Star Fall

When was the last time you saw Randy Quaid? We would all like to believe that your last memory of Dennis's brother was in the critically acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain," and not the 2009 opus, "Balls Out: Gary The Tennis Coach." But since Randy is the veteran of one hundred fifteen films, it might be hard to sort out your perception of one of Hollywood's most durable character actors. Maybe you remember his turns as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon Vacation series. Or you probably saw him as Russell Casse the itinerant drunk crop duster in "Independence Day." Did you see his Lenny to Robert Blake's George in the TV version of "Of Mice and Men?"
I remember some of his earliest work best. In "The Last Picture Show," he added just the right amount of schlub to Lester Marlow, Jacy's escort to the Christmas party. My favorite Randy Quaid performance was the Navy Seaman Larry Meadows, being escorted to the brig by Jack Nicholson and Otis Young in "The Last Detail." That was more than forty years ago, but I still remember just how much pathos that big, goofy guy packed into that role. If you haven't seen it, and you're a fan of early seventies cinema, you owe it to yourself to check out this slice of life from director Hal Ashby.
Of course, you might also be aware of Randy's off-screen struggles. Some say they mirror those of misunderstood Independence Day hero, Russell Casse. In spite or perhaps because of his celebrity, Randy feels that he and his wife are in danger. He believes the same bad guys who killed Heath Ledger and David Carradine are after him. That's why he fled to Canada, where he was detained by border guards in Vermont. Somebody had issued warrants for the couple's arrest back in California. Part of the conspiracy? Or part of a twisted bit of reality that had them squatting in a home they had previously owned. Perhaps Randy and his wife Evi are running away not from bad guys but from their own mismanaged finances.
How does someone who once sat near the top of his profession, an Academy Award nominated actor, featured in more than one hundred films, end up homeless? It would be so much easier to blame evil forces that have conspired to bring them low, rather than the sad potential of a downward spiral. Who knows, maybe Randy will eventually star in the big screen comeback action adventure, "Star Whackers." Or maybe he'll be signing DVDs out on the prison yard for the next few years. Stay tuned.