Randy Quaid
Randy Randall Rudy Quaid[2] (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy.
Randy Quaid
Actor
1971–present
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Ella Jolly(m. 1980; div. 1989)
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Evi Motolanez(m. 1989)
1
- Dennis Quaid (brother)
- Jack Quaid (nephew)
- Gene Autry (first cousin twice removed)
He was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in The Last Detail in 1973. In 1978 he co-starred as a prisoner in Midnight Express. Quaid also won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years (1987).
He also received Emmy nominations for his roles in A Streetcar Named Desire (1984) and Elvis (2005). Quaid is also known for his roles of Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies and Russell Casse in Independence Day (1996). He voiced Alameda Slim in the animated feature Home on the Range (2004).
Early life and education
Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, to Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" (née Jordan), a real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid (November 21, 1923 – February 8, 1987), an electrician.[3] Quaid has English, Scots-Irish, and Cajun ancestry.[4] Through his father, Quaid is a first cousin, twice removed, of cowboy performer Gene Autry.[5] Randy Quaid grew up in Bellaire, Texas,[6] a small city surrounded by Houston, and in southwest Houston. He is the older brother of actor Dennis Quaid.
In high school, he took a class in drama on a whim, although he didn't expect he would enjoy the lectures. After the third day, however, he was captivated by the course and decided to make acting his professional goal.[7] He continued studying acting at the University of Houston. During one course, his teacher sent him to audition for Peter Bogdanovich, who was casting for The Last Picture Show, and Quaid won the role in what became his debut film.[7]
Acting career
Film
Randy 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 (Cybill Shepherd) to a late-night indoor skinny-dip at a swimming pool. Other Bogdanovich films he appeared in are What's Up, Doc? and Paper Moon.
Quaid's first major critically acclaimed role was in The Last Detail (1973). He played Larry Meadows, a young United States Navy sailor on his way to serve a harsh sentence for petty theft.[8] Jack Nicholson starred as a sailor assigned to transport him to prison. Quaid was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Quaid appeared opposite Charles Bronson in the 1975 action film of a Mexican prison escape Breakout, based on actual events. In 1976, he appeared opposite Marlon Brando in The Missouri Breaks. In 1978 Quaid had a supporting role in the Alan Parker drama Midnight Express, about Americans and an Englishman imprisoned in Turkey.[9]
In 1983, Quaid portrayed Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon's Vacation. Quaid appeared in four of the seven films in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series as the jovial redneck cousin (through marriage) to Beverly D'Angelo, wife of Chevy Chase's Clark Griswold. In 1987, he won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years. Quaid said that he had wanted to play Johnson since becoming an actor.[10] "I responded to him and his wants and needs in a way I've never done with any other character," he said. Quaid also tried to portray what he learned were Johnson's political attitude:
Personal life
Relationships
Quaid was married to Ella Marie Jolly, a former model, on May 11, 1980, and they had a daughter, Amanda Marie, born May 29, 1983. They were separated on September 9, 1986, and divorced on August 24, 1989. He said of their split, "I went through this delayed adolescent thing. I didn't want to be tied down to a family."[23]
Quaid met Evi Motolanez in December 1987 on the set of the film Bloodhounds of Broadway, in which Madonna starred. They wed on October 5, 1989, at the San Ysidro Ranch, a Montecito, California, resort.[23] His brother Dennis, his future sister-in-law Meg Ryan, and his six-year-old daughter Amanda were in attendance.[24]
Legal issues
In 2006, Quaid, who acted in Brokeback Mountain, sued the producers for misrepresenting the film 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.[25][26]
In 2009, Quaid and his wife were arrested for allegedly defrauding an innkeeper in Santa Barbara by using an invalid credit card to pay a $10,000 bill. The two were released on bail that evening and subsequently paid most of the bill.[27] However, they repeatedly failed to appear in court and warrants were issued for their arrest.[28] They eventually appeared in court the following year where the case was dismissed against Quaid for lack of evidence. His wife, Evi, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of fraud and was placed on probation for three years in addition to having to spend 240 hours in community service.[29]
In September 2010, Quaid and his wife were charged with burglary after they spent five days occupying the guest house in a vacant home they once owned in Santa Barbara. The Quaids claimed that the home was wrongfully transferred to a third party by the use of a forged signature. Warrants for their arrest were issued after they failed to appear in court, and as a result, they also forfeited their bail.[30]
In October 2010, Quaid and his wife moved to Vancouver, Canada, where they sought asylum protections under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, stating that they feared for their lives in the United States.[31][32][33] Border authorities arrested the couple for their outstanding warrants in the U.S. After they were granted bail, Quaid gave a press interview,[34] and later, the couple's asylum-seeking story was detailed in an article by Vanity Fair.[35][36] Quaid's wife Evi was granted Canadian citizenship in 2011, based on her parentage, and Quaid sought permanent resident status as the husband of a Canadian.[37] In January 2013, this request was denied.[38]
Quaid lived in Montreal beginning in 2013 and was briefly arrested for not checking in as a non-resident.[39] In 2014, the Quaids sued the U.S. State Department for revoking their passports in 2011.[40][41] By 2015, Quaid's legal appeals in Canada were exhausted, and he was notified he was to be deported.[42] One week prior to the deportation date, the couple drove across the Canadian border into Vermont, where they were detained by U.S. Customs. The couple were detained pending an extradition procedure ordered by the State of California.
On review of the State of California's case, the Vermont judge found irregularities, and voided the extradition request,[43] whereupon the Quaids were released and allowed to remain in Vermont without conditions.[44] With his lawyer at his side, Quaid asserted in a press conference that the reason he was released was that the California judge had issued an arrest warrant before the alleged crime had been committed.[45] In principle, the Quaids were subject to arrest should he travel to another state, yet in 2017, they vacationed in California without incident. Quaid and his wife planned to make Vermont their permanent home, as his wife grew up there.[46]
Political views
After 2016, Quaid became an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, and later became a proponent of the disproven conspiracy theory that Trump's defeat in the 2020 United States presidential election was the result of widespread election fraud. Three weeks after the election, Trump, on his Twitter account, retweeted some of Quaid's video material claiming election fraud and wrote "Thank you Randy, working hard to clean up the stench of the 2020 Election Hoax!"[47]