| Photos (see all 18 | slideshow) |
| Gary Busey | ... | Buddy Holly | |
| Don Stroud | ... | Jesse Charles | |
| Charles Martin Smith | ... | Ray Bob Simmons | |
| Conrad Janis | ... | Ross Turner | |
| William Jordan | ... | Riley Randolph | |
| Maria Richwine | ... | Maria Elena Holly | |
| Amy Johnston | ... | Cindy Lou | |
| Dick O'Neill | ... | Sol Gittler | |
| Fred Travalena | ... | Madman Mancuso | |
| Neva Patterson | ... | Mrs. Ella Holly | |
| John F. Goff | ... | T J | |
| Gloria Irizarry | ... | Mrs. Santiago | |
| Jody Berry | ... | Sam | |
| Richard Kennedy | ... | Preacher | |
| Jim Beach | ... | Waylon | |
| Gailard Sartain | ... | The Big Bopper | |
| Albert Popwell | ... | Eddie Foster | |
| Paul Mooney | ... | Sam Cooke | |
| Freeman King | ... | Apollo M.C | |
| Matthew 'Stymie' Beard | ... | Luthor | |
| Bill Phillips Murry | ... | Desk clerk at black hotel | |
| Joe Renzetti | ... | Violinist #1 | |
| Rajah Bergman | ... | Schwartz (violinist #2) | |
| Alan Peterson | ... | Eight-year-old | |
| Craig White | ... | King Curtis | |
| John Walden | ... | Six-year-old | |
| M.G. Kelly | ... | Lenny Lawrence | |
| Jerry Zaremba | ... | Eddie Cochran | |
| John B. Jarvis | ... | Pianist, Eddie Cochran Band | |
| Richard Hayward | ... | Drummer, Eddie Cochran Band | |
| David Miner | ... | Bass, Eddie Cochran Band | |
| Jack Denbo | ... | New York cabbie | |
| Paul Carmello | ... | Mr Parker | |
| Robert Christopher | ... | Alderson Cadillac salesman | |
| Jack Jozefson | ... | Ed Sullivan Show stage manager | |
| Buddy Miles | ... | Tour musician | |
| Loutz Gage | ... | Ed Sullivan Show producer | |
| Peter Griffen | ... | Ed Sullivan Show director | |
| Gilbert Melgar | ... | Richie Valens | |
| John Fisher | ... | Man in theater | |
| Will Jordan | ... | Ed Sullivan (voice) | |
| Bill Lytle | ... | Delbert | |
| Roulle | ... | Barking Dog | |
| Cora | ... | Ruby | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Arch Johnson | ... | Lawrence O. Holly | |
| Mags Kavanaugh | ... | Sissy Lou (uncredited) | |
| Hope Sage | ... | Fan (uncredited) | |
| Eric Voge | ... | Groupie (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Steve Rash | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Robert Gittler | screenplay | |
| John Goldrosen | source material "Buddy Holly His Life and Music" | |
| Alan Swyer | story | |
Produced by | |||
| Frances Avrut-Bauer | .... | associate producer | |
| Fred Bauer | .... | producer (as Freddy Bauer) | |
| Edward H. Cohen | .... | executive producer | |
| Fred T. Kuehnert | .... | co-executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Joe Renzetti | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Stevan Larner | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| David E. Blewitt | (as David Blewitt) | ||
Casting by | |||
| Joyce Selznick | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Joel Schiller | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Thomas L. Roysden | (as Tom Roysden) | ||
Costume Design by | |||
| Michael Butler | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Doris Alexander | .... | makeup artist | |
| Marvin G. Westmore | .... | makeup artist (as Marvin Westmore) | |
Production Management | |||
| Don Goldman | .... | production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Carol Rimer | .... | first assistant director | |
| Robert J. Smawley | .... | second assistant director (as Bob Smawley) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Willie D. Burton | .... | sound mixer (as Willie Burton) | |
| Joel Fein | .... | sound recording mixer | |
| Joel Fein | .... | special audio | |
| Walter A. Gest | .... | sound re-recordist (as Walter Guest) | |
| Robert W. Harris | .... | assistant sound mixer (as Bob Harris) | |
| Marvin E. Lewis | .... | assistant sound mixer (as Marvin Lewis) | |
| Tex Rudloff | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Curly Thirlwell | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Tom Bookout | .... | grip | |
| Garrett Brown | .... | Steadicam operator | |
| David Dalzell | .... | camera operator | |
| Allen Facemire | .... | photography: second unit | |
| Kyle T. MacDowell | .... | electrician | |
| Calvin Maehl | .... | gaffer | |
| Steve Peterson | .... | first assistant camera | |
| Randall Robinson | .... | Steadicam assistant | |
| Randall Robinson | .... | first assistant camera | |
| Steve Stafford | .... | assistant camera | |
Editorial Department | |||
| James Seidelman | .... | assistant editor | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Darwin Joston | .... | driver | |
Other crew | |||
| Douglas Dean III | .... | production assistant | |
| John Lytle | .... | location manager | |
| Kelly Marshall | .... | unit coordinator | |
| Maggie Rash | .... | project coordinator | |
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I always liked listening to Buddy Holly and felt a real loss when he was killed at a young age in an airplane crash. He wasn't in the old rock 'n roll class of , let's say, Chuck Berry or Jerry Lee Lewis, but he wasn't far behind. Who knows how big his legacy would have been had he sang for decades. Almost every single he put out was a hit.
So, I was very pleasantly surprised how good a job Gary Busey did at playing him and at imitating his singing voice. He did Buddy proud, as were the actors (Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith) who played Holly's backup group, "The Crickets."
Music-wise, there are some of Holly's better-known songs in the beginning of the film and its really good with a strong finish at the end as Holly and the boys are shown in Iowa in their last concert ever. Busey not only sings like Holly, he's a dead ringer for him in the looks department. Some thing was the actor''s best performance ever, and you get no argument from me.
I'm also glad they ended the film on an upbeat note with that Iowa concert, instead of dwelling on his tragic accident. The ending could have been a real downer, but they didn't let it be.