What happened to Randy Quaid? How is he doing after arrest?

 

Who is Randy Quaid?

American actor Randy Randall Rudy Quaid was born in Houston, Texas USA, on 1 October 1950, making Libra his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in nearly 120 TV series and movies, probably still best known for playing Russell Casse in the 1996 action science fiction adventure movie “Independence Day”, which Roland Emmerich wrote and directed, and which starred Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Will Smith. It follows the united humans as they’re standing against alien invaders, and the movie won 36 of its 71 award nominations, including an Oscar Award for Best Effects, Visual Effects.

Education and early life

Randy and his younger brother Dennis Quad, who’s today also a famous actor, were raised in Bellaire, Texas by their father William Rudy Quaid who was an electrician, and passed away on 8 February 1987, and mother Juanita Bonniedale ‘Nita’ (nee Jordan) who was a real estate agent.

Randy was persuaded by a friend to take an acting class while attending high school, and didn’t expect that he would fall in love with it, but after only three lessons, he chose to pursue a career in the film industry. Randy matriculated in 1969 and then enrolled at the University of Houston; his drama professor helped him meet American-Serbian screenwriter, director and actor Peter Bogdanovich, who then cast Randy in his first movie: the 1971 romantic drama “The Last Picture Show”, which won 21 of its 43 award nominations, including two Oscar wins for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Cloris Leachman) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ben Johnson).

Randy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1973, and then focused on acting.

Roles in TV series

Randy’s mostly appeared in movies, and hasn’t had many roles in TV series.

His debut TV series role was playing John in the 1972 episode “Lindemann’s Catch” of the fantasy horror “Night Gallery”, and from 1985 through 1991 (his following role), he played various characters in 18 episodes of the critically acclaimed comedy “Saturday Night Live”, which has been airing since 1975, and has won 297 of its 852 award nominations.

In 1991 and 1992, he starred as Dwight Davis in the popular comedy “Davis Rules”, created by Danny Jacobson and Norma Safford Vela, and which also starred Luke Edwards and Tamayo Otsuki. It follows the life of widower and elementary school principal Dwight Davis, and the series won four of its seven award nominations. The remainder of the ‘90s saw Randy appear in an episode or two of several series, such as the crime thriller “Murder in the Heartland”, the adventure “Tales of the Wild”, and the western “Streets of Laredo”.

In 2003, Randy played Chief Hank Shaw in the drama “The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire”, starring alongside John Carroll Lynch and Mare Winningham; it follows the members of the Shaw family, and the series was nominated for only a single award.

He’s since appeared in only three TV series, all in 2005: five episodes of the action mystery mini-series “5ive Days to Midnight”, two episodes of the biographical musical drama “Elvis”, and two episodes of the action adventure “Category 7: The End of the World”.

Roles in movies

Randy played Herbie in the 1972 comedy “Getting Away from It All”, and some of his following roles were in the 1973 crime action “Lolly-Madonna XXX”, the 1974 drama “The Great Niagara”, and the 1977 crime comedy “The Choirboys”.

In 1984, he portrayed Harold ‘Mitch’ Mitchell in the popular drama “A Streetcar Named Desire”, directed by John Erman, and which starred Ann-Margret, Treat Williams and Beverly D’Angelo. It follows Blanche Dubois who’s come to visit her sister in New Orleans, and has learned that she’s facing issues in life; the movie won 10 of its 19 award nominations. Some of Randy’s other notable performances in the ‘80s were in the ‘86 romantic action horror “The Wraith”, the ‘87 crime thriller “No Man’s Land” and the ‘88 sports drama “Dead Solid Perfect”.

The year 1995 saw him play the main character Vic Damico in the romantic comedy “Bye Bye Love”, directed by Sam Weisman, and which also starred Matthew Modine and Paul Reiser. It follows the lives of three divorced men, and the film was nominated for two awards. Some of Randy’s following roles were in the 1997 comedy “Vegas Vacation”, the 1999 comedy “The Debtors”, and the 2000 musical “Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits”.

In 2003, Randy played the main character Charlie in the horror thriller “Black Cadillac”, written and directed by John Murlowski, and which also starred Shane Johnson and Josh Hammond. It follows three men in a car as they’re being chased by a mysterious man.

His final three roles, prior to disappearing from the film industry, were in the 2006 biographical historical drama “Goya’s Ghosts”, the 2008 comedy “Real Time”, and the 2009 sports comedy “Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach”; he returned for a single role in 2018, when he played Gordon in the comedy “All You Can Eat”.

Other roles

Randy received special thanks for the 1996 romantic comedy thriller “Mojave Moon”.

He produced the 1999 comedy movie “The Debtors”, and wrote and produced the 2011 documentary film “Star Whackers”.

Some of his recent talk-show appearances have been in “Access Hollywood”, “Good Morning America” and “Hollywood Insider”.

Awards and nominations

Randy’s won eight of his 26 award nominations, including a 1974 Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his performance in “The Last Detail”.

Some of his wins include a 1998 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, for “LBJ: The Early Years”, a 1990 Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for “Parents”, and a 2005 Satellite Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series, for “Elvis”.

Legal Issues

Randy’s been arrested on a number of occasions, often together with his wife Evi Motolanez.

He and Evi were arrested for defrauding an innkeeper in 2009, after they used an invalid credit card to pay a bill; the case against Randy was dismissed, but Evi was ordered to do 240 hours of community service, and was put on probation for three years.

The two were charged with burglary in September 2010, after they spent five days at their former home in Santa Barbara – Randy and Evi claimed that they hadn’t sold the house, and that their signatures were forged. They failed to appear at court, and were thus arrested at the Canadian-American border on their US warrants in October of the same year.

Randy was arrested in 2013 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for not having done the non-resident check-in.

#RandyQuaid now facing deportation in Canada after fleeing the U.S. with his wife in 2010. http://t.co/HN4yCOMPyk pic.twitter.com/gMCbIUYpri

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) October 8, 2015

Love life and wife

Randy’s married twice. His first wife was American former model Ella Marie Jolly; the two exchanged vows on 11 May 1980, and their daughter Amanda Marie was born on 29 May 1983. Randy and Ella split on 9 September 1986, and their divorce was finalized three years later.

He and American actress Evi Motolanez met on the set of the comedy movie “Bloodhounds of Broadway” in December 1987, and married on 5 October 1989; they’ve been together ever since.

Randy’s yet to speak about other women whom he’s maybe been with, he’s married to his second wife Evi Motolanez as of April 2023, and has a daughter with his former wife Ella Marie Jolly.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Randy supported Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential election, and believes that the 2020 election was a fraud; Trump used Twitter to thank Randy for supporting him.

He’s highly active on Twitter, and has tweeted close to 5,000 times since the launch of his account in January 2015; more than 800,000 people are following Randy on the network today, and many of his tweets are related to politics.

Randy and his second wife Evi actually married thrice: the first time in Monticeto, California, the second in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and the third in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

He and Evi both sought asylum in Canada; Evi became a Canadian citizen in 2011, while Randy’s request was denied in January 2013.

His favorite actor’s Johnny Depp, while some of Randy’s favorite movies include “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Sleepy Hollow”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Randy’s age is 72. He has brown eyes and hair, is 6ft 5ins (1.96m) tall and weighs around 240lbs (110kgs).

Randy’s net worth’s been estimated at less than $1 million as of April 2023.