# The Absent-Minded Waiter > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Absent-Minded_Waiter > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Absent-Minded_Waiter.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Absent-Minded_Waiter > Source revision: 1339649953 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1977 American comedy short film The Absent-Minded Waiter Directed by Carl Gottlieb Written by Steve Martin Produced by William E. McEuen Starring Steve Martin Buck Henry Teri Garr Music by Marvin Hamlisch Production company Aspen Film Society Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date July 13, 1977 (1977-07-13) Running time 7 minutes Country United States Language English ***The Absent-Minded Waiter*** is a 1977 American [comedy](/source/Comedy_film) [short film](/source/Short_film)[1] starring [Steve Martin](/source/Steve_Martin), [Buck Henry](/source/Buck_Henry) and [Teri Garr](/source/Teri_Garr). It was written by Martin and directed by [Carl Gottlieb](/source/Carl_Gottlieb). The film was produced by [William E. McEuen](/source/William_E._McEuen), who would go on to produce Steve Martin's next six films.[2] The short was screened as part of "The Best of the Shorts" program at [Filmex](/source/Filmex) on March 26, 1977[3] and was also shown at Martin's stand-up shows before he went on. It was nominated for the [Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film](/source/Academy_Award_for_Best_Live_Action_Short_Film#1970s) at the [1977 Academy Awards](/source/50th_Academy_Awards#Awards).[4][5] ## Plot A couple (Henry and Garr) have gone out to dinner at a fancy restaurant the husband claims has the world's most absent-minded waiter. Steven is a poor waiter. He has many mishaps, including pouring water before placing down the glasses, forcing the couple to repeat their order of "two martinis" three times, and subsequently bringing them six martinis. The wife soon becomes angry that she got dressed up, hired a babysitter and then was brought out to a restaurant with such amazingly bad service. The husband pleads with her: "Trust me... trust me." Immediately afterwards, the waiter returns with their "change"—$10,000 worth—before the couple had even paid. As they gleefully get up from their chairs to leave, the waiter comes back to ask, "Two for dinner?" to which the wife quickly responds, "Yes, two please," and the couple then sits right back down at their table.[6] ## Cast - [Steve Martin](/source/Steve_Martin) as Steven, the Waiter - [Buck Henry](/source/Buck_Henry) as Bernie Cates - [Teri Garr](/source/Teri_Garr) as Susan Cates - [Ivor Barry](/source/Ivor_Barry) as Carl, the Maitre D' - [Naomi Stevens](/source/Naomi_Stevens) as Naomi, the Cashier ## Home media The short was included on the 1993 VHS release of the special *Steve Martin Live* and on the 2012 DVD box set *Steve Martin: The Television Stuff*.[7] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [ShoutFactoryTV: Steve Martin](http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/playlists/551b311769702d04c3973a00) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [MUBI](https://mubi.com/films/the-absent-minded-waiter) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70244-THE-ABSENT-MINDEDWAITER?sid=f1be14a9-53fc-455e-a39f-aef59be3e33d&sr=13.436537&cp=1&pos=0) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Short Film Winners: 1978 Oscars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4YfsLnZQ3o) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [1978|Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/the-absent-minded-waiter/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Steve Martin: The Television Stuff (1/11) Homage To Steve Clip - The Absent Minded Waiter- Shout Factory on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlaPT_7Lzmw) ## External links - [*The Absent-Minded Waiter*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075626/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [Excerpt on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MFcMOpiDMI) - *[The Absent-Minded Waiter](https://mubi.com/films/the-absent-minded-waiter)* on [MUBI](/source/MUBI) v t e Steve Martin Filmography Awards and nominations Albums Let's Get Small (1977) A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) Comedy Is Not Pretty! (1979) The Steve Martin Brothers (1981) The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo (2009) Rare Bird Alert (2011) Love Has Come for You (2013) So Familiar (2015) The Long-Awaited Album (2017) Singles "King Tut" (1978) Books Cruel Shoes (1979) Pure Drivel (1998) Shopgirl (2000) The Pleasure of My Company (2003) Born Standing Up (2007) The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z! (2007) Screenplays The Absent-Minded Waiter (short, 1977) The Jerk (1979) Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) The Man with Two Brains (1983) ¡Three Amigos! (1986) Roxanne (1987) L.A. Story (1991) A Simple Twist of Fate (1994) Bowfinger (1999) Shopgirl (2005) The Pink Panther (2006) Traitor (story only, 2008) The Pink Panther 2 (2009) Plays Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1993) The Underpants (2002) Bright Star (2014 musical) Meteor Shower (2016) Television The Winds of Whoopee (1983) Domestic Life (1984) Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills (1986) Only Murders in the Building (2021–present) Other Aspen Film Society Category --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Absent-Minded Waiter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Absent-Minded_Waiter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Absent-Minded_Waiter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.