Date of Birth:April 9, 1954
Place of Birth:Houston, Texas, USA
Sign:Sun in Aries, Moon in Cancer
Relations:Wife (separated): Meg Ryan; son: Jack Henry; brother: Randy Quaid (actor); ex-wife: Pamela Jane Soles
Education:University of Houston
RUGGED, UNTAMED, AND just a little bit bad, Dennis Quaid joined the ranks of the Hollywood heartthrobs when he displayed his raw sex appeal in The Big Easy, opposite the equally sexy Ellen Barkin. Since then, this actor/rock 'n' roller has had his share of ups and downs in the world of showbiz.
The brother of Randy Quaid, Dennis first found his passion for acting during school, when he discovered that his build was better suited for the stage rather than for the football field. (Ironically, in Any Given Sunday, one of Quaid's most recent endeavors, Dennis plays a quarterback). He gained recognition as a feature film actor in the coming-of-age flick Breaking Away in 1979. Several years later, his portrayal of Gordon Cooper, the astronaut, in The Right Stuff, proved to Hollywood that not only was he a pretty face, but Dennis Quaid could also act. In 1987, on the set of Innerspace, Quaid was introduced to his co-star Meg Ryan. The queen of the romantic comedy became his wife in 1991.
Other notable roles for Dennis Quaid include that of piano man/bad boy Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire, Jack Faulkner in Postcards from the Edge, Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp, and Eddie Bichon in Something to Talk About, with Julia Roberts. Interestingly, Quaid appeared in the music video for "Something to Talk About" (performed by Bonnie Raitt) years before the movie of the same name was even made.
Although 1996's Dragonheart was a box office flop, Quaid tasted success a couple of years later when he starred in a remake of The Parent Trap, opposite Natasha Richardson.
Quaid's latest film is Frequency, the story of a man who dabbles in the operation of a ham radio. He tries to alter history when he discovers that his radio set communicates 30 years into the past, when his father was killed in a fire-fighting accident.
Movies:
2000 Frequency
1999 Any Given Sunday
1998 Playing By Heart
1998 The Parent Trap
1998 Savior
1998 Panama Canal: The Eighth Wonder of the World
1997 Switchback
1997 Gang Related
1996 Dragonheart
1995 Something to Talk About
1994 Wyatt Earp
1994 A Century of Cinema
1993 Flesh and Bone
1993 Undercover Blues
1993 Wilder Napalm
1990 Come See the Paradise
1990 Postcards from the Edge
1989 Great Balls of Fire!
1988 Everybody's All-American
1988 DOA
1987 The Big Easy
1987 Innerspace
1987 Suspect
1985 Enemy Mine
1984 Dreamscape
1983 Jaws 3-D
1983 The Right Stuff
1983 Tough Enough
1981 Caveman
1981 All Night Long
1981 The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
1980 The Long Riders
1980 Gorp
1979 Breaking Away
1978 Our Winning Season
1978 The Seniors
1978 September 30, 1955
1977 I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
1975 Crazy Mama
TV:
1998 Everything That Rises
1983 Bill: On His Own
1983 Johnny Belinda
1981 Bill
1979 Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill
1978 Are You in the House Alone?
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
