Randy Quaid fined, banned for life by actors' union over Seattle imbroglio

Randy Quaid has been banned for life from Actors' Equity Association as the result of fellow actors' official complaints about his behavior during the 2007 run of "Lone Star Love" at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, reported The New York Post and Reuters this week.

The Post reported that he was fined $81,572 by the union for his actions here, the equivalent of two weeks' salary for the cast; all 26 members of the cast brought charges against Quaid, reported the Post, maintaining that he "physically and verbally abused his fellow performers and that his oddball behavior forced the show to close."

Rumors about Quaid's backstage behavior and that of his wife, Evi Quaid, circulated throughout the theater community during the 5th Avenue's September stand of "Lone Star Love." Citing illness, Quaid missed the final week of performances for the show, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" that received lukewarm reviews.

5th Avenue Theatre artistic director David Armstrong told The Seattle Times last fall that he took the unusual, somewhat surprising step of making some remarks critical of Quaid's professionalism at the show's final performance here. "I wanted to acknowledge the [rest of the] company, who were a class act," Armstrong said. "They worked very hard under very, very difficult conditions."

Equity's ruling was decided in Los Angeles by a five-member hearing committee, said Equity spokeswoman Maria Somma, who would not comment on specifics of the case but did say the ruling can be appealed.

Reacting to Equity's decision, Quaid said, "I am guilty of only one thing: Giving a performance that elicited a response so deeply felt by the actors and producers with little experience of my creative process that they actually think I am Falstaff."

A planned run on Broadway of "Lone Star Love" was canceled immediately after the rocky Seattle run. The New York Post also reported that on Jan. 25, after actors from the show filed the Equity charges against Quaid, Evi Quaid appeared at Equity's offices in Los Angeles and demanded documents for the hearing. There was a physical altercation, which resulted in four Equity staffers getting temporary restraining orders against Evi Quaid, and Evi Quaid obtaining a restraining order against Equity, according to documents filed by the parties in California Superior Court.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com