Randy Quaid and his wife Evi have been arrested again by the California police. According to news reports, Mr. and Mrs. Quaid not only gained access to this Santa Barbara County home -- apparently up for sale, there's a realtor who is talking to the tabloids (gotta love that, right?) -- Randy and Evi hung their portrait above the fireplace.
When confronted, they claimed to own the property -- but that was soon refuted by the owner and some annoying property records. Randy and Evi Quaid sit in a Santa Barbara County jail as I type this.
What Is Going On With Randy and Evi Quaid?
I do not understand how these two are roaming around - still - when it seems pretty obvious that there's some serious psychological trouble here (the TMZ commenters are less tactful than I am: they just label Evi a "nutjob"). Randy apparently carved his initials into the mailbox. The couple had set up house here, too: at the time of arrest, there were dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and clothes were already hung in the closet. Did they really think they could hang there indefinitely?
Here's my question: didn't they have any other place to go? Have they already alienated all their friends and family (this happens, you know). According to IMDB, Randy has been barred from the Actor's Equity Association, but the site also shows some very nice salaries -- including $1,000,000 for Goya's Ghosts (2006).
Are they broke? Homeless?
The Santa Barbara cops busted Randy and Evi Quaid on felony burglary charges and each also face a misdemeanor charge of entering a building without consent. Evi has a third charge: resisting arrest (no surprise there). It's a misdemeanor, too.
As you will remember, Randy and Evi have been arrested in the not-too-distant past: just this past April, in fact. They purportedly skipped on paying a hotel bill ....
Each is being held on a $50,000 bail. That's not much.
Randy and Evi Quaid are Lucky They Were Busted in California, not Texas -- or are they?
With California's history of treating celebrities differently (think Paris Hilton, think Lindsay Lohan) the Quaids are probably thought by many to be lucky that they're dealing with California authorities.
Because here in Texas, I'm betting that we'd already be hearing something about psychological evaluations and drug tests and hair follicle analysis. Adult Protective Services, Guardianships, these things come to mind. A bigger bail to make sure some kind of investigation could be put in place before they were free on the streets again.
Cuz Randy Quaid and his wife Evi aren't acting in their own best interests, and maybe they're even getting close to crossing the line of becoming a danger to themselves or others (legal terms italicized).
Doesn't look like celebrity status is doing much to help them here, and I worry that if someone doesn't step in soon, we're gonna be talking tragedy.
So, while this story will be the butt of some late night jokes, I'm sitting here thinking Too Bad. Randy Quaid needs some help - and some respect. He's been nominated for an Oscar and he's built an impressive body of work.