Randy Quaid, Wife Arrested Over Hotel Bill
Actor, wife arrested in Texas amid allegation they stiffed luxury Calif. hotel.
MARFA, Texas, Sept. 24, 2009 — -- Actor Randy Quaid and his wife have beenarrested in West Texas for allegedly skipping out on a $10,000California hotel bill.
Quaid and his wife, Evi, were taken into custody Thursdayafternoon, according to Santa Barbara County sheriff's officials,who said authorities in West Texas informed them of the arrest. Astatement from the California agency said it was told by thePresidio County Sheriff's Department that Evi Quaid was restrainedafter a brief struggle.
Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez declined to respond toquestions from The Associated Press.
Presidio County authorities said earlier Thursday that the twowere in custody in Marfa but the department wasn't releasing otherdetails.
Santa Barbara County's sheriff's spokesman Drew Sugars says thewarrant for Quaid and his wife set bail at $20,000 each. The felonywarrant is for burglary, defrauding an innkeeper and conspiracy.
He says detectives haven't been able to interview the actor yet.
A message left for Randy Quaid's commercial agent, StevenArcieri, was not immediately returned.
Quaid won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Emmy forhis portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson in "LBJ: The EarlyYears"; but he's perhaps best known for his roles in the"National Lampoon's Vacation" movies, "Independence Day" and"Kingpin."
He also played a hard-nosed sheep rancher in "BrokebackMountain," then sued Focus Features and the film's producers in2006, claiming he was compelled to work cheaply when told the film- which earned $82 million at the domestic box office - had noprospects of making money.
Quaid is a native Texan and the older brother of actor DennisQuaid.
Marfa, a remote West Texas town, is no stranger to Hollywoodattention.
More than 50 years ago, filmmaker George Stevens settled on thearea for his epic Texas oil tale "Giant," which starred RockHudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. (Stevens won a bestdirector Oscar for "Giant" in 1957, the only win of that film's10 nominations).
More recently, "There Will be Blood" and "No Country for OldMen" were filmed in the desolate town of 2,100, founded as arailroad stop in 1883.