He had a brilliant mind, and he made a fortune in real estate because he was able to see the opportunity and bring everything together, and thats how he built his wealth. After separation from Mueller, Buss dated Karen Demel and had two children: Joey Buss (born in 1985) and Jesse Buss (born in 1988). and Ph.D. in physical chemistry by age 24. And he did. It was just great to be able to watch and learn. The couple has four children together two elder sons, Johnny Buss (born in 1956), James "Jim" Buss (born in 1959), and two younger daughters in Jeanie Buss (born in 1961) and Janie Buss (born in 1963). He wanted to win every single year, but he also knew that was impossible. Before the championships from 2000-02, as an adolescent, it was very frustrating watching the Lakers lose in the playoffs. It wouldnt just be me reaching out. As the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1979 until he passed away in 2013, Dr. Jerry Buss oversaw one of the greatest stretches in sports and entertainment history. He was definitely someone that was willing to do whatever it took to bring the city of Los Angeles a winner, and win at the highest level. Johnny was previously married to Christy Curtis Buss and has at least two sons. You could see it. He wanted everybody to be together, and he was right in the middle of us. There was prime real estate, and it was about location, location, location. Wed come up with Steve Blake and Matt Barnes, and my dad was fully supportive of it, and cleared it with Mitch and Jim, and we ended up signing them. You have a right to express yourself. He took a drag of his cigarette, and he said, But when you say management thats me. And he didnt say anything after that. His best finishes included third in the 1991 World Series of Poker seven-card stud event and second place in the 2003 World Poker Tour Freeroll invitational. His vision that, Im going to get this big guy, and were going to go from there. He was very positive, and his dreams were never unrealistic, and set the tempo for the franchise to keep moving forward. (Jessie later remarried when Jerry was 12 years old.). Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. He knew wed thrive under that pressure. Jerry Buss had an on-off relationship with. Buss purchased the team, reported to be worth around $1 billion, in 1979. At the time, we were marveling at how much a Michael Jordan rookie card was in the early 1990s. Thats another way we connected. He was not nearly as animated in the other championships as he was in that one, for obvious reasons. And hed say, I want you to come to Vegas in a week. Everywhere we went, everybody would holler our names. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. He wanted it to be entertainment mixed in with a great team, and he was fortunate enough that he had a great team. I wanted that to be the case here as well. Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, American Businessman And Real Estate Investor, Jan 27 1933 - Salt Lake City, United States, Jan 27 1933 - Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, Feb 18 2013 - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, Rocky Mount Telegram - Feb 18 2013 - North Carolina, United States, Our Weekly - Feb 22 2013 - Los Angeles, California, United States, Lydus Henry Buss, Jessie Mae Buss (born Hatten), Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, Cedars- Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Champions, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Death of Dr. Jerry Buss at Cedars- Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Jerry Buss attended University of Wyoming, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States. Magic Johnson had to retire early, sooner than we thought, and the team stayed competitive through the early and mid 90s, but my dad really, really wanted to get back to the winning ways. There were eight or nine different price codes, and each one had so many thousands of seats, not counting the floor seats. After Jerry's death, his children took up various roles within the organization, with Jeanie Buss ultimately becoming the president and controlling owner of the Lakers.She was only 17 when her father bought the team, and she held various managerial roles over the years, with the team winning the title in 2020. When he bought the Forum, it was called the Forum. EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Jerry Buss' children intend on carrying out their father's succession plan for the Los Angeles Lakers following the iconic owner's death Monday. That was wonderful, to get my game back in gear for the next five games (after the Memorial Day Massacre). I just think he did a great job with the opportunity that he had, and his vision has really benefitted the game. Im glad it turned out that way. I knew he and Magic were really close. And he got it right every single time. And I was really just flabbergasted. The war over Jerry Buss ' fortune just took a shocking turn -- with a mysterious woman claiming she's the secret daughter of the late Lakers owner . If everyone took as much care and time to plan for the end of their lives, there would likely be much less fighting among family members when it came time to administer their estates. He was one of a kind, man. Dr. Buss always carried himself (with a tremendous) level of humility. And teams like the Spurs were getting guys late in the first round that were contributors. We were just talking friend to friend. He was my mentor. I do remember after we won that year, on the night of Game 7, and looking in Dr. Busss eyes as he was being presented the trophy. And especially on airplanes, hed always ask me what I was reading, because he was an avid reader. *In the 2004 Finals, Detroit beat L.A. 4-1. But when we did speak and get a chance to talk to each other, I thought it was real genuine. The hotel recommended this (gym), and I went there in the morning, and Pau Gasol was there. We had a bunch of ideal guys Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy next to Earvin. People thought it meant you had to have a superstar, but it really wasnt about that, it was about the winning, and then people would see the superstars because we were winning. Although he stepped away from active involvement in the Lakers operations in 2017, Johnny seemingly remains a part-owner in the franchise. He would surprise you. You look at them like father figures. Even after I got traded away, we still kept in touch. I didnt realize this was a thing, where you get handed this trophy from the commissioner and do a speech. Theyll like this! Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss was born on Jan. 27, 1933, in Salt Lake City. (Fast forward to the Finals) against Indiana, and in the 4th quarter and my dad grabs me and Jesse with a minute left in the game, and he says, We gotta go! He just took us down to the court. I had someone in my mind, me coming from the South, who was going to be really distinguished and have a suit on, and youd be able to know who the owner was right away as soon as you seen him. As a child, Buss spent time in Los Angeles and Kemmerer, Wyo. Ex-husband of JoAnn Mueller By the time his tenure as the Lakers' owner ended, Buss had overseen 10 total title runs. I think thats what he always wanted, for this to be a family business, where we all work together. Dont talk about the owner. Some owners look at it like a business, only. That was so special. She was predeceased by : her husband Gerald Buss; her sons, Phil Buss and Chris Buss; her parents, Ehme Busboom and Jennie Busboom (Ideus); her siblings, Rosie Miller and Gerald Busboom; her siblings-in-law, Barbara Wrightsman (Don) and Robert Schoen; and her parents-in-law, Herman and Alvina Buss. Immediately when Dr. Buss bought the team, he invited me to the party, and he said, You know Jamaal, if Muhammad wont come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Muhammad. Theres a very subtle story there, because what he was saying is, we could both reach out. We cant let him go. And he said, I know Earvin. [2] He loved being around the guys. We never had any problems to talk about, except for any games that we might lose. He was a little bit more military stylistic of leadership than Jerry was. You can be multifaceted. Ex-partner of Private And thats what Dr. Buss wanted, to create a place where it could be magical, almost like Disneyland. Ultimately we came back and made another offer and Lamar took it. The first time I met him was in 1987 after I was hired, and Dr. Buss said, You come with a good recommendation Chickie Baby has recommended you highly. I think thats important in this day and age, when people are talking about dance teams, but he really saw it as these talented dancers deserve an audience, and now every team in the NBA has a dance team. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. His two things he was mainly focused on was winning championships, getting the Lakers back to that level, and being a family man, being a father to his children. He left the organization in good hands Jeanie is a great owner, too. We werent getting better to the point that I needed our team to be. Hed always end the discussion with something like, Mitch, thats my opinion but youre the expert and Ill trust your judgment. Now, the one thing that was unique about him, if it ever involved numbers, I never saw him ever write anything down or calculate anything in shorthand or with a calculator or anything like that. It wasnt an accident, and the Laker brand exploded. He was going to build a championship team no matter what it takes. I guess it took everyone by surprise, but actually it worked out great for him, great for the Lakers, and he went on to produce some championship teams here in Los Angeles. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. What made him so special is he was this analytical, mathematical genius who had business savvy and sense, and the right negotiating sense, because he could apply the human factor to it. It was like family. Leadership starts from the top, and he was one of these guys who commanded respect. It became a happening. And his business smarts (also kicked in), and the Laker Girls got branded through Reebok. That was an absolutely incredible gesture on his part, which I always appreciated, to say the least. When he bought the team, there were literally two prices: the downstairs and the upstairs. Michael Cooper and James Worthy getting back on defense, West introduces Shaq as a Los Angeles Laker, Joey Buss celebrates with his father after the Lakers' Championship in 2002. Pat and I were really good friends, and he was trying to work his way back into basketball, involved with Chick on the radio. Everybody was like, who is this dude? He did not yell and scream at me. He really showed that. He was a first-time owner. He had his jeans on with his sports coat, big smile on his face, open collared shirt. It was an important economic trend, another thing that he identified, and brought the NBA into more prominence. He said, Johnny just sit here because I think were about to embark on something incredible, recalls Johnny, now 60. And families who must make decisions about large amounts of money are bound to encounter conflict now and then. I cant do that! He said, Well thats what I had in mind. I said, I cant pick up the tab for a whole group of people! And that was the end of our betting routine. See the Elon Musk family tree here at FameChain. Thats not normal for most owners. With the Lakers, it was one man. All six of his children worked. She is survived by : her children, Gail Kruse (Jim) of Sunrise Beach, MO and Jerry Buss of Beatrice; her grandchildren, Jennifer Surface (Matt), Brooke Pohlman (Jordan), Kelsey Weishahn (Spencer), Abbee Buss, Bryce Buss (Cheyanne) and Abby Morgan (Tristan); her great grandchildren, Kaysee Meyer, Collin Surface, River Morgan and Weishahn; her siblings, Anora Schoen and Ron Busboom (Verla); and her siblings-in-law, Marlene Busboom, Karen Buss, Betty St. Clair and Kenny Miller. He ran an indoor soccer team, the Lazers. Im sitting there wondering what the hell is going on. I couldnt be more thankful for all the parties involved in that trade, because it really changed my career here in the NBA, and gave me a second life. I remember being at the Forum in Inglewood in 1985 in my rookie year, meeting Dr. Buss and him saying Lets have lunch one day. Time goes by until you decide, Im going to take him up on that. So we arranged a lunch, midweek after a practice, and went up to his office, and we had a real, genuine, 1-on-1 conversation talking about life itself outside of basketball. Jeanie, Dr. Buss and I spent a lot of time talking about price sensitivity. He also served as the President of the Los Angeles Lazers, a professional indoor soccer team, and the Los Angeles Sparks, a professional womens basketball team. Her father, Jerry Buss, had died in February 2013 at age 80, . When he bought the team, it was more like a dream come true he told me he always wanted to own the Lakers. Kind of re-thinking the economics of ticket sales. 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