The Resurrection Of William Joseph Bushey
Yeah so, years ago, my son Gainer was headed to the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore with a crew of people from Holyoke. Standing in line to board the plane, he heard this guy laughing like a hyena. In the ad game, we’re always on the lookout for good voices to use as voice talent, or the right look to be on screen. But this was the first time we ever thought of hiring someone for their laugh.
The guy’s name was Billy Bushey. If you’ve ever bellied up to the bar at Pic’s, you’ve probably seen him—and definitely heard him. He’s a great guy and a real character. We were always trying to line up the perfect project for him, so when our client Paragus IT decided to sponsor BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty Awards, saying they wanted to shake things up and bring some fun to a kind of tired event, we knew who to call.
We kicked things off with a promo video for the event called “Advice From A Guy Over 40,” filmed on location at Pic’s Pub. Bushey has always endorsed Pic’s by saying, “They’ve got good Budweiser there.”
He was such a big hit that the following year, we not only did another Bushey video, we invited him to appear in person at the event. The video showed him getting fitted for a tux (while toting a six-pack of Bud cans) at the Bridal Corner on Memorial Drive in Chicopee. At the event, he looked like James Bond and was swarmed by people who wanted to take photos with him and hear that famous laugh.
The final (and maybe the funniest) Bushey video details how he was once fired four times in one day from his job at National Felt in Easthampton. No one ever gave him an award for that.
Anyway, Bushey has been having some health issues in recent years. The other day, someone saw a plaque with his name on it at Pic’s and called to tell us that he’d passed away. We couldn’t believe it. Luckily we made a couple calls and it turned out that rumors of Bushey’s demise had been exaggerated. He may be on the ropes but he’s not down for the count yet. Hey Billy, hope ya get better and this Bud’s for you.
Keep your dukes up.
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