Pop Culture | Retro | 90s | 80s

Can We Talk About What's Going On With Randy Quaid?

Randy Quaid has been around Hollywood for a fairly long time. When he was just 23 years old, Quaid was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film, The Last Detail.

Best Actor

Older brother of Dennis Quaid, Randy became a household name for his role in National Lampoon's Vacation as Cousin Eddie.

Quaid married Ella Marie Jolly in 1980, and the two welcomed a daughter, Amanda Marie, in 1983. In 1986, however, the couple split after just six years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in 1989, and Quaid says it was all on him.

"I went through this delayed adolescent thing. I didn't want to be tied down to a family."

That same year, Quaid married his second wife, Evi, whom he met on the set of his film Bloodhounds of Broadway. Quaid's family and friends attribute his marriage to the beginning of the downward spiral that unfortunately became his life.

Fame 10

According to Quaid, there is a group called the Star Whackers, an evil Hollywood Illuminati dead-set on thwarting his success, who began stealing his money in 1983. He and Evi believed the Star Whackers used a fake name, Ronda L. Quaid, to set up a trust fund and funnel money.

"Ronda L. Quaid never existed," claimed Evi Quaid. "No one ever has met her. She was supposedly a schoolteacher. But you go to the county and you pull the probate file and it’s $7 million in cash. How would a schoolteacher have that? It’s Randy’s royalty stream. I’ve researched everything. There’s no body. They’re just trying to merge the two identities in order to cash the checks."

Screener TV

In 2005, Randy Quaid appeared in the film Brokeback Mountain. He then sued the producers of the film, claiming they misrepresented the film as "a low-budget, art house film with no prospect of making money" so Quaid would sign on for below-market rates. The movie ended up grossing more than $178 million worldwide, and Quaid believed this was all part of their plan.

Then, in 2006, the producers of Entourage sent the police to Randy Quaid's house.

Quaid's neighbors were having a party, and the noise was apparently too loud for Randy and Evi, so they retaliated by installing speakers in their trees and blasting Randy's song from Home on the Range at full volume. Entourage was shooting a few blocks over, and the noise was disrupting their filming.

When neighbors were being too loud, Quaid blasted his song from the animated movie "Home On The Range" at full volume. Animated Film Reviews

There are a lot of people who think it's actually Evi Quaid who is the biggest problem, not Randy. When Randy was cast in the Broadway musical, Lone Star Love, producers loved him. "Randy had been entirely charming and won the creative team over in the casting process" and was an extreme professional. However, Evi began joining him for rehearsals, and things got bad. She began sending rude emails to the producers filming rehearsals (which is against union rules), and sent a naked picture of herself holding a gun to several members of the crew.

The whole mess was so bad, that a complaint was filed with the Actor's Equity Union. Quaid was fined over $81,000 and was banned for life.

Independent UK

After that incident, Evi Quaid hired a private investigator, Becky Altringer, to investigate the cast of the show. Evi claimed there were people who wanted to kill them.

"Evi demanded that I harass [the cast]," Altringer says. "I observed Evi’s paranoia increase and she was convinced someone was going to murder Randy and then Evi to make it look like murder-suicide. Three weeks they rented a mobile home from me—it was my partner’s mom’s—after we kicked them out of our house. I was literally going insane from Evi and her dog. She let it urinate in the house; she took our dinners out to the dog—roast beef. She woke up in the morning and said the mob was here—they have chainsaws and shovels; they’re going to bury us. I said, Evi, that’s the gardener."

Zimbio

The Quaids also ran into serious trouble with the law.

In 2009, they stayed at the San Ysidro Ranch Hotel and skipped out on a $10,000 bill. They had attempted to pay with a fraudulent credit card. They were arrested, and after posting a $20,000 bond, they skipped out on five court hearings. They were eventually found in Marfa, Texas, where the couple was in the process of opening a Randy Quaid museum.

In August of 2010, Randy filed a lawsuit claiming the house he had sold in 1991 was being used by corrupt lawyers. He also alleged that the house was still in his name and that it had never been sold, but rather his signature had been forged. The lawsuit was thrown out after he couldn't provide court fees to continue. One month later, the owner of the house found Randy and Evi squatting in the guesthouse, causing $30,000 in damages. They were, once again, arrested.

Randy and Evi were bailed of jail again, then fled to Canada in order to skip out on court dates. Both were arrested for their outstanding warrants in the United States. They sought protection under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

"They fear for their lives from real criminals of organized crime and have asked to be protected by Canada…" their lawyer claimed.

In 2013, Randy applied for permanent resident status in Canada, which was denied. When he and Evi crossed the Canadian border into Vermont, they were both arrested. Both were released a few days after, and were allowed to stay in Vermont with no conditions. If either of them travel to another state, they will be arrested.

Fox News

Dennis Quaid, Randy's younger brother, has been very tight-lipped about the entire situation. But, he maintains that family is family, no matter what.

“I love my brother,” Dennis says. “That’s all I can say. I love my brother and I miss my brother. That’s all I’m going to say.”

It's clear that there's something going on with Randy and Evi that is altering their mental state, but we just hope that whatever happens, they stay safe.