Randy Quaid

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My my, a very interesting story has been developing around Randy Quaid these past few weeks...

"We feel our lives are in danger," she said. "Randy has known eight close friends murdered in odd, strange manners ... We feel that we're next."

"We are requesting asylum from Hollywood star whackers,"

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/8084954/Randy-Quaid-seeks-asylum-in-Canada-over-Hollywood-death-list-claim.html

Randy Quaid seeks asylum in Canada over 'Hollywood death list' claim

Randy Quaid, the actor, and his wife Evi are seeking asylum in Canada claiming they are on a Hollywood celebrity death list.

The American couple were arrested in Vancouver last week on US arrest warrants related to allegations that they vandalised their former home in Santa Barbara, California.

However, when they were brought before an immigration hearing on Friday, the pair said they wanted to stay in Canada because they believe their “lives are in danger”.

They warned they are at risk from “Hollywood star whackers”, who they claim are responsible for the recent deaths of several of Mr Quaid’s actor friends, including Heath Ledger and David Carradine.

"We feel our lives are in danger," Mrs Quaid told the Immigration and Refugee Board hearing.

"Randy has known eight close friends murdered in odd, strange manners. We feel that we're next."

Arrest warrants were issued for the pair after they failed to attend a US court appearance last week on charges of squatting in their former home.

They were arrested in September on suspicion of burglary and entering a building without consent, while Mrs Quaid faces a further charge of resisting arrest.

It is alleged that they caused more than $5,000 (£3,188) damage to the property in Santa Barbara, which they claim belongs to them.

The Quaids were released from custody following the immigration hearing on a C$10,000 cash bond and are due attend a further hearing on Thursday.

Following Friday’s hearing, their lawyer, Brian Tsuji, delivered a statement from the couple, saying: "Yes, we are seeking asylum from Hollywood star whackers."

Mr Quaid, famous for his roles in The Last Picture Show, Independence Day and National Lampoon's Vacation, claimed he has been persecuted for 20 years in the US.

Ledger, with whom Quaid appeared in Brokeback Mountain, died in January 2008 from an accidental overdose, aged 28.

Kill Bill star Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room last year. A pathologist concluded the 72-year-old had died from asphyxiation.

Mr Quaid, who is the brother of actor Dennis Quaid, and his wife had been in Canada almost a week when they were arrested.

The couple said they came to Canada to relax, and were talking with a lawyer in Vancouver about moving to the country when they learned the warrant had been issued.

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...and another story pre-dating the first; creepy the ways the media try and mold opinion

abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wrong-randy-quaid-actor-wife-skip-court-date/story?id=11916425&page=2

Courting Disaster: What Went Wrong With Randy Quaid

Is there an explanation for the renegade behavior of the actor and his wife?

"Lights, camera, action!" is music to the ears of movie actors. Unfortunately, the same phrase also works well when those celebrities get asked to pose for mug shots.

Actor Randy Quaid -- the older brother of actor Dennis Quaid -- and Randy's wife, Evi, have matched sets of police-station photos. But the public may know them best, not for their legal transgressions but for their habit of not showing up in court when the law summons them.

Their latest bad?

The Associated Press reported Monday that a judge issued two $50,000 arrest warrants for the Quaids, who were no-shows at a court hearing related to their arrests last month on suspicion that they illegally squatted at the guest house of a Montecito home they once owned. Each Quaid faces a felony vandalism charge.

Santa Barbara Senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter told ABCNews.com, "At the moment, the district attorney's office has no information as to their whereabouts."

How did Quaid go from popular character actor to someone who takes up residence in someone else's house?

According to a November 2009 People magazine article, published about six weeks after the Quaids were arrested in Texas "for allegedly running out on a $10,000 hotel bill at the exclusive San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California," friends of the couple pinpointed an event that initiated the downward spiral.

"Friends believe the Quaids' downward spin began after a dispute with the Actors' Equity Association," reported People. At the time, Quaid was starring in the musical "Lone Star Love" in Seattle.

"In October 2007, 23 AEA members filed complaints with the organization, claiming Randy was exhibiting oddball behavior and missing rehearsals. He was subsequently banned from the organization," reported People.

The article noted that the couple had hired Becky Altringer, a private investigator to investigate the actors who made complaints about them. Altringer told People, "After that, [Evi] flipped. That's when she started saying everyone was against them, and now she's saying I'm against them." Altringer is reportedly suing the couple for breach of contract to recoup $19,000 she says she's owed.

Did Peers Influence Quaids' Behavior?

In the article, a longtime friend of the couple, said: "Randy always had a good reputation. He was so sad when he talked about [the incident in Seattle]." But the story also revealed that in 2008, a management consultant contracted to AEA was granted a restraining order by a Los Angeles court, after she said the Quaids had come to her office and threatened her.

Another longtime friend of the couple also claims being "threatened" by Evi. Regarding Randy, other friends said they "can't reconcile the man they see in the mug shot with the 'teddy bear' they know." Did these seemingly incendiary events, related to the couple's behavior, help create a trajectory to the legal issues the couple faces now?

It may be impossible to connect the dots, but other experts have weighed in about the missed court dates.

"It amounts to pretending that something distressing doesn't exist, otherwise called denial," said Paul S. Appelbaum, a psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry, medicine and law at Columbia University. "At some level, most people will register that the summons to appear in court is for them, but it's what the mind does with that information that's important."

Appelbaum noted that peer groups can influence how people respond to court dates by saying, "Oh, you don't have to go." And, in some cases, he said, all you need for a peer group is one person, who can be your spouse or other intimate.

Another factor that can create a no-show mindset is how much they once got away with. "People who are talented, smart or athletically gifted are often allowed to avoid unpleasant realities," said Appelbaum, noting it might be something as simple as being excused from chores because you're in a school play.

"Once you feel entitled, it's very hard to think of yourself as unentitled, even if you're not in demand or fielding phone calls," said Jim Cohen, a professor of criminal law at Fordham Law School whose expertise is psychology and criminal law. "People who consider themselves entitled are not happy being told what to do."