Five Easy Pieces a Denny's along Interstate 5 near Eugene, Oregon. Thirty years later, Nicholson performed a scene in the movie "About Schmidt" that drew from this scene; it was cut from the film but is available as a Deleted Scene in the DVD release. Nicholson's character in "About Schmidt", an emotionally downtrodden retiree, in contrast, humbly accepts the waitress's "no substitutions" rule. The opening credits list the five classical piano pieces played in the film and referenced in the title. Pearl Kaufman is credited as the pianist. Also listed are four songs sung by Tammy Wynette: "Stand by Your Man", "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", "Don't
The King of Marvin Gardens which included the Monkees film "Head" (1968) and "Five Easy Pieces" (1970), which established both men as major figures in Hollywood. Dern and Nicholson had previously worked together in "Psych-Out" (1968) and "Rebel Rousers" (1970). Nicholson and Scatman Crothers subsequently co-starred in Miloš Forman's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975) and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980). Co-star Ellen Burstyn had previously worked in the TV series "Gunsmoke", in which Dern had also appeared, and would soon achieve worldwide fame with her starring role in William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" (1973). The film was one of the few screen appearances made