Dennis William Quaid
(born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. Raised in Texas, he became known during the 1980s after appearing in several successful films, and established a career as a Hollywood actor.
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DENNIS QUAID AND THE SHARKS TICKETS
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Early life
Quaid was born in
Houston,
Texas, the son of Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" (
née Jordan), a
real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid, an electrician.
[1] He is the younger brother of actor
Randy Quaid. Quaid has Irish and French ancestry.
[2] He attended
Pershing Middle School in Houston. He studied drama at
Bellaire High School in
Bellaire, Texas, and later in college, at the
University of Houston, under drama coach Cecil Pickett.
Career
After his brother, actor
Randy Quaid, was nominated for an
Academy Award for his role in
The Last Detail
, he dropped out of the
University of Houston before graduating and moved to
Los Angeles, California, to pursue an acting career of his own.
He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice when he appeared in
Breaking Away
(1979), the critically panned but commercially successful
Jaws 3-D
(1983), and earned good reviews for his role in
The Right Stuff
(1983).
Known for his
grin,
[3] Quaid has appeared in both
comedic and
dramatic roles.
Quaid had starring roles in the films
Enemy Mine
and
Innerspace
. He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of
Jerry Lee Lewis in
Great Balls of Fire!
(1989).
Quaid's career lost steam in the early 1990s, after he fought and kicked a
cocaine addiction.
He continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films, however, such as
Doc Holliday in
Wyatt Earp
.
He starred in the 1998 remake of
The Parent Trap
playing the part of the twins' father. Some of Quaid's more recent film credits include
Far From Heaven
(2002),
In Good Company
(2004),
The Day After Tomorrow
(2004),
Yours, Mine and Ours
(2005),
Vantage Point
(2008), and
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
(2009). His role in
Far From Heaven
saw him receive
Golden Globe,
PFCS and
Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for "Best Supporting Actor," as well as
NYFCC,
CFCA,
OFCS and
Independent Spirit Award wins.
In 2009 he will film the role of former
U.S. President Bill Clinton, alongside
Michael Sheen as
Tony Blair and
Hope Davis as
Hillary Clinton, in the film
The Special Relationship
.
Personal life
Quaid was raised
Baptist and is a practicing
Christian.
[4] [5]
Quaid married actress
P.J. Soles on
November 25,
1978. The two divorced on January 23, 1983. Quaid's second marriage was to
Meg Ryan on February 14, 1991 (
Valentine's Day). Quaid and Ryan have a son, Jack Henry (born April 24, 1992). Their marriage ended on June 16, 2001. Quaid was also engaged for three years to actress
Lea Thompson (
Back to the Future
,
Caroline in the City
), whom he met on the movie set of
Jaws 3-D
in 1983.
Quaid married Kimberly Buffington, an
Austin, Texas, real estate agent, on July 4, 2004 (
Independence Day). The couple welcomed twins born via a
gestational carrier on November 8, 2007 in
Santa Monica, California. Their son Thomas Boone was born first at 8:26 a.m. and weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces (3.06 kg). Daughter Zoe Grace made her appearance two minutes later weighing in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces (2.52 kg).
[6]
On November 18, 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave Quaid's 12-day-old twins a dosage of
heparin 1,000 times the common dosage for infants.
[7] [8] Their attorney said the newborns will "be fine now", but Quaid has filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer,
Baxter Healthcare, claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough.
[9] In May 2008, the Quaids testified before the
United States House of Representatives'
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asking
Congress not to
preempt the right to sue drug manufacturers for
negligence under state law.
[10]
Aside from acting, Quaid is a
musician and plays with his band the Sharks. Quaid also has a
pilot's license and is a scratch
golfer and, in 2005, was named as the top golfer among the "
Hollywood set" by
Golf Digest
. He lends his name to the annual "Dennis Quaid Charity Weekend" (formerly the "
Jiffy Lube/Dennis Quaid Charity Classic") in
Austin, Texas. 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 and tries to stay at homes on private courses when he is on the road.
Quaid works with the charity "International Hospital for Children in
New Orleans." He makes trips to Central America to help build medical clinics and transport sick children back to the United States for treatment they cannot get locally.
In a 2006 interview with
Best Life
magazine, Quaid said that in the mid-1990s he suffered from
anorexia nervosa saying, "I'd look in the mirror and still see a 180 lb (82 kg) guy, even though I was 138 pounds (62 kg)," and "for many years, I was obsessed about what I was eating, how many calories it had, and how much exercise I'd have to do".
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
| Are You in the House Alone?
| Phil Lawver
| (TV)
|
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 Actor
|
Innerspace
| 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 Actor
|
Traffic
| Arnie Metzger
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|
Dinner With Friends
| Gabe
| (TV)
|
2002
| The Rookie
| Jimmy 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 Role
|
2003
| Cold Creek Manor
| Cooper Tilson
|
|
2004
| The Alamo
| Sam Houston
|
|
The Day After Tomorrow
| Jack Hall
|
|
In Good Company
| Dan
|
|
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
| The Horsemen
| Aidan Breslin
|
|
SpongeBob SquarePants
| Grandpa Redbeard
| (1 episode)
|
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
| General Hawk
|
Pandorum
| Payton
| (post-production)
|
2010
| Legion
| Bob Hanson
| (post-production)
|
2011
| The Special Relationship
| Bill Clinton
| (filming)
|
References
- Dennis Quaid Biography (1954-)
- Stated in interview at ''Inside the Actors Studio''
- Dennis Quaid's Second Reel: The Comeback
- 'It's All God': Interview with Dennis Quaid
- Mr. Versatile 'Christianity Today' By Peter T. Chattaway - 11/22/05
- Dennis & Kimberly Quaid Welcome a Boy & Girl - Babies, Dennis Quaid : People.com
- FoxNews.com, Dennis Quaid's Newborn Twins Fighting for Life (November 20, 2007)
- Dennis Quaid's newborns reportedly harmed by medical mix-up.
- Dennis Quaid and wife sue drug maker
- ''Testimony of Dennis Quaid and Kimberly Quaid Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the United States House of Representatives'', May 14, 2008