Randy Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor nominated for a Golden Globe, BAFTA
and an Academy Award for his role in The Last Detail. Quaid also won a Golden Globe Award
and was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The
Early Years. Quaid is well known for his roles in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies,
Brokeback Mountain, Independence Day, and Kingpin.
Early life Randy Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, the
son of Juanita Bonniedale "Nita", a real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid, an electrician.
He is the older brother of actor Dennis Quaid, Randy attended Pershing Middle School and
Bellaire High School, Quaid's Early life in Texas ended when he was cast in the last picture
show causing him to leave Texas for Hollywood,Quaids Parents Divorced when he was 21.Quaid is a
third cousin of cowboy movie star Gene Autry. He briefly attended the University of Houston,
studying acting through the university's School of Theatre and Dance.
Acting career Film
Quaid has appeared in over 90 films. Peter Bogdanovich discovered him when Quaid was
a student at the University of Houston, and he received his first exposure in Bogdanovich's
The Last Picture Show. His character escorts Jacy Farrow to a late-night indoor skinny-dip
at a swimming pool. It was the first of several roles directed by Bogdanovich and/or based
on the writings of Larry McMurtry. Quaid's first major role was in the critically acclaimed
The Last Detail. He played a young US Navy sailor on his way to serve a harsh sentence
for stealing $40 from an admiral's wife's pet charity. Jack Nicholson played the sailor
assigned to transport him to prison. Nicholson's character eventually becomes his friend and
mentor, helping him experience different aspects of life before he goes behind bars. Quaid
was nominated for a Golden Globe, BAFTA and an Academy Award for his role in The Last
Detail. He was featured in two science fiction movies, Independence Day and Martians Go Home.
Other movie roles include Kingpin, where he played the lovable Amish bowler Ishmael, alongside
Woody Harrelson and Vanessa Angel, a loser father in Not Another Teen Movie, and an obnoxious
neighbor to Richard Pryor's character in Moving. He played the lead role in the HBO movie Dead
Solid Perfect, a golfer trying to make it on the PGA Tour. He also appeared in National
Lampoon's Vacation movies as Cousin Eddie to Chevy Chase's Clark Griswold. Shortly after
starring in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Quaid was featured in Days of Thunder as a
comical NASCAR car owner and successful car salesman Tim Dailand, a determined businessman
who expects his team to be top-notch for fans and sponsors. Quaid had a pivotal supporting
role in Brokeback Mountain as an insensitive rancher.
Television Quaid received both Golden Globe and Emmy
nominations for his 2005 portrayal of talent manager Colonel Tom Parker in the critically
acclaimed CBS television network mini-series Elvis. He was nominated for an Emmy and won
a Golden Globe for his portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years. Quaid's
other television appearances include a season as a Saturday Night Live cast member, the
role of gunslinger John Wesley Hardin in the miniseries Streets of Laredo and starring
roles in the short-lived series The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire and Davis Rules,
and the two part television film adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men,
playing the character of Lenny. He was featured in the highly rated television films Category
6: Day of Destruction and Category 7: The End of the World and starred in Last Rites,
a made-for-cable Starz/Encore! premiere movie. Quaid voiced the Colonel Sanders character
in radio and television commercials for fast-food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. Quaid's
voice-over work also included Capitol One Credit Card, US Air, Miller Beer and a guest
role in The Ren and Stimpy Show. He narrated the 2006 PBS show Texas Ranch House.
Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live Quaid played a number of recurring characters
on Saturday Night Live, including: The Floating Head: A Rod Serling-esque character
in The Twilight Zone parody, "The Limits of the Imagination"
Rudy Randolph, Jr.: A pitchman from Abilene, Texas, dressed as a cowboy who sells irregular
merchandise or treasures from dictators. Often paired with Rudy Randolph III The name is
a spin on Quaid's real name. The character probably came from Quaid's childhood: When
Quaid was growing up in the Houston area in the 1960s, local western singer Utah Carl
had a TV show every Saturday on KTRK, with commercials from Gulf Coast Furniture Warehouse
in Alvin, Texas. Theater
In 2004, Quaid appeared on stage undertaking the starring role of Frank in the world premiere
of Sam Shepard's The God of Hell produced by the New School University at the Actors
Studio Drama School in New York. In The God of Hell Quaid's portrayal of Frank, a Wisconsin
dairy farmer whose home is infiltrated by a dangerous government operative who wants
to take over his farm, was well received and reviewed by New York City's top theatre critics.
It marked the second time that Quaid starred in a Shepard play, the first being the long
running Broadway hit True West. In February 2008, a five-member hearing committee
of Actors' Equity Association, the labor union representing American stage actors, banned
Quaid for life and fined him more than $81,000. The charges that brought the sanctions originated
in a Seattle production of Lone Star Love, a Western-themed adaptation of Shakespeare's
The Merry Wives of Windsor, in which Quaid played the lead role of Falstaff. The musical
was scheduled to come to Broadway, but producers cancelled it.
According to the New York Post, all 26 members of the musical cast brought charges that Quaid
"physically and verbally abused his fellow performers" and that the show closed rather
than continuing to Broadway because of Quaid's "oddball behavior". Quaid's lawyer, Mark Block,
said the charges were false, and that one of the complaining actors had said the action
was driven by "the producers who did not want to give Randy his contractual rights to creative
approval ... or financial participation ..." Block said that Quaid had left the union before
the musical started, making the ban moot, and that Quaid only participated in the hearing
because he wanted due process. Quaid's statement on the charges was "I am guilty of only one
thing: giving a performance that elicited a response so deeply felt by the actors and
producers with little experience of my creative process that they actually think I am Falstaff."
Music career Quaid has performed musical work, primarily
through his band Randy Quaid & The Fugitives. The group released its first single, "Star
Whackers", in March 2011. An accompanying film, Star Whackers, was premiered by the
Quaids in Vancouver on April 23, 2011. Personal life
Quaid was married to Ella Marie Jolly on May 11, 1980 and they had a daughter, Amanda Marie,
born May 29, 1983. They were separated on September 9, 1986 and divorced August 24,
1989. Quaid met Evi Motolanez in December 1987 on
the set of the film, Bloodhounds of Broadway, in which Madonna starred. He married Evi Motolanez
on October 5, 1989 at a Montecito, California resort. His brother Dennis, actress Meg Ryan,
and Randy's six-year-old daughter Amanda were in attendance. Randy Quaid, who is 60, was
nominated for an Oscar for The Last Detail, won a Golden Globe for his performance as
Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years, and has appeared in more than 70 other films,
including Independence Day and Brokeback Mountain. He has worked with countless legends of the
film industry, meanwhile earning a reputation as a great actor. He is probably best known,
however, for his over-the-top role as "Cousin Eddie", Chevy Chase’s schlemiel cousin-in-law
in the Vacation comedies — something which irks him.
Legal issues Brokeback Mountain lawsuit
On March 23, 2006, Quaid, who played Joe Aguirre in Brokeback Mountain, filed a lawsuit against
Focus Features, Del Mar Productions, James Schamus, David Linde, and Does 1–10 alleging
that they intentionally and negligently misrepresented Brokeback Mountain as "a low-budget, art house
film with no prospect of making money" in order to secure Quaid's professional acting
services at below-market rates. The film had grossed more than $160 million as of the
date of his lawsuit, which sought $10 million plus punitive damages. On May 5, Quaid dropped
his lawsuit. Quaid's publicist said that he decided to drop the lawsuit after Focus Features
agreed to pay a bonus. Focus Features denies making such a settlement.
Alleged failure to pay hotel bill On September 24, 2009, Quaid and his wife
were arrested in Texas for allegedly defrauding an innkeeper, burglary, and conspiracy in
California. The arrest stemmed from an earlier incident in which the Quaids had allegedly
left a Santa Barbara, California hotel with a balance due of approximately $10,000. The
two were released on bail that evening. Evi Quaid provided a handwritten statement to
the celebrity news site TMZ after the arrest claiming that the bill had been paid. A copy
of a cashier's check for $5,546.96 dated September 22, 2009 accompanied the note.
The Quaids made arrangements to appear in court in Santa Barbara but failed to do so.
On October 29, the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office requested bench warrants
for their arrest and extradition from Texas. Although subsequent arrest warrants were quashed,
after the Quaids failed to appear at court on April 12 and 13, 2010, $40,000 in bail
was forfeited and arrest warrants for the couple were issued again on April 14, 2010.
The Quaids appeared in court with their attorney Robert Sanger on April 26, 2010 after missing
several court appearances. The Quaids were briefly detained in custody on April 26, 2010
and released after processing. On April 28, 2010, Sanger resolved the case with Senior
Deputy District Attorney Arnis Tolks. The case was dismissed against Randy Quaid for
lack of evidence. Evi Quaid pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper.
She was granted probation for three years. She will be required to serve 240 hours of
community service. Alleged illegal occupancy
On September 18, 2010, in Santa Barbara, California, Randy Quaid and his wife faced burglary charges
for living in a guest house without permission of the owner. They claimed that they had owned
the property since the 1990s although a representative of the property owner had called the Santa
Barbara Sheriff's Office and produced documents that showed the house as being sold to the
current owner in 2007. The previous owner purchased the property from the Quaids several
years earlier. TMZ reported that the Quaids claim that the home was wrongfully transferred
to a third party by the use of the forged signature of a dead woman named Ronda Quaid
in 1992. The Quaids are accused of more than $5,000 in damage that they are said to have
caused to the guest house. They were booked for felony residential burglary
under section 459 of the California Penal Code, and misdemeanor entering a non-commercial
building without consent. Evi Quaid was also booked for misdemeanor resisting arrest. Their
bail was set at $50,000 each. On September 19, 2010 they posted bail and were released.
On October 18, 2010, bench warrants for the Quaids were issued following their failure
to appear for a hearing on the burglary charges. Their bail was subsequently raised to $500,000
each. The bail was forfeited in November 2010. The company that posted bail for the Quaids
lost a court case in January 2012 to prevent the forfeiture. On April 11, 2014 it was ruled
that Randy Quaid's bond will be rescinded due to a procedural error.
Application for Canadian refugee status On October 22, 2010, Quaid and his wife sought
protection under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, after being arrested
in the Kerrisdale neighborhood of Vancouver. They have since applied for refugee status
on the grounds that they fear for their lives in the United States, claiming that numerous
actors have died under mysterious circumstances committed by the "Hollywood star whackers".
They were granted bail on the condition of $10,000 bond pending further Immigration and
Refugee Board of Canada hearings. However, due to their failure to deposit the required
bond with the court for several days, they remained in custody of the Canada Border Services
Agency. They were released on October 27 after the discovery that Evi Quaid is a "prima facie
Canadian citizen". On July 15, 2011 an attempt to extradite Randy and Evi Quaid from Canada
failed when the U.S. Department of Justice turned down a request from the Santa Barbara
County district attorney calling for the Quaids to be returned to California to face the felony
burglary charges dating from the September 2010 incident. As a result, if Quaid and his
wife re-enter the United States, they will be arrested. In January 2013, Canadian immigration
officials denied Randy Quaid's request for permanent resident status in Canada while
leaving open the option to challenge this decision in federal court.
Filmography References
External links Randy Quaid at the Internet Movie Database
Randy Quaid at the Internet Off-Broadway Database "WCBS Newsradio article — Randy Quaid drops
lawsuit over "Brokeback Mountain" pay". Archived from the original on 2006-11-11. Retrieved
2006-11-29. January 2011 Vanity Fair profile
Randy Quaid at Emmys.com