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
Jack Nicholson MGM, and other issues. Nicholson starred in "Five Easy Pieces" alongside Karen Black in 1970 in what became his persona-defining role. Nicholson and Black were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. Nicholson played Bobby Dupea, an oil rig worker, and Black was his waitress girlfriend. During an interview about the film, Black noted that Nicholson's character in the film was very subdued, and was very different than Nicholson's real-life personality. She says that the now-famous restaurant scene was partly improvised by Nicholson, and was out of character for Bobby, who wouldn't have cared enough to argue with a waitress.