IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Canada frees Randy Quaid and his wife

Hollywood actor Randy Quaid and his wife were freed from custody on Wednesday after it was discovered her father was born in Canada.
/ Source: Reuters

Hollywood actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi, who sought asylum in Canada saying they feared for their lives, were freed from custody on Wednesday after it was discovered her father was born in Canada.

Immigration officials agreed to release Evi Quaid and waived their request for a hearing on her refugee claim after they received documents about her father's birthplace, which would qualify her for Canadian citizenship.

Randy Quaid, a U.S. citizen and the brother of actor Dennis Quaid, was released on a $9,740 bond. He still faces a hearing on Thursday but it was not immediately clear how officials would now handle his request for refugee status.

"I am so proud to be a Canadian," Evi Quaid told reporters after her brief hearing before an Immigration and Refugee Board official in Vancouver. "It's a beautiful day."

The couple were arrested in Vancouver last week on a U.S. warrant after they skipped a California court hearing on charges they vandalized and illegally lived in a house they had previously sold in Santa Barbara.

The Quaids announced at an immigration detention hearing on Friday that they were seeking refugee status in Canada to escape "Hollywood star whackers" — a plot they alleged involved the murder of movie stars.

Their lawyer stopped them from answering questions on Wednesday about the alleged murder plot and the California criminal allegations.

Randy Quaid, 60, who acted in films such as "The Last Picture Show," "The Last Detail" and "Brokeback Mountain," said he was exploring "options" on how to continue his career in Canada.

"I just want a place were I can work ... and not feel as if people are following me," he said.

Immediately after their release, the couple went to get their dog from the animal pound, where it had also been in custody since the Quaids were arrested outside a bank in an upscale Vancouver neighborhood.