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Everyone's heard the rags to riches tales of Hollywood superstars who went from unknowns
to household names seemingly overnight.
But sometimes, those Cinderella stories play out in reverse, and the coach turns back into
a pumpkin.
Here's a look at some unfortunate stars who ruined their careers in a matter of seconds.
Randy Quaid
He was nominated for an Oscar in 1974 and appeared in a number of hit films, including
Independence Day and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
But Randy Quaid's career hit a permanent roadblock in 2009 after he and his wife Evi were arrested
for failing to pay a $10,000 hotel bill and for squatting in a house they used to own.
It wasn't the charges that landed Quaid on Hollywood's blacklist, though, but what happened
next.
He fled to Canada and then claimed he was on the run from a secret organization of assassins
called the "Hollywood Star Wackers" who had previously killed Heath Ledger and David Carradine,
among others.
"For the past 20 years my wife Evi and I have been the victims of criminal activities perpetrated
by a small network of individuals who are out out to destroy us."
So far, Quaid and his wife have avoided execution, but with his recent output limited to conspiracy
theory YouTube videos, his career definitely seems dead.
Rest in peace.
Jennifer Grey
After beginning her career with the blockbusters Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Dirty Dancing,
Jennifer Grey seemed on the brink of superstardom.
And then it all went away in a moment when she decided to get a nose job.
She ended up with a different nose, all right, but it was so different that she was essentially
unrecognizable to audiences and casting agents alike.
Grey told The Mirror, "I went into the operating room a celebrity and came out anonymous.
It was the nose job from hell.
I’ll always be this once-famous actress nobody recognizes because of a nose job."
Wesley Snipes
They say that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes.
Well, Wesley Snipes is still alive, but his career isn't thanks to charges of federal
tax evasion.
After starring in hits like White Men Can't Jump and Blade, Snipes was on top of the world,
but in 2006, the IRS charged him with conspiring to commit fraud against the government by
willfully faking his tax returns.
Snipes ended up paying $17 million in taxes and penalties and spent three years in prison,
finally getting released in 2013.
Despite the setback, Snipes has remained philosophical about his career decline.
"These are, these are the bumps and bruises of life.
You know, they build character and you learn from it.
As you move on."
Rip Torn
Since the 1950's, Rip Torn has been one of those "that guy" character actors, making
a name for himself in films like Men in Black and on TV series such as The Larry Sanders
Show.
Back in 1967, though, he had the chance to become a major movie star after being approached
by Peter Fonda to play the second lead in Easy Rider.
Torn went out to dinner with Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and writer Terry Southern to discuss
the role, but during the dinner, Torn and Hopper got in a fight, with someone pulling
a knife.
Torn and Hopper argued for decades over who was at fault, with Torn even winning nearly
half a million dollars in a defamation lawsuit in 1998, but the damage was done.
Torn wasn't given the role, which instead went to Jack Nicholson, who used it to launch
one of the most legendary careers in Hollywood history.
Paz de la Huerta
With her role as Nucky's girlfriend in Boardwalk Empire, Paz de la Huerta was poised to become
a sensation.
The actress excelled at sexy, mysterious characters and was more than happy to take off her clothes
for a role.
But while acting crazy on screen made for good television, acting crazy off screen is
a whole different thing.
New York Magazine, for instance, recounted a tale where De la Huerta went into a sauna
naked, smeared honey on herself, and then taunted the confused people inside.
On another occasion, TMZ posted footage of the inebriated actress exposing herself after
the Golden Globes, while The Hollywood Reporter reported that at a party in 2011, Lindsay
Lohan herself had to intervene in a fight after De la Huerta threw a glass at a reality
starlet and then punched her.
In 2013, with rumors swirling that De la Huerta was frequently showing up to work drugged
out and hysterical, Boardwalk Empire finally had enough and fired her.
Hey, when Lindsay Lohan is the voice of reason in the room, you know you've gone too far.
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