Big star’s surprise visit leaves residents of small Central Texas town buzzing

HUBBARD, Texas (KWTX) - Residents of Hubbard, a Hill County town of about 1,400, are still buzzing after a big star dropped in for a weekend visit.

Actor Dennis Quaid, 67, made a detour to Hubbard Sunday on his way to catch a flight in Dallas after attending the funeral of a friend in Austin to visit his uncles, Billy and Tommy Jordan.

Quaid, a Houston native, who dropped out of the University of Houston and headed to Hollywood to pursue an acting career, has played a wide range of dramatic and comedic roles in such films as “Breaking Away,” “The Right Stuff,” “The Big Easy,” and “Footloose.”

He won the New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the 2002 movie, “Far from Heaven.”

Hubbard City Councilman Marty Kimbrough was eating breakfast Sunday at the Hubbard City Cafe morning with his family when Quaid walked in.

“In a small-town café, we were just carrying on a conversation with him across the diner.”

Kimbrough was dining with his wife, Kelly, daughter, Courtney Knight, son-in-law Mike and granddaughters, Darby, 8 and Emmaline, 6.

The family had watched one of Quaid’s movies the night before.

“We had just watched his new movie on Netflix, ‘Blue Miracle,’” he said.

“We had no idea he was coming into town the next morning. That just made it so ironic.”

Quaid was drawn to the two girls, both of whom were dressed up, Darby as Supergirl and Emmaline as Doc McStuffins.

The family didn’t want to pester Quaid for a photo, but they didn’t have to.

He asked for one.

“We were leaving, and we weren’t going to bother him for a picture, but he asked for the picture with his phone,” Kimbrough said.

“He said ‘hey can I get pictures with Supergirl and the doctor?’ And he handed his phone to my daughter and son-in-law, and he said, ‘here take my picture.’ So, we took a couple of pictures with our phones as well.”

Kimbrough posted the photos on the Discover Hubbard Texas Facebook page and the post took off.

It wasn’t the last picture Hubbard residents got with the actor.

After breakfast, Quaid attended church with his uncles at First Baptist Church of Hubbard.

The livestream of the service shows the actor interacting with the congregation.

Several church members got pictures with Quaid.

They say he was very nice, friendly, and approachable.

“He was just going up and introducing himself to everyone,” Kimbrough said.

“Some people didn’t know who he was. They thought he was just Billy’s nephew,” he said, laughing.

“There was one young lady who knew who he was, but didn’t want to both him, and his uncle was like ‘you get over here’ and Dennis Quaid took her phone and took a selfie with her.”

“It was just really fun It was just another day in Hubbard,” said.

Billy and Tommy Jordan’s half-sister, Juanita “Nita” Quaid, was Quaid’s mother.

She died in 2019 in Austin at the age of 92.

Her parents, Quaid’s grandparents, lived in Waco, Tommy Jordan said, and Quaid paid them occasional visits.

Copyright 2021 KWTX. All rights reserved.