Remember Cousin Eddie From National Lampoon's Vacation? Here's What He Looks Like Now

Movie buffs will always remember Cousin Eddie from "National Lampoon's Vacation," the unmannered-yet-good-hearted character portrayed by Randy Quaid in the classic 1983 comedy. While the iconic role cemented his status as a pop culture icon, the actor has since largely disappeared from Hollywood. After Quaid faced a series of legal troubles beginning in 2009, he had to hit the pause button on his career for more than a decade. But he hasn't completely fallen off the face of the earth, and recent public appearances show just how much Cousin Eddie has changed since his heyday.

Quaid has participated in a series of "National Lampoon" reunions, including the "We're Gonna Have the Hap-Hap-Happiest Fan Expo!" at Fan Expo Chicago in August 2025, featured below. Now in his mid-70s, "The Last Detail" actor sported fully gray hair and a matching beard. He showed up in a blue shirt with an olive tee underneath for a relaxed look, which he completed with stylish clear-framed glasses and an orange camo trucker hat — perhaps an ode to the actor's Southern roots. Quaid looked pretty good, boasting a bright, genuine smile as he spoke into the mic. 

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His "National Lampoon's Vacation" co-star Chevy Chase thought so, too. "I like your beard," he told Quaid in a video he shared on Facebook. However, some social media fans struggled to recognize Quaid. "Can't tell if the guy with the beard is 'Spinal Tap' director Marty Di Bergi, Meathead from 'All in the Family,' or crazy Cousin Eddie..." a fan commented. We can't fault the netizen for questioning, given Quaid's absence from the spotlight. But maybe that will change soon.

Randy Quaid was away from Hollywood for so long that fans pretty much accepted him as a retired actor. But in 2024, he surprised folks far and wide when he starred in "The Christmas Letter" alongside his "National Lampoon's Vacation" co-star Chevy Chase. "I found the role very funny. [Plus,] Chevy was doing it — so why not?" he told People, referring to his motivation for doing the film. Essentially, Quaid said, he thought it would be a good time.

Quaid continued, "Chevy and I are best friends on and off screen — I laugh just looking at him. And Angus [Benfield] is very funny and talented. What could be better?" But there's further indication that Quaid may be looking to revive his acting career. In 2025, Roseanne Barr announced on X that Quaid had been cast as the leading man on her show, "Meemaw," which has yet to debut as of this writing.

"The Last Picture Show" actor showed his enthusiasm for the project in retweeted reply. "She is a sexy genius sent from the heavens, this show is BAD*SS and meant to be!" he wrote. It's a move not very many people — if any at all — could have anticipated. "Just for astonishment value: Randy Quaid has returned to acting ... I will simply make two statements: one, that once upon a time this guy was great, and two, that this is an unlikely development I never expected," one Facebook user wrote in 2026. Perhaps we'll be seeing much more of Quaid moving forward, but we'll have to wait and see.