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Randy Quaid's Antics Lead to Banishment from Union
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 7, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 7, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Photograph of Randy Quaid with Long Star Love co-stars by May Parton
If the would-be Broadway-bound musical Lone Star Love is half as entertaining as the backstage drama, then sign us up: Randy Quaid, the show’s former star, has been banned from the Actors' Equity union for life because of abusive, lewd and just plain crazy behavior during the show’s Seattle run. Quaid has also been fined $81,572, which equals two weeks pay for the cast of the $6.5 million show; producers claim they had to prematurely close because of Quaid’s hi jinks. The Post’s Michael Riedel got the rap sheet:
- Quaid hit an actor on the back of the head four times during performances. When the stage manager told him to stop, he smacked the actor again.
- Another actor was warned that if he made direct eye contact with Quaid onstage, he'd be fired.
- Quaid made "sexually inappropriate" comments onstage, repeatedly referring to an actress' musical instruments as her "gynecological instruments."
- The couple tried to rewrite the script, to eliminate characters.
- Randy "felt free" to change blocking, lyrics and lines during performances, and repeatedly failed to show up for note sessions and rehearsals.
Quaid says the actors are part of a “pinko-commie organization” trying to destroy him. And it gets even better: Sources tell TMZ that Quaid’s wife Evi turned up at the Equity hearing for Quaid and “berated several Equity staff members, including a 76-year-old receptionist whom she allegedly kicked in the shins, drawing blood.” Evi says Equity staffers broke her finger while trying to bar her from the meeting; others say she was a screaming lunatic raving about a “Nazi plot” against her husband. (Are they commies or Nazis? Try to stay on message, Quaids.)
Riedel also hears that Evi e-mailed several actors in Lone Star Love, threatening to sue them unless they dropped the charges: “You have one last chance to stop this onerous campaign or else you will be drawn into a legal quagmire.” And she's even been on a calling campaign against the Commie Nazis; one actor reports trying to end an angry telephone harangue from Evi by saying, “I'd like to terminate this call.” Evi allegedly responded, “I'd like to terminate your existence on this planet.”
By the way, the couple's roots are in Broadway, so to speak - they met while Quaid was filming The Bloodhounds of Broadway (Evi was his driver).
Update: The Quaid's lawyer sent letters to The Post and Back Stage East to clarify some details - check it out here.
Tagged
actors' equity
banned
broadway
crazy
Evi
fined
Lone Star
Lone Star Love
love
michael riedel
Randi Quaid
Randy Quaid
seattle
the post
the shins
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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