Randy Quaid's Residuals Garnished to Pay P.I.

Vacation actor's royalties are going to get a little thinner

File under "It Still Sucks to be Randy and Evi Quaid."

Hollywood's most unpredictable pair are making a lot less in the way of residuals from Randy's past film hits, including the Vacation series, after a Los Angeles judge ordered several film studios to garnish his wages to pay an outstanding bill from a private investigator.

Can somebody hire these two an accountant?

According to court papers obtained by E! News, the erstwhile Cousin Eddie accrues about $500,000 annually in royalties from his past roles. And with all the goofy legal shenanigans in the past year—chiefly criminal charges they defrauded an innkeeper for which Evi pleaded no contest and received three years' probation—it's not like the film offers have been pouring in. Consequently, the kooky couple has been forced to rely on those payments to keep their lavish lifestyle afloat (without having to dine and dash).

View the documents.

Becky Altringer of Los Angeles-based Ariel Investigations, sued the Quaids earlier this year for back wages for services rendered last summer. She says she was happy about the judge's order and the garnishments will help her get back most of the $19,000 tab.

"I've been trying to go to court and get the money they owe me. So finally I had to do it in three different small claim cases to win my lawsuit," Altringer tells E! News. "The Quaids are totally ignoring me and everyone else trying to get their money."

An attorney for the Quaids was unavailable for comment.

According to the private detective, in June, 2009 the Quaids asked her to investigate what Evi felt might be threats against Randy's life from either the mob or insurance carriers following David Carradine's bizzare death in a hotel room in Thailand.

But after some digging on her part put the conspiracy theory to rest, Altringer said the duo let her go without compensating her for her services.

"I worked for them and they just made my life hell," the investigator said. "They called and threatened me and just been a pain in my rump for a long time. I was finally happy to get my lawsuits and go after garnishment."

Due to small-claims limitations, however, Altringer will only receive $12,000 of the $19,000 she spent on the case. But hey, it's something, right?

"I won my judgment and did my writ of execution to garnish his wages," she added. "There's nothing Randy and Evi can do now."

Maybe they can pick up a few bones working for a certain hotelier.