Randy Quaid

Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor. He was born in Houston, Texas, and is the older brother of fellow actor Dennis Quaid.

Career history

Feature films

In a career that spans over 30 years, he has appeared in over 90 movies. Peter Bogdanovich discovered him when Quaid was a student at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He got his first exposure (in more ways than one) in The Last Picture Show, when escorting Jacy Farrow (played by Cybill Shepherd) to late-night indoor skinny dipping at a swimming pool. It was the first of several roles he has had which were directed by Bogdanovich and/or based on the writings of Larry McMurtry.

File:Cousin Eddie.jpg

Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Quaid appeared in several National Lampoon's Vacation movies where he proved an impressive scene-stealer as "Cousin Eddie", the dim-witted, bucolic in-law of Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase). He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Last Detail (1973) and won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years (1987). He was featured (with Margaret Colin) in two science fiction movies, the unsuccessful Martians Go Home and very successful Independence Day. Other movies include Kingpin, where he played the lovable Amish bowler Ishmael, alongside Woody Harrelson and Weird Science (the television version) cast member Vanessa Angel; a loser father in Not Another Teen Movie; and an obnoxious neighbor to Richard Pryor's character in Moving. Quaid is often considered to be at his best when portraying either drunks or rednecks.

More recently, he had a supporting role in Brokeback Mountain (2005) in which he played a homophobic rancher whose two male employees are the movie's main characters. On March 23, 2006, Quaid filed a lawsuit for $10 million plus punitive damages against Focus Features (LLC), Del Mar Productions (LLC), James Schamus, David Linde, alleging that they both intentionally and negligently misrepresented Brokeback Mountain as being, "a low-budget, art house film with no prospect of making any money" in order to secure Quaid's professional acting services at a considerably lower rate to his usual fee. Quaid was also upset because he claims that he was originally tapped to direct the film. Bringing in Ang Lee to direct was, in Quaid's words, "a direct slap in the face to all that I have worked for in this industry". The film then grossed over $160 million. The lawsuit was closely monitored by many actors who forgo their usual fees to make low-budget movies they believe have artistic merit. On May 5, 2006, Quaid announced that he was dropping his lawsuit.

Television

Quaid's television appearances include a season as a Saturday Night Live cast member (1985–1986), the role of real-life gunslinger John Wesley Hardin in the miniseries Streets of Laredo, and starring roles in the short-lived series The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire (2003) and Davis Rules (1991-1992). He was featured in the highly-rated TV movies 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.

He also provided the voice of an animated Colonel Sanders character in a series of television commercials for fried chicken restaurant chain KFC.

Filmography

• Targets (1968)
• The Last Picture Show (1971)
• What's Up, Doc? (1972)
• Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
• Paper Moon (1973)
• The Last Detail (1973)
• The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
• Breakout (1975)
• The Missouri Breaks (1976)
• Bound for Glory (1976)
• The Choirboys (1977)
• Three Warriors (1978)
• Midnight Express (1978)
• Breaking Away (1979)
• Foxes (1980)
• The Long Riders (1980)
• Heartbeeps (1981)
• National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
• The Wild Life (1984)
• The Slugger's Wife (1985)
• Fool for Love (1985)
• The Wraith (1986)
• Sweet Country (1987)
• No Man's Land (1987)
• Moving (1988)
• Caddyshack II (1988)
• Parents (1989)
• Out Cold (1989)
• Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
• Cold Dog Soup (1990)
• Martians Go Home (1990)
• Days of Thunder (1990)
• Quick Change (1990)
• Texasville (1990)
• Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas (1991) (documentary)
• Freaked (1993)
• The Paper (1994)
• Major League II (1994)
• Curse of the Starving Class (1994)
• Bye Bye Love (1995)
• Last Dance (1996)
• The Siege at Ruby Ridge (1996)
• Independence Day (1996)
• Kingpin (1996)
• Get on the Bus (1996)
• Vegas Vacation (1997)
• Bug Buster (1998)
• Hard Rain (1998)
• The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns (1999)....Jack Woods
• P.U.N.K.S. (1999)
• The Debtors (1999)
• Purgatory (1999)
• George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (2000) (documentary) (narrator)
• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000)
• Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
• Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002)
• The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
• Milwaukee, Minnesota (2003)
• Kart Racer (2003)
• Carolina (2003)
• Grind (2003)
• Black Cadillac (2003)
• Home on the Range (2004) (voice)
• Brokeback Mountain (2005)
• The Ice Harvest (2005)
• Blade: The Series (2006)
• Goya's Ghosts (2006)
• Last Flag Flying (2007)

Recurring Characters on SNL

• The Floating Head: A Rod Serling-esque character in the Twilight Zone parody, "The Limits of the Imagination"
• Rudy Randolph, Jr.: A pitchman dressed as a cowboy who sells irregular merchandise (e.g. furniture from the Gulf Coast that smells like dead bodies) or treasures from dictators (e.g. Ferdinand Marcos's clothes). Often paired with Rudy Randolph III (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) The name is a spin on Quaid's real name.

Celebrity Impersonations

• Bob Guccione
• Ed McMahon
• Lyle Alzado
• John F. Kennedy
• Ronald Reagan (often paired up with Terry Sweeney's Nancy Reagan)
• Roy Orbison
• Lyndon La Rouche
• Gregory Peck
• Joaquin Andujar

References

• "WCBS Newsradio article - Randy Quaid drops lawsuit over "Brokeback Mountain" pay". Retrieved 2006-11-29.

External links

• Randy Quaid at IMDb