} * {{tcmdb name|id=76058|name=Billy Green Bush}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20040319183418/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/p/BillyGreenBush-1002178/ Billy Green Bush] at Rotten Tomatoes * [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;cc=wiarchives;type=simple;rgn=Entire%20Finding%20Aid;q1=Green%20Bush;view=reslist;subview=detail;sort=freq;didno=uw-whs-tape00339a Wm. Green Bush] at the University of Wisconsin's [https://web.archive.org/web/20140502211533/http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-tape00339a Actors Studio audio collection]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Billy Green}} Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:Male actors from Montgomery, Alabama