Skeptic Project

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/10/22/bc-quaids-refugee.html</p>

Actor Randy Quaid and his wife have told an immigration hearing in Vancouver they need asylum in Canada to escape from "Hollywood star whackers."

The couple, who have been embroiled in several legal skirmishes in California all year, were picked up in a tony shopping neighbourhood Thursday and have been held in jail on outstanding U.S. warrants.

Their first appearance in front of an immigration hearing turned into a bizarre spectacle of outrageous claims and solemn promises.

The couple told the immigration adjudicator they're being persecuted in the United States.

Evi Quaid said friends such as actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger have been "murdered" under mysterious circumstances and she's worried something will happen to her husband.

"We feel our lives are in danger," she said.

"Randy has known eight close friends murdered in odd, strange manners ... We feel that we're next."

Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for his lead role in the movie Brokeback Mountain. He died in January 2008 from an accidental overdose.

Carradine was star of the hit 1970s television series Kung Fu and also had a movie career before he hanged himself in Thailand last year. He was 72.

During a break in the proceedings, the Quaids' lawyer, Brian Tsuji, approached the media to read a single-sentence statement from the Quaids:

"We are requesting asylum from Hollywood star whackers," he read, declining further comment on the mental state of his clients.