- Dennis Quaid
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Dennis Quaid 
Quaid in 1991Born Dennis William Quaid
April 9, 1954
Houston, Texas, U.S.Occupation Actor Years active 1975–present Spouse - P. J. Soles (1978–1983; divorced)
- Meg Ryan (1991–2001; divorced)
- Kimberly Buffington (2004–present)
Relatives Randy Quaid (brother) Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder. Some of his notable credits include Jaws 3-D, The Right Stuff, Great Balls of Fire!, The Big Easy, Far from Heaven, The Rookie, The Day After Tomorrow, The Parent Trap, Soul Surfer and Frequency.
Contents
Early life
Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" (née Jordan), a real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid (November 21, 1923 – February 8, 1987), an electrician and a third cousin of performer Gene Autry.[1] He is the younger brother of actor Randy Quaid. The Quaid brothers grew up in Bellaire, Texas, which is a small city surrounded by Houston, and in southwest Houston. Quaid has Irish and Cajun (French) ancestry.[2] He attended Paul W. Horn Elementary School in Bellaire and Pershing Middle School in Houston. He studied Mandarin and dance at Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, and later in college, at the University of Houston, under drama coach Cecil Pickett, who had previously taught at Bellaire High and whose daughter is actress Cindy Pickett.
Career
After his brother, Randy, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Last Detail (1973), Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career of his own.[2] He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned good reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983).[2]
Known for his grin,[3] Quaid has appeared in both comedic and dramatic roles.[2] Quaid had starring roles in the films Enemy Mine (1985) and Innerspace (1987). He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989).[2] In 1989, he also appeared throughout the Bonnie Raitt music video for the song "Thing Called Love."[4]
Quaid's career lost steam in the early 1990s, after he fought anorexia nervosa and kicked a cocaine addiction.[2] He continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films, however, such as Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp (1994).[2] Quaid was also the guest star of a season 2 episode of Muppets Tonight (1997). He starred in the remake of The Parent Trap (1998), playing the part of the twins' father, and as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999). Some of Quaid's more recent film credits include Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), Far From Heaven (2002), The Flight of the Phoenix (2004), In Good Company (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Yours, Mine and Ours (2005), Vantage Point (2008), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), and Pandorum (2009).
In 2009, Quaid guest starred in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, playing Mr. Krabs' grandfather, Captain Redbeard.
He portrayed U.S. President Bill Clinton, alongside Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, in the 2010 film The Special Relationship.
Awards
For his role in Far from Heaven (2002) he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Golden Globe Awards, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Personal life
Quaid golfing in 2006.
Quaid was raised in the Baptist faith.[5][6]
Quaid and actress P. J. Soles were married on November 25, 1978. The couple were divorced on January 23, 1983.
On February 14, 1991, he and Meg Ryan were married. Quaid and Ryan have a son, Jack Henry (born April 24, 1992). They were divorced on July 16, 2001. In a 2008 interview with Insight, Ryan stated "Dennis was not faithful to me for a very long time, and that was very painful. I found out more about that after I was divorced."[7]
Quaid dated Shanna Moakler in 2001. They were together when she was approached by Playboy and they discussed it before she posed nude in the magazine.[8] The relationship lasted for eight months.[9]
Quaid married Kimberly Buffington, an Austin, Texas, real-estate agent, on July 4, 2004 at his ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana.[10] The couple had twins, born via a gestational carrier, on November 8, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. Their son Thomas Boone was born first at 8:26 am and weighed six pounds, twelve ounces (3.06 kg). Daughter Zoe Grace was born two minutes later weighing five pounds, nine ounces (2.52 kg).[11][12]
On November 18, 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave Quaid's ten-day-old twins a dosage of heparin 1,000 times the common dosage for infants.[13][14] Their attorney said the newborns will "be fine now", but Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare, claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough.[15] In May 2008, the Quaids testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asking U.S. Congress not to preempt the right to sue drug manufacturers for negligence under state law.[16]
In October 2009, Dennis Quaid narrowly avoided being arrested for DUI, when a police officer managed to persuade him to get out of his car and get a cab.[17]
In addition to acting, Quaid is a musician and plays with his band, the Sharks. Quaid also has a pilot's license and is a scratch golfer. In 2005, he was named as the top golfer among the "Hollywood set" by Golf Digest.
After the filming of The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Quaid went to Cleveland Browns Stadium to dedicate Davis's jersey.
There have been extensive stories about Quaid's past abuse of cocaine. In a candid 2002 interview with Larry King on his talk show, after King asked about his motives for using drugs, Quaid responded, "Well, you got to put it in context. Back in the late '60s, early '70s. That was back during the time where, you know, drugs were going to expand our minds and everybody was experimenting and everything. We were really getting high, we didn't know it. And cocaine at that time was considered harmless. You know. I remember magazine articles in 'People' Magazine of doctors saying, it is not addicting. It is just—alcohol is worse. So I think we all fell into that. But that's not the way it was."
When asked if he believed he had ever been addicted to the drug, he responded, "It was a gradual thing. But it got to the point where I couldn't have any fun unless I had it. Which is a bad place to be." Later in the interview he said, "But I saw myself being dead in about five years if I didn't stop."[18]
In April 2011, while promoting his film, Soul Surfer, Quaid was very candid when it came to questions regarding his past drug abuse. Quaid blamed his sudden thrust into the Hollywood scene for his trouble with cocaine. He said, "Coming from where I came from - lower-middle-class life, from Houston into Hollywood - and all of a sudden this success starts happening to you, I just didn't know how to handle that." Quaid also made bold accusations about the American film industry in the 1970s, claiming, "Cocaine was even in the budgets of movies, thinly disguised...It was petty cash, you know? It was supplied, basically, on movie sets because everyone was doing it." On his addiction, Quaid said, "I'd wake up, snort a line, and swear I wasn't going to do it again that day...but then 4 o'clock rolled around, and I'd be right back down the same road like a little squirrel on one of those treadmills."[19]
Charities
Quaid lends his name to the annual "Dennis Quaid Charity Weekend" (formerly the "Jiffy Lube/Dennis Quaid Charity Classic") in Austin. The golf tournament attracts numerous celebrities with the proceeds split among local children's charities. He is a member of the Bel-Air Country Club in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California, and tries to stay at homes on private courses when he is on the road.
Quaid works with the International Hospital for Children in New Orleans, Louisiana. He makes trips to Central America to help build medical clinics and transport sick children back to the U.S. for treatment they cannot get locally.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes 1975 Crazy Mama Bellhop (uncredited) 1977 I Never Promised You a Rose Garden Shark, Baseball Pitcher September 30, 1955 Frank 1978 Our Winning Season Paul Morelli The Seniors Alan 1979 Breaking Away Mike 1980 The Long Riders Ed Miller Gorp Mad Grossman 1981 All Night Long Freddie Dupler Caveman Lar The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia Travis Child Stripes Extra at Graduation Ceremony (uncredited) 1983 Tough Enough Art Long Jaws 3-D Michael 'Mike' Brody The Right Stuff Gordon Cooper 1984 Dreamscape Alex Gardner 1985 Enemy Mine Willis Davidge 1987 The Big Easy Det. Remy McSwain Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male
Valladolid International Film Festival Award for Best ActorInnerspace Lt. Tuck Pendleton Suspect Eddie Sanger 1988 D.O.A. Dexter Cornell Everybody's All-American Gavin Grey 1989 Great Balls of Fire! Jerry Lee Lewis 1990 Come See The Paradise Jack McGurn Postcards from the Edge Jack Faulkner 1993 Wilder Napalm Wallace Foudroyant/Biff the Clown Undercover Blues Jefferson 'Jeff' Blue Flesh and Bone Arlis Sweeney 1994 A Century of Cinema Himself (documentary) Wyatt Earp Doc Holliday 1995 Something to Talk About Eddie Bichon 1996 Dragonheart Bowen 1997 Gang Related Joe Doe/William Switchback Frank LaCrosse 1998 Savior Joshua Rose/Guy The Parent Trap Nick Parker Playing by Heart Hugh 1999 Any Given Sunday Jack 'Cap' Rooney 2000 Frequency Frank Sullivan Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Suspense
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting ActorTraffic Arnie Metzger Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2001 Dinner with Friends Gabe 2002 The Rookie Jim Morris Far from Heaven Frank Whitaker Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role2003 Cold Creek Manor Cooper Tilson 2004 The Alamo Sam Houston The Day After Tomorrow Jack Hall In Good Company Dan Foreman Flight of the Phoenix Frank Towns 2005 Yours, Mine and Ours Frank Beardsley 2006 American Dreamz President Joseph Staton 2007 Battle for Terra Roven (voice) 2008 Vantage Point Thomas Barnes Smart People Lawrence Wetherhold The Express Ben Schwartzwalder 2009 Horsemen Aidan Breslin G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra General Hawk Pandorum Payton 2010 Legion Bob Hanson The Special Relationship Bill Clinton released May 29, 2010 on HBO
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie2011 Soul Surfer Tom Hamilton Footloose Rev. Shaw Moore 2012 Beneath the Darkness Vaughn Ely post-production Playing the Field filming What To Expect When You're Expecting Ramsey filming The Words Clay Hammond filming References
- ^ "Dennis Quaid Biography (1954–)". FilmReference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/22/Dennis-Quaid.html. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Stated in interview at Inside the Actors Studio.
- ^ Lyman, Rick (November 14, 2002). "Dennis Quaid's Second Reel: The Comeback". New York Times (New York). ISSN 0362-4331. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E1DB1F31F937A25752C1A9649C8B63. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- ^ Bonnie Raitt - "Thing Called Love" music video on YouTube (official VEVO version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krF6LpUXODc
- ^ 'It's All God': Interview with Dennis Quaid
- ^ Peter T. Chattaway (November 21, 2005). "Mr. Versatile 'Christianity Today'". Christianitytoday.com. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/interviews/2005/dennisquaid.html. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ "Meg Ryan says Dennis Quaid cheated on her". MSN. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26859077/ns/today-entertainment.
- ^ "Shanna Moakler". Extra TV. 2001-10-26. http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/reframe.html?http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/dailynews/extra/10_01/10_26b.html. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
- ^ "Shanna Moakler is Devastated over Split". CelebSpin. 2006-08-11. http://www.celebspin.com/shanna-moakler-is-devastated-over-split/. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
- ^ Keeps, David A. (April 2006). "Dennis Quaid". Best Life (Emmaus, PA) III (3): 22–25. http://books.google.com/books?id=JscDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=Dennis+Quaid+montana&source=bl&ots=SdrQT4gJBK&sig=dF_19QnZhvb7qe5nPQKOfnQo6wc&hl=en&ei=76M-TuG6C_OBsgLPzJ3FBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Dennis%20Quaid%20montana&f=false. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ "Dennis & Kimberly Quaid Welcome a Boy & Girl". People. November 8, 2007. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20159254,00.html. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ Haldeman, Peter (November 2008). "Dennis Quaid". Architectural Digest. http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/2008/11/quaid_article. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ "Dennis Quaid's Newborn Twins Fighting for Life". Fox News Channel. November 21, 2007. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312357,00.html. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ Ornstein, Charles; Gorman, Anna (November 21, 2007). "Possible medical mix-up for twins". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/nov/21/local/me-twins21. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- ^ Dennis Quaid and wife sue drug maker.
- ^ Quaid, Dennis; Quaid, Kimberly (May 14, 2008). "Testimony of Dennis Quaid and Kimberly Quaid Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the United States House of Representatives" (PDF). pp. 1–7. Archived from the original on Wed, 14 May 2008 14:32:04 GMT. http://www.reform.democrats.house.gov/documents/20080514103204.pdf. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
- ^ "Dennis Quaid dodges DUI by taking cab". Daily News (New York). October 25, 2009. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/10/23/2009-10-23_best_of_the_rest_dennis_quaid_dodges_dui_by_taking_cab.html. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
- ^ "CNN.com – Transcripts". Transcripts.cnn.com. March 12, 2002. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0203/12/lkl.00.html. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ Joe Gracely. "Dennis Quaid: 'Being addicted to cocaine' was 'my greatest mistake'". New York: NYDailyNews. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/04/11/2011-04-11_dennis_quaid_cocaine_addiction_was_my_greatest_mistake_soul_surfer_star_opens_up.html.
Further reading
- Silver, Murray, 2005. When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama, (Bonaventure Books, Savannah), in which the author describes Quaid's participation in the film Great Balls of Fire.
External links
- Dennis Quaid at the Internet Movie Database
- Dennis Quaid at AllRovi
Categories:- 1954 births
- Actors from Houston, Texas
- American aviators
- American film actors
- American Christians
- American people of French descent
- American people of Irish descent
- Baptists from the United States
- Cajun people
- Living people
- Independent Spirit Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- University of Houston alumni
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