cover letter for a waiter

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5 Waitress Cover Letter Examples to Win the Job in 2024 

• Waitress Cover Letter
• Waitress Cover Letter Example by Experience
• Waitress Cover Letter Example by Role
• Write Your Waitress Cover Letter

Each diner matters, and you make sure they know it by taking orders, serving food and drinks, and cheerfully communicating order alterations to kitchen staff. You answer guests’ questions, thanks to your consistent knowledge of new or seasonal items, and can make recommendations.

But how do you share all that value when writing a cover letter and complementary waitress resume so recruiters can see how seriously you take your job? What skills and experience are they looking for?

We’ve got your back with our five waitress cover letter examples created after years of helping people like you. Or check out our free cover letter generator for a cover letter that’s delicious from start to finish!

Waitress Cover Letter Example

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Why this cover letter works

• Blow away the recruiter with compelling anecdotes that capture your prowess in fostering business and creating memorable experiences for patrons (Think cutting order errors by 11% and 84% customer satisfaction score). Then, solidify your credibility by highlighting relevant certifications like a Food Handling Certificate.

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Waitress No Experience Cover Letter Example

• Transferable skills from other hospitality roles can propel your candidacy ahead of the competitors. An example is the multilingual prowess honed from engaging guests in Waikiki Beach.

Waiter Cover Letter Example

• Better yet, recount notable instances when your efforts were acknowledged by happy customers or even your co-workers. This will serve as a stamp of approval for your excellence.

Restaurant Waitress Cover Letter Example

• First, it shows you did your homework on the establishment, and you value the shared experiences of its patrons, ultimately establishing an instant connection with the hiring manager. Secondly, such a reference acts as a testament to your appreciation of quality service, which could enhance your appeal.

Cocktail Waitress Cover Letter Example

• Mixology skills, knowledge of local liquor laws, understanding customer preferences, and fostering sales rank high in the skills and wins to outline in your piece. Subtle casualness is acceptable.

Related cover letter examples

• Waitress Resume

How to Write Your Ideal Waitress Cover Letter

You’ve probably heard plenty about how your resume should line up with the job description , and your cover letter should pair with it just as deliciously! (We mean stuff like not over-selling your deep frying skills to a recruiter seeking a waitress to recommend wine pairings.)

Read the job description thoroughly and look for any of your job skills that overlap with their requirements. Try to match their emphasis when you select your experience points and success stories to share.

Writing a personable greeting and introduction

Always address your waitress cover letter to someone by name. If the job description doesn’t clearly name the recruiter or hiring manager who’s handling this role, do some added research. (Pulling up a few tabs with company info will help you throughout the rest of your process, too!)

After your formal, personalized greeting, it’s time to create an opening paragraph to grab the reader’s attention and keep them reading.

Connect with the company by aligning with relevant values you might have found in the original job ad or on the company website. Sprinkle in a few of your qualifying skills as you use those values to state why you want to be their next waitress.

Don’t write an overly casual, unprofessional opener like this one, which provides no solid examples of qualifications or a connection to the organization:

What’s up,

I’m super excited about this job and I really need it. I can walk really fast and I love food! Let me tell you more about myself.

This one opens much more professionally, offers solid skills, and creates a way more intriguing connection with the actual establishment:

Mmm, that’s better!

Dear Mr. Lewis,

A fervent admirer of the hospitality industry with a background in fast-paced food service environments, I am pleased to offer my unique skills to Duke’s Waikiki as an entry-level waitress. Being adept in table setting and clearing, mixology, and wine service, I am fired up to deliver exceptional experiences that leave lasting memories for your valued customers.

Writing the body paragraphs

The body paragraphs in your cover letter are like the main course, guiding the reader through a series of delightful tidbits about your qualifications.

Think of a really impressive experience from your job history and compare it against the job description . Maybe you boosted restaurant ratings with the same attention to detail that caught an easily missed order adjustment. If it aligns with the job requirements, it might just land you the job.

Just keep each paragraph focused on one main success story about the positive impact you left in the industry. Oh, and always provide metrics like customer feedback ratings, sales percentages, or efficiency ratings to give your claims substance.

Example of a well-made body paragraph

During my time at The Loveless Cafe, I sharpened my ability to take swift and correct orders. Using restaurant order software like TouchBistro, I helped cut order errors by 11%, contributing to a nice and steady customer satisfaction score of 84%.

Closing and signing off your waitress cover letter

Just as you’d ask your diners “Would we care for any desserts this evening?” you’ll need to close off your cover letter with something satisfactory that leaves the reader wanting to come back again. Quickly outline once again why you want the job and how well you’re aligned with it already.

Make sure you add a spritz of desirable traits or skills that connect with the job and the establishment as a whole. And don’t forget your call to action, which should invite further discussion of your waitress qualifications.

And you know how priceless good manners are. Make sure you thank the reader for their time! If you don’t thank them within your closer paragraph, you can use a Thank-you as your signoff. Just make sure that any signoff you use is highly professional, and concludes with your real, full name.

Don’t write a closer like this: we’ve got typos, zero re-connection with the organization, and a completely informal tone and signoff.

Pretty cool, rihgt? Let me know when I can start because I really want to get into restaurant jobs.

Instead, see how some quick, applicable skills pair with ambition and a connection with the establishment to set off that powerful call to action:

What a well-rounded closer!

Having racked up experience in mixology, garnishing, and local liquor laws, I believe my role at Punch Bowl Social Detroit would be a winner for both of us. I’m eager to tackle any obstacle, whether it’s a packed night or a tricky cocktail, and you’ll see why once we’ve chatted about the role more. Thank you for your time, and I can’t wait to hear from you.

Amina Bello

Revisit the job description and the business’ website to get a feel for what kind of environment they promote. Whether you write with formal, super-classy wording or a more casual tone should depend on how they sound so that you demonstrate your great fit.

If you can’t find the recipient of your waitress cover letter in the original job post or on their website, look for professional social media accounts. Facebook and LinkedIn are often good sources!

If you have some impressive additions that add value to your application package, yes! Just write “Enclosures:” at the bottom of your letter and list any food safety certifications, professional recommendations from former employers or mentors, etc., that you’ve got up your sleeve.

Waiter/waitress cover letter example

Competition for waiter/waitress jobs can be huge, but a compelling cover letter can help you to stand out from the crowd.

Your cover letter shouldn’t come as an afterthought to your CV. If you ace them both, you’ll have tripled your chances of landing an interview.

So, I’ve created this waiter/waitress cover letter example and step-by-step writing guide, to help you win recruiters over and land an interview.

Here’s what the guide will cover:

Guide contents

Waiter/waitress cover letter example

How to write a cover letter for your cv.

• What to include in a waiter/waitress cover letter

The waiter/waitress cover letter example above should help you picture what your finished cover letter should look like.

The candidate introduces themselves in a way which is friendly yet professional, enticing the reader to open the CV and consider their application.

Breakdown of a good cover letter

The diagram below shows the 7 key steps you need to focus on in order to write an attention-grabbing cover letter. If you follow these steps, recruiters will be eager to open your CV and find out more about you.

Write the cover letter in the body of your email/message

The aim of your cover letter is to introduce yourself and encourage recruiters to read your CV.

Therefore, it’s always best to write your cover letter directly in the body of the email you send, with your CV attached.

This way, you know for sure that your cover letter will actually be seen.

If you add it as an attachment, it’s highly unlikely to be opened, meaning you’d have missed out on a golden opportunity to connect with employers.

Quick tip:  Try to find the name and email address of the recruiter or hiring manager of the company, so you can bypass the competition and land in their inbox directly. Hospitality roles often get hundreds of applications through job sites, so this will significantly increase your chances of getting noticed.

Write a compelling subject line

Another benefit of sending your cover letter in the body of an email is that you can craft an attention-grabbing subject line.

Applicants who apply via a job board won’t be able to personalise theirs, so it’s an amazing opportunity to make your application stand out from the crowd.

A simple yet effective approach to this is to create a short professional summary of yourself which is tailored to the role you’re applying for.

For example, if you’re applying to be a waitress in a busy restaurant environment and have worked in similar environments before, you’d make it known in your subject line, like this:

• Experienced waitress with 6 years of experience in fast-paced city restaurants
• Skilled waiter with 1 year of experience of serving customers in a busy pub

If you have less relevant experience, you could write something which matches the skills listed in the job advertisement. For example, if the employer is looking for someone with great customer service skills, you might write:

• Bright student with excellent customer service skills

Address the recruiter/employer by name

Writing too formally can come across as unfriendly and impersonal. These days, it’s much better to address the recruiter/employer by their name, with a more relaxed and friendly tone.

So, how do you find the appropriate name?

Often, you’ll see the recruiter’s name and contact details at the top or bottom of the job advertisement. If you can’t spot it, try out the following tricks:

• Head over to the cafe, restaurant or bar website and see if there’s a ‘meet the team’ page or similar. If you find someone with a HR, recruiter or hiring manager title, use their name in your email. Some smaller establishments might not have an internal recruitment team, so in this case, use the manager’s name.
• If there’s no staff page on the website, try out LinkedIn. Type the name of the establishment into the search bar, head to their page and scan through the list of employees. Restaurant/cafe/bar managers are more than likely to be on LinkedIn, so you should be able to find an appropriate name here.

Write in a friendly but professional tone

The language you use in your cover letter matters, and you need to strike the right balance in order to make a positive first impression.

Speaking in an overly formal tone may sound detached and unfriendly, but speaking too casually could come across as rude and disrespectful.

So, you need to meet somewhere in the middle, aiming to sound friendly yet professional – an opening line like “I hope you’re well” is a great start.

Quick tip: A poorly written CV will fail to impress recruiters and employers. Use our quick-and-easy CV Builder to create a winning CV in minutes with professional templates and pre-written content for every industry.

Check out our CV examples.

Highlight your most relevant skills

As soon as the reader sets eyes on your cover letter, it needs to be clear that you’re well-matched to the role. This way, they’re far more likely to go ahead and read your CV.

You can do this by highlighting your most relevant skills . Go back to the job ad and note down the top skills the employer is looking for.

Next, go through the list and tick off the ones you feel you have. These are the skills that you should include in your cover letter.

Keep it brief

All too often, applicants end up writing an entire page or more for their cover letter – but this is a huge mistake.

Recruiters , hiring managers and restaurant managers simply don’t have the time to read through numerous pages text, so a long cover letter probably won’t even be read.

So, by keeping yours short and concise in the body of your email, you can ensure your cover letter is read and leaves a positive impression on busy recruiters.

Aim for 4-8 sentences which simply summarise your relevant skills and encourage the reader to open your CV.

Sign off professionally

Lastly, sign off with a sleek, professional signature, as shown below.

You should include your full name, contact number (mobile is usually best) and your email address. Format it for impact by using a bold or italic font.

Not only does this show great business etiquette, but it also makes it easy for recruiters to pick up the phone and give you a call.

What to include in your waiter/waitress cover letter

Your cover letter content will inevitably reflect your individual experience and skills, but generally, a waiter/waitress cover letter should mention the following:

Who you’ve worked for –  Roles in the hospitality industry can vary massively, so it’s essential to distinguish your type of experience – for example, you might have worked in exclusive high-end restaurants, cafes, country pubs or hotel restaurants.

Product/service knowledge – Are you a cocktail wizard, have the brains for allergens and ingredients, or really know your stuff when it comes to Italian food? If you have any type of industry skill or knowledge which is relevant to the role you’re applying for, it’s a huge selling point – so make it clear in your cover letter.

Level of experience – Have you been working as a waiter or waitress for several years, or will this be your first role? State how many years of experience you hold early on in your cover letter.

Waiter/waitress skills – Make sure to match your skills with the job description and show off those which you possess, whether that’s customer service, food or drink prep or health and safety.

How you can benefit a new employer – Do you have a track record of decreasing guest waiting time, leading teams or positively handling customer complaints? Entice the reader to open your CV by communicating exactly how you benefit help the team.

Your waiter/waitress cover letter for your CV

Whilst writing your waiter/waitress cover letter, remember that the key is to make an impact and entice the reader to open your CV.

So, it needs to be short, snappy and punchy, putting forward a high-level view of why you’d make the perfect hire.

Before hitting that send button, double-check it for spelling and grammar mistakes and typos, as it needs to be 100% flawless.

Paired with an impactful waiter/waitress CV , you’re bound to win an interview in no time!

Good luck with your job search!

Waiter/Waitress Resume and Cover Letter Examples

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What to Include in Your Resume and Cover Letter

Tips for writing effective resumes and cover letters, waiter resume example, waiter cover letter example, how to send an email application.

Are you applying for a job as a waiter or waitress? For some restaurant positions, you will apply by completing an online application, or you may be required to apply in person. For others, you may be required to submit a resume and cover letter for consideration, including your waiter or waitressing skills.

When you write a cover letter for a waitstaff job, it's important to highlight the skills you have that match the job requirements listed in the job posting. Your resume should include your most relevant work experience, typically in reverse chronological order.

Here's information on what to include in your resume, tips for writing resumes and cover letters that will get your application noticed, examples, and templates to download.

Highlight your customer service skills .  Restaurant managers are eager to hire front-of-house staff who understand the importance of providing exemplary customer service to guests.

Emphasize your dedication to creating positive guest experiences, your proactiveness in identifying diners’ needs, and your tact in responding to difficult customers.

Remember the importance of soft skills. Not only must waitstaff have exemplary customer service skills, but they must also demonstrate soft skills such as dependability, timeliness, flexibility in being available for different shifts, and a solid work ethic.

Match your skills to the job. Review this  list of skills required for waitstaff jobs  before you get started, then take the time to match your qualifications to the job. This way, your application materials will show the employer that you're a qualified candidate for the position.

Include all relevant experience.  Provide descriptions of your previous restaurant jobs, accompanied by bulleted statements about your achievements and significant contributions in each role. Also mention any restaurant point-of-sale (POS) systems or other computer technologies you are familiar with.

Detail your education and certifications. In the “Education” section of your resume, list any college degrees you hold or are currently pursuing. You should also mention any SafeServ, MAST, or other industry-specific certifications you have earned.

Tailor each resume to the job.  Both your resume and your cover letter should be revised to speak to the specific requirements of different employers. Read the job posting carefully, and then make sure your resume emphasizes the qualifications most valued by the employer.

A good way to do this is to include keywords in your resume from the job listing. Highlight the important words in the job listing (including qualifications, skills, etc.) and include them in your resume to demonstrate that you are a desirable candidate for the position.

Include examples.  Review these resume and cover letter templates to learn what information you should include, how to present your most relevant experiences, and how to make your application stand out from the competition. You can then use them as a basis for your own documents, personalizing them to reflect your own training and experience.

Consider the format.  There is no single “perfect” format for a resume. Although most employers expect to receive resumes where one’s experience is presented in reverse-chronological order, you may find that a  different format  would work better for you, depending on the position you are applying for, your work history, or your level of experience.

Proofread and Edit.  Your resume and cover letter need to be letter-perfect. Take the time to thoroughly edit your resume, correcting any spelling or grammar errors (or have a competent friend do this for you if you feel unsure about your grammatical skills). The formatting also needs to be consistent, with the same style of bullet points used throughout and the same size font for all of your section headings. 

This is an example of a resume for a waiter position. Download the resume template (compatible with Google Docs and Word) or see below for more examples.

Waiter Resume Example (Text Version)

Matthew Applicant 789 Billings Blvd Paw Paw, MI 49079 (269) 123-4567 matthew.applicant@email.com

WAITER Serving diners with enthusiasm and efficiency Can handle a high volume of customers in fast-paced environments, ranging from casual to fine dining.

Key skills include:

• Friendly, outgoing, and personable
• Multitasking
• TouchBistro, Toast, and Upserve experience
• Quick learner

PROFESSIONAL & VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

BETH’S BISTRO, Paw Paw, MI WAITER (July 2020—Present) Provide service for patrons at a fine-dining establishment.

Notable accomplishments:

• Consistently record highest sales-per-shift average among staff.
• Regularly asked to train new employees.

AUSTIN’S STEAKHOUSE, Mattawan, MI WAITER (August 2019—June 2020) Took orders, served meals, set and cleared tables, and dealt with the exchange of money at a fast-paced restaurant.

TOLL’S PANCAKE GRIDDLE, Paw Paw, MI HOST (June 2018—July 2019) Scheduled reservations and helped manage seating in a popular and busy restaurant.

PAW PAW NORTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Mattawan, MI VOLUNTEER TUTOR (September 2019—Present) Tutor and mentor second and third grade students in reading.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

KALAMAZOO VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE , Texas Twp., MI Associate of Arts degree, expected 2023

PAW PAW CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL , Paw Paw, MI Diploma, 2020

This is an example of a cover letter for a waiter position. Download the waiter cover letter template (compatible with Google Docs and Word) or see below for more examples.

Waiter Email Letter Example (Text Version)

Damian Finkle 123 Elm Street Albany, NY 12224 555-555-1234 damian.finkle@college.edu

May 16, 2022

John Lee Shift Manager Michael’s Restaurant 123 Business Rd. Business City, NY 54321

Dear Mr. Lee,

Please accept my enthusiastic application for the waiter position you recently advertised on Monster.com. You state that Michael’s Restaurant requires a waiter with experience in the food industry, strong customer service skills, and the ability to work under pressure. I believe I fulfill all of these requirements and am an excellent candidate for the position.

I have an extensive background in the food industry. I worked for two years at a fast-food restaurant. During this time, I gained experience in nearly every aspect of food service. I took orders and served customers their meals, handled the cash register, and performed daily inventory checks. As a waiter for Michael’s Restaurant, I could assist not only in taking orders and serving customers but also in a variety of other capacities in which you might need assistance.

At Riley’s Fast Food Joint, I also interacted with dozens of customers each day; I always made sure to provide clear and thorough answers to questions about our meal options and the cost of items. I know I could bring this friendly, helpful customer service to a position as a waiter at Michael’s Restaurant.

My experience in the food industry and in customer service, and my ability to thrive under pressure make me an excellent candidate for your waiter position.

I have enclosed my resume and will call within the next week to see if we might arrange a time to speak together. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Signature (hard copy letter)

Damian Finkle

When you're applying for a job via email, include your name and the title of the job for which you're applying in the subject line of the message. For example:

Damian Finkle - Waitstaff Position

How to Get Your Resume Noticed

HIGHLIGHT YOUR CREDENTIALS: Emphasize your customer service and waitstaff experience, restaurant industry certifications, and your knowledge of restaurant computer technologies.

SHOWCASE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Quantifying your achievements in previous jobs with numbers or percentages will help make your resume stand out from those of the other job applicants.

TAILOR YOUR RESUME TO THE JOB: Customize your resume for each job to which you are applying so that it focuses on presenting the specific qualifications the employer is seeking.

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Waitress Cover Letter Example

Get the job you've always wanted and find inspiration for your new cover letter with our free, downloadable Waitress cover letter example. Copy and paste this cover letter sample at no cost or revise it in our job-landing cover letter maker.

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Waitress Cover Letter Example (Full Text Version)

Bernadette Grandis

Dear Restaurant Manager,

As a waitress with 3 years of experience in restaurants and cafes, I apply with enthusiasm for this opportunity.

I am currently a server at La Maer Restaurant, where I serve seafood and beverages in a 60-seat setting, ensuring exceptional service by creating memorable experiences with cheerfulness, pride, and passion. Before this, I was a waitress at the upscale Sandino Bistro & Cafe, where I served in the dining room and the busy casual patio.

I have a great reputation for awesome customer service, and for being an active listener who confidently takes on daily challenges with a positive attitude. I have loved every minute of my time at La Maer and enjoyed the many friendly relationships I developed with our customers. As the restaurant will undergo extensive renovations over the next few months, the establishment will close until further notice. I am eager to find another stimulating opportunity with a similarly dynamic restaurant that I can take pride in working for.

Please find attached my resume for your consideration. I confirm that I am available for weekend brunch and daily breakfast shifts, as well as evenings.

Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to hearing from you regarding next steps.

Yours faithfully,

Milan Šaržík, CPRW

Milan’s work-life has been centered around job search for the past three years. He is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW™) as well as an active member of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Careers Coaches (PARWCC™). Milan holds a record for creating the most career document samples for our help center – until today, he has written more than 500 resumes and cover letters for positions across various industries. On top of that, Milan has completed studies at multiple well-known institutions, including Harvard University, University of Glasgow, and Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

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Restaurant Manager Food Preparation Hotel Manager Chef Waiter Animator Housekeeping Concierge Bartender

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Professional Waitress Cover Letter Example for 2024

Read for inspiration or use it as a base to improve your own Waitress cover letter. Just replace personal information, company application data and achievements with your own.

Cover Letter Guide

Make your waitress cover letter stand out.

According to 83% of hiring managers, cover letters are an important part of every recruiter’s decision-making process.

What’s more, 72% of them will expect you to hand in a great cover letter, even if this part is listed as ‘optional’ on the job advert.

And if you ask our experts, cover letters are an amazing opportunity to tell a personal story and make the right first impression.

But what exactly is a cover letter and how to write a good one? Let’s see…

So what’s the difference between a cover letter and a resume?

In short – the resume showcases your achievements and skills, while the cover letter focuses more on your personality and motivations.

Of course, you should mention some of your relevant skills in the cover letter as well. But make sure you’re not repeating your resume word by word.

Now let's move on to the things that make every cover letter great!

Choose the right salutation and craft an introduction that gets you remembered

We advise you to address the cover letter directly to the person responsible for the recruitment process. If you don’t know their name, take some time to research it.

This will show that you’re attentive to detail and are willing to go the extra mile when necessary.

Here's a list of salutations you can never go wrong with. Note that some of them can be used even if you don’t know who the hiring manager is.

• Dear [company name] Recruiter,
• Dear Mr./Ms. Smith,
• Dear Hiring Manager,
• To the [team you're applying for] Team

The introduction is your chance of getting the reader’s attention and giving them a reason to see you as a good fit.

So make sure you highlight your excitement about the company or the industry (or even both!) and the reasons why you’d like to grow in the field.

Avoid using clichés like “I found your job posting on website X and decided to apply”.

Don't skip on your Waitress soft and hard skills

The resume is the place to list all your hard skills. The Waitress cover letter, on the other hand, is the ideal place to emphasize your soft skills and link them to your achievements.

Think about times when your skills have helped you achieve certain goals that seemed too difficult. And don’t worry about admitting some of your weak sides – this is a great way to show recruiters your potential and ability to grow, both professionally and personally.

Looking at the specific job posting requirements could also give you insight on what skills should be included in your resume by all means. This will help you pass applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen cover letters for keywords before passing them on to recruiters.

Show that you've researched the company

Having a paragraph that shows you’re aware of the company and the issues it faces is always a good idea. It proves your enthusiasm to join the team and makes a great impression.

For bonus points, you could also share how some of your strengths could help resolve company or even industry problems.

Go for an actionable ending

The last part of your cover letter should briefly sum up everything you’ve said so far. It should also express your gratitude for the hiring manager’s time and consideration.

The tone of the closing line depends on two things – your personal preference and the company culture. Don’t go for overly creative phrases if the company you’re applying for relies on strictly corporate language.

Traditional lines such as “Looking forward to your reply” are usually considered a safe bet. So when in doubt, stick to them.

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Do You Indent Paragraphs In A Cover Letter

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Waitress Cover Letter Example (Free Guide)

Create an waitress cover letter that lands you the interview with our free examples and writing tips. use and customize our template and land an interview today..

Are you looking for a job as a Waitress? Writing an effective cover letter is an important step in your job search. Our Waitress Cover Letter Guide will provide you with the tools and information you need to craft a successful and professional cover letter. Get ready to land your dream job!

We will cover:

• How to write a cover letter, no matter your industry or job title.
• What to put on a cover letter to stand out.
• The top skills employers from every industry want to see.
• How to build a cover letter fast with our professional Cover Letter Builder .
• What a cover letter template is, and why you should use it.

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Waitress Cover Letter Sample

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Dear Hiring Manager

I am writing to apply for the position of Waitress at your restaurant. With my enthusiasm, strong work ethic, and experience in the hospitality industry, I am confident that I would be an excellent addition to your team.

I have been in the hospitality industry for the past five years. I started as a server assistant at a local restaurant and quickly progressed to a full-time server. I am highly skilled in customer service and have a knack for quickly learning new menus. I am also well-versed in various POS systems and can provide efficient and accurate service. I am also well-versed in food safety regulations and have a thorough understanding of sanitation procedures.

I am an energetic and outgoing individual who enjoys working with people. I am highly organized and have excellent time management skills. I am also extremely reliable and always arrive on time to my shifts. I am an effective communicator and have the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment. I am also a team player and enjoy working with others to ensure the success of the restaurant.

I am excited to join your team and contribute to your restaurant’s success. I am confident that my experience and enthusiasm make me an ideal candidate for the position of Waitress. I look forward to hearing from you and discussing the position further.

Sincerely, [Your Name]

Why Do you Need a Waitress Cover Letter?

A Waitress cover letter is an important document to have when applying for a job as a waitress. It provides employers with an opportunity to get to know you better and to learn more about your qualifications for the job. Here are some reasons why you need a Waitress cover letter:

• It shows employers your commitment to the position and why you are a good fit for the job.
• It provides you with the chance to highlight your skills, experience, and accomplishments.
• It gives employers the opportunity to learn more about your personality and how you will fit in with their restaurant.
• It allows you to demonstrate your enthusiasm and passion for the job.
• It helps employers to get a better understanding of your qualifications and how they will benefit the restaurant.

A Few Important Rules To Keep In Mind

• Address the hiring manager or restaurant owner by name in the opening of your cover letter.
• Focus on your customer service skills and how they will benefit the restaurant you’re applying to.
• Highlight any previous restaurant experience you have, including tasks such as taking orders, serving food and drinks, and handling customer complaints.
• Mention any specialized skills you possess, such as expertise in a certain type of cuisine.
• Provide concrete examples of how you have gone above and beyond in customer service, such as helping out in other areas of the restaurant when needed.
• Express enthusiasm for the position and the restaurant.
• Finish your cover letter by thanking the hiring manager for their time and consideration.

What's The Best Structure For Waitress Cover Letters?

After creating an impressive Waitress resume , the next step is crafting a compelling cover letter to accompany your job applications. It's essential to remember that your cover letter should maintain a formal tone and follow a recommended structure. But what exactly does this structure entail, and what key elements should be included in a Waitress cover letter? Let's explore the guidelines and components that will make your cover letter stand out.

Key Components For Waitress Cover Letters:

• Your contact information, including the date of writing
• The recipient's details, such as the company's name and the name of the addressee
• A professional greeting or salutation, like "Dear Mr. Levi,"
• An attention-grabbing opening statement to captivate the reader's interest
• A concise paragraph explaining why you are an excellent fit for the role
• Another paragraph highlighting why the position aligns with your career goals and aspirations
• A closing statement that reinforces your enthusiasm and suitability for the role
• A complimentary closing, such as "Regards" or "Sincerely," followed by your name
• An optional postscript (P.S.) to add a brief, impactful note or mention any additional relevant information.

Cover Letter Header

A header in a cover letter should typically include the following information:

• Your Full Name: Begin with your first and last name, written in a clear and legible format.
• Contact Information: Include your phone number, email address, and optionally, your mailing address. Providing multiple methods of contact ensures that the hiring manager can reach you easily.
• Date: Add the date on which you are writing the cover letter. This helps establish the timeline of your application.

It's important to place the header at the top of the cover letter, aligning it to the left or center of the page. This ensures that the reader can quickly identify your contact details and know when the cover letter was written.

Cover Letter Greeting / Salutation

A greeting in a cover letter should contain the following elements:

• Personalized Salutation: Address the hiring manager or the specific recipient of the cover letter by their name. If the name is not mentioned in the job posting or you are unsure about the recipient's name, it's acceptable to use a general salutation such as "Dear Hiring Manager" or "Dear [Company Name] Recruiting Team."
• Professional Tone: Maintain a formal and respectful tone throughout the greeting. Avoid using overly casual language or informal expressions.
• Correct Spelling and Title: Double-check the spelling of the recipient's name and ensure that you use the appropriate title (e.g., Mr., Ms., Dr., or Professor) if applicable. This shows attention to detail and professionalism.

For example, a suitable greeting could be "Dear Ms. Johnson," or "Dear Hiring Manager," depending on the information available. It's important to tailor the greeting to the specific recipient to create a personalized and professional tone for your cover letter.

Cover Letter Introduction

An introduction for a cover letter should capture the reader's attention and provide a brief overview of your background and interest in the position. Here's how an effective introduction should look:

• Opening Statement: Start with a strong opening sentence that immediately grabs the reader's attention. Consider mentioning your enthusiasm for the job opportunity or any specific aspect of the company or organization that sparked your interest.
• Brief Introduction: Provide a concise introduction of yourself and mention the specific position you are applying for. Include any relevant background information, such as your current role, educational background, or notable achievements that are directly related to the position.
• Connection to the Company: Demonstrate your knowledge of the company or organization and establish a connection between your skills and experiences with their mission, values, or industry. Showcasing your understanding and alignment with their goals helps to emphasize your fit for the role.
• Engaging Hook: Consider including a compelling sentence or two that highlights your unique selling points or key qualifications that make you stand out from other candidates. This can be a specific accomplishment, a relevant skill, or an experience that demonstrates your value as a potential employee.
• Transition to the Body: Conclude the introduction by smoothly transitioning to the main body of the cover letter, where you will provide more detailed information about your qualifications, experiences, and how they align with the requirements of the position.

By following these guidelines, your cover letter introduction will make a strong first impression and set the stage for the rest of your application.

Cover Letter Body

Dear Hiring Manager:

I am interested in applying for the position of Waitress at your restaurant. With my previous experience in the hospitality industry, I am confident that I am the ideal candidate to fill this role.

I have been working as a Waitress for the last 3 years, and I take great pride in providing excellent customer service. I always strive to ensure that the customer has an enjoyable and pleasant experience while dining at your establishment. I am a team player, and I understand how important it is to work closely with my colleagues. I am also able to work well independently and multi-task in order to keep up with the fast-paced environment of a restaurant.

I am dedicated to following all health and safety regulations, and I take extra care to ensure all customer orders are accurate. I understand the importance of creating a welcoming atmosphere, and I always strive to create a positive and memorable experience for every customer.

I am confident that my skills and experience make me the perfect fit for this role. I believe I would be an asset to your team, and I am eager to be a part of it. I am available for an interview at your convenience and I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Complimentary Close

The conclusion and signature of a cover letter provide a final opportunity to leave a positive impression and invite further action. Here's how the conclusion and signature of a cover letter should look:

• Summary of Interest: In the conclusion paragraph, summarize your interest in the position and reiterate your enthusiasm for the opportunity to contribute to the organization or school. Emphasize the value you can bring to the role and briefly mention your key qualifications or unique selling points.
• Appreciation and Gratitude: Express appreciation for the reader's time and consideration in reviewing your application. Thank them for the opportunity to be considered for the position and acknowledge any additional materials or documents you have included, such as references or a portfolio.
• Call to Action: Conclude the cover letter with a clear call to action. Indicate your availability for an interview or express your interest in discussing the opportunity further. Encourage the reader to contact you to schedule a meeting or provide any additional information they may require.
• Complimentary Closing: Choose a professional and appropriate complimentary closing to end your cover letter, such as "Sincerely," "Best Regards," or "Thank you." Ensure the closing reflects the overall tone and formality of the letter.
• Signature: Below the complimentary closing, leave space for your handwritten signature. Sign your name in ink using a legible and professional style. If you are submitting a digital or typed cover letter, you can simply type your full name.
• Typed Name: Beneath your signature, type your full name in a clear and readable font. This allows for easy identification and ensures clarity in case the handwritten signature is not clear.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Waitress Cover Letter

When crafting a cover letter, it's essential to present yourself in the best possible light to potential employers. However, there are common mistakes that can hinder your chances of making a strong impression. By being aware of these pitfalls and avoiding them, you can ensure that your cover letter effectively highlights your qualifications and stands out from the competition. In this article, we will explore some of the most common mistakes to avoid when writing a cover letter, providing you with valuable insights and practical tips to help you create a compelling and impactful introduction that captures the attention of hiring managers. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career journey, understanding these mistakes will greatly enhance your chances of success in the job application process. So, let's dive in and discover how to steer clear of these common missteps and create a standout cover letter that gets you noticed by potential employers.

• Not researching the company
• Failing to tailor the letter to the job
• Using incorrect grammar or spelling
• Making the letter too long or unfocused
• Leaving out key information
• Being too generic
• Including irrelevant information
• Using an inappropriate tone
• Including negative information
• Focusing only on your needs

Key Takeaways For a Waitress Cover Letter

• Highlight your experience in customer service and hospitality.
• Mention any awards or recognition you have received for your work.
• Showcase your ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrate your knowledge of food safety and sanitation regulations.
• Express your passion for providing excellent customer service.
• Emphasize your communication and interpersonal skills.
• Mention any extra certifications or qualifications you have.
• Explain how you handle stress and difficult customers.

Waiter Cover Letter Example

A Waiter is responsible for providing food and beverage service to all guests in a professional, courteous, efficient and friendly manner. This is accomplished while maintaining a high level of guest satisfaction and adhering to all safety guidelines.

They are responsible for taking orders and then serving each meal in a timely manner. Other duties will include clearing used dishes from the tables, refilling drinks and water glasses, and checking in with customers to ensure everything is going well with their meal.

Write an great cover letter using our Waiter Cover Letter Example and Cover Letter Writing tips.

• Cover Letters
• Hospitality

Waiters are employed by hotels, restaurants and other establishments to take orders and serve food to customers. They may also be known as servers or waitresses. Waiters work in a fast-paced environment that requires excellent customer service skills.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the food services industry are expected to grow by 11% over the next ten years. The BLS also reports that the median salary for a waiter or waitress is $26,530, with the top 10% earning over $45,000 annually.

What to Include in a Waiter Cover Letter?

Roles and responsibilities.

• Greet and escort customers to their tables.
• Present menu and provide detailed information when asked (e.g. about portions, ingredients or potential food allergies).
• Prepare tables by setting up linens, silverware and glasses.
• Serve food and drink orders.
• Check dishes and kitchenware for cleanliness and presentation and report any problems.
• Arrange table settings and maintain a tidy dining area.
• Carry dirty plates, glasses and silverware to kitchen for cleaning.
• Meet with restaurant staff to review daily specials, changes on the menu and service specifications for reservations (e.g. parties).
• Follow all relevant health department regulations.
• Provide excellent customer service to guests.

Education & Skills

Waiter skills:.

• Confident in serving food and drinks.
• Excels at maintaining professionalism while under pressure.
• Always eager to help out coworkers and supervisors.
• Good customer service skills.
• Able to handle a fast-paced environment.

Waiter Education Requirements:

• A high school diploma or equivalent is the minimum educational requirement for a waiter. Some employers require waiters to have some postsecondary education, such as a degree in restaurant management or food service.

Waiter Cover Letter Example (Text Version)

Dear [Hiring Manager’s Name],

I am writing to apply for the position of waiter at [restaurant name], which was recently advertised on [job posting website].

As you’ll find in my resume, I have been a waiter for the past three years at [restaurant name], where I have developed strong relationships with customers and learned the intricacies of delivering exceptional service. I am excited to bring my customer service skills to your restaurant and join a team that is known for its warmth and generosity in serving others.

I have always had an interest in food since I was young, and as a [nationality] immigrant, it’s even more important to me that I am able to provide for myself with a job that is fun and allows me to share my culture with others. As a waiter, I get to do both of these things because it allows me to be around food all the time, but also gives me the opportunity to enlighten others about dishes from my culture.

The experience working at [current restaurant company] has really helped me develop my customer service skills and understand how important it is that everyone receives an exceptional dining experience. I am sure that these skills would translate well into your restaurant environment and make me a productive member of your staff.

Sincerely, [Your Name]

Whether you’re seeking your first job in the restaurant industry or have been a waiter for years and are looking to move up, our Waiter Cover Letter Example and Writing Tips can help you land an interview.

The cover letter is a great place to highlight both your service skills and your passion for food and hospitality. Emphasize your ability to support the restaurant’s bottom line by providing excellent service that will keep customers coming back.

Even if you don’t have experience, highlight other positive attributes you bring to the table: your flexibility, physical stamina, and love of working with people.

Once you’ve written a great cover letter, it’s time to start working on your resume. Refer our Waiter Resume Sample for more tips on how to write your resume and accompany it with a strong cover letter.

Customize Waiter Cover Letter

Get hired faster with our free cover letter template designed to land you the perfect position.

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Table of Contents

Cover letter for a waitress job with no experience(5 samples)

As a BetterHelp affiliate, we may receive compensation from BetterHelp if you purchase products or services through the links provided.

The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter.  The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.

This blog post will show samples of cover letters for a waitress with no experience.

Samples of cover letters for a waitress with no experience

If you have zero experience and you’re looking to start a job in your specific industry, you can get the attention of job recruiters and hiring managers by including a well-written cover letter for a fresher level with your resume even with limited experience. When writing a cover letter with zero experience, these are some of the important things to include in your letter:

• Mention your fresh knowledge. Use your recent learning experiences to your advantage; an employer might be more willing to hire you if they know you can help their business acclimate to new technologies or practices.
• Express your energy and enthusiasm. It shows the potential motivation you will bring to a job as a fresh college graduate.
• Check your grammar and proofread your letter. It is a way of showing employers your ability to write comprehensive, error-free messages.
• The first step is addressing the employer with a formal salutation. For example, “Dear/Hello (name of the recipient).” If you do not know the name of the recipient, you can refer to them as the hiring manager.
• The next step is to state the position you are applying for and how you found the opening. 
• Make a brief statement about why you’re interested in the position.
• Since you are a recent graduate, it would help to emphasize your college coursework, internships, and other experiences that show your employability.
• Ensure your qualifications are similar to the job position. 
• Conclude your letter with a forward-looking statement. For example, “I look forward to 

discussing the position with you further.”

“Dear Mr Singh,

I was excited to see that Restaurant ABC has a position available for a new waitress, as a frequent patron of your establishment with a passion for the food and hospitality industry I am confident I would make a great addition to your team. I have just completed a Level 2 diploma in food and beverage service that has taught me the skills required to take on my first role outside of college.

I am an enthusiastic and energetic individual who is eager to provide outstanding customer service to a multitude of diners. Here are some of my strengths that would enable me to make a positive contribution towards the smooth running of Restaurant ABC:

• Able to work at a fast pace while remaining calm under pressure
• Familiar with a wide range of food and beverages and able to memorise menu options
• Understanding of the importance of effective hygiene measures
• Positive work ethic and ability to accurately follow instruction
• Confident handling money and taking payments

I am a reliable individual and work well either as part of a team or autonomously and feel my attention to detail and excellent communication skills would make me an exceptional candidate for the position. Please find a copy of my CV enclosed outlining further details of my skills and experience. I would very much like the opportunity to visit your restaurant and discuss my application in more detail at your convenience. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours Sincerely,

Maggie Peterson”

“Dear Mr. Petterson:

Greetings to you, sir! This letter is in response to your entry-level Waitress job posting for Veggie Valley on Craigslist. I can be an asset to the food and beverage services industry not only because of my education in Hospitality Management but also for my propensity for working in an agile work atmosphere.

With my knowledge in culinary arts, housekeeping, basic finance, etc., I believe I can be of help to your reputable company, especially with the guidance of your esteemed employees.

To help you with your hiring decision, here are the things that I can offer:

• You will never worry about attendance issues because I am a morning person who is open to working in a flexible work schedule.
• You can rely upon the fact that I can sustain long hours of standing and walking due to my spending an average of four hours per week jogging and weightlifting.
• You will not have a hard time giving me instructions because I possess excellent communication skills with a native-like proficiency in English, as well as basic Spanish and French.
• You can trust that I am capable of immediately understanding and dealing with social cues because I am a detail-oriented person who loves making people feel comfortable at all times.

I am eager to discuss my application further at your earliest convenience. My resume and relevant certificates are also attached to this email for your reference. Please find my contact details listed below.

Yours respectfully,

Emily Harrison

(123) 456-789

[email protected]”

“Dear Hiring Manager,

As a hardworking, result-oriented, and food service enthusiast, I hastened to apply for this post at the *** Resort. After going through your job listing in detail, I believe that my qualifications and skills complement well with the job description you are expecting from your new Entry Level Waiter/Waitress.

The following are some of the strengths, that would enable me to contribute to *** resort effectively-

• Knowledge of point of sales systems.
• Familiarity with collecting requests, and serving to guests.
• Talented in anticipating and responding to guests’ needs.
• Memorizing menu and wine stock and the appropriate entrée pairings.
• Exceptional customer service skills.

I would love to be a part of a team like yours which is a market leader in the food service industry. This said I am also confident that I will smoothly fit into your company culture, and provide exceptional food and beverage service to patrons from various backgrounds.

Given a chance, I will prove to be an excellent candidate for this post, and be a useful asset. Looking forward to hearing from your soon.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

[Your Name]”

“Mr. Alexander Doe

Hiring Manager

Sandia Resort

24 Some Golf Street

Austin, TX 14701

Re: Waitress Position (Job ID 4553)

Dear Mr. Doe:

As a results-oriented and hardworking food service enthusiast, I am applying for a waitress position at the Sandia Resort. After reading your job description in detail, I found my skills and qualifications complement your job description almost exactly.

I am a passionate individual who is eager to provide exceptional food and beverage service to patrons from different backgrounds. The following are some highlights of my strengths, which would enable me to contribute to Sandia Resort effectively:

• Exceptional talent in anticipating and responding to guests’ needs.
• Demonstrated ability to take food and beverages order and relay it to kitchen staff or bartender.
• Familiar with collecting the request from the bartender, adding appropriate garnish, placing it on a tray, and serving to guests with cocktail napkins.
• Knowledge of point of sales system.
• Able to quickly clean the tables and work area.

Through my part-time work at community services and charity events, I developed a good work ethic, strong expertise in interacting with people of different backgrounds, and the ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment. I have a current driver’s license, and reliable transport, and am willing to work rotating shifts. The attached resume details my qualifications and hospitality skills.

I look forward to an opportunity to discuss t how I could be a useful asset to Sandia Resort. I will contact you next week to set up a mutually convenient interview time. Meanwhile, you may contact me at (000) 875-2325.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Florence Smith

(000) 875-2325”

“Jade Coleman

(000) 546-7707

[email protected]

April 27, 2022

Mr. Oliver Page

Human Resources Manager

Renee Courtyard

541 Tone Avenue

Farmington, MA 37947

Dear Mr. Page:

Through my online research for a cocktail waitress position, I came across your advertisement. I was contended to see that your job description perfectly compliments my skills and knowledge.

Ensuring that customers’ orders are timely delivered is my passion. I am skilled in ensuring cleanliness and sanitization of assigned areas and items, such as tables, bar counters, and condiment stations.

In particular, I offer in-depth knowledge of:

• Serving customers by anticipating their needs
• Initiating conversation
• Offering assistance and advice
• Remembering that “the customer is always right”
• Performing beverage set-up while running side work
• Checking identification to ensure minimum age requirements

Besides, I can differentiate between spirits such as cocktails, beers, and wines, which makes it easy for me to suggest drinks to customers in an appropriate manner.

It would be a great pleasure to meet with you in person so that I can provide you with more details regarding my talents. I will call your office after a few days, hopefully, to set up a meeting time. Until then, you may reach me at (000) 546-7707.

Thank you for your consideration of me as a candidate for the Cocktail Waitress position at Renee Courtyard.

Jade Coleman”

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do i write an application letter to a restaurant worker.

“All my experience and skills would make me a great new addition to your establishment. I have attached my resume, which contains a more in-depth look at my experiences and skills. I look forward to hearing from you and would love to visit your restaurant for an interview. Thank you for your time and consideration.”

How do you say you have no experience but are willing to learn in a cover letter?

Example: “I believe that my enthusiasm and willingness to learn to make me a strong candidate.”

If you like this blog post, please leave your comments and questions below.

Cover Letter for Waitress With No Experience: Ultimate Guide

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Related posts, cover letter for hse position (5 samples), cover letter for lunch monitor (5 samples), cover letter for dnata equipment operator(5 samples).

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Oj simpson: his life in the spotlight.

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Notorious ex-NFL star OJ Simpson died Thursday after a lifetime of captivating the nation both for his tremendous accomplishments in the world of sport, and his double murder trial for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ron Goldman.

Simpson’s murder trial became a cultural touchstone that gripped the nation — 95 million viewers tuned in to watch his infamous white Bronco police chase — and his ultimate acquittal polarized the country along racial lines.

Stay updated with the latest coverage of OJ Simpson’s death

• Live updates: The latest on the death of NFL star, actor and murder suspect OJ Simpson
• OJ Simpson ditched his cane for final outing in Las Vegas less than 2 months before his death
• OJ Simpson assured fans he was in good health in final video before cancer death
• OJ Simpson dead from cancer at 76
• OJ Simpson dead at 76: His final photos revealed

After his acquittal, OJ continued to arouse the interest of millions with the publication of his quasi-confessional book “If I Did It,” along with his 2007 arrest for armed robbery and other exploits.

Here we see some of the many highs and lows from Simpson’s life in the spotlight.

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O.J. Simpson Led Police on 2-Hour Chase of His White Bronco After Nicole Brown Simpson's Murder — Revisit the Shocking Ordeal

Simpson, who was ultimately acquitted in Nicole Brown Simpson's murder, evaded police while 95 million people watched on live television nearly 30 years ago

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty

In June, it will be 30 years since much of the nation — 95 million viewers, to be exact — was glued to their television screens, watching then-beloved football star-turned-actor O.J. Simpson evade police officers in a white Ford Bronco.

Simpson, who died at age 76 on April 10, was ordered to turn himself into police on June 17, 1994 following the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson . Simpson and her friend, waiter Ronald Goldman, were stabbed to death on June 12, 1994. Their bodies were found outside of her Los Angeles-area home in the early hours of June 13.

But Simpson did not follow orders, and while his whereabouts remained unknown well into the late afternoon on June 17, his attorney Robert Kardashian read a letter given to him by Simpson to the media. In part, Simpson's note said, "Thanks for making my life special. I hope I helped yours. Peace and love. O.J.”

That evening, though, after 6 p.m. local time, Simpson was spotted in a Bronco with close friend and teammate Al Cowlings, driving through Southern California on the interstate.

Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty

Cowlings was driving the vehicle, his own, and told police that Simpson was seated in the back with a gun pointed at his head. According to CBS , Cowlings called authorities from a cell phone, pleading, "You gotta tell the police to back off. He's still alive, but he's got a gun to his head." (Cowlings was arrested but ultimately charges were dropped for "aiding a fugitive.")

Swarms of police vehicles began pursuing Simpson as the car traveled to the athlete's home in Brentwood, with the chase continuing for 60 miles at low speeds. News helicopters also quickly fell into pursuit of Simpson as traffic came to a standstill on much of the expressway with curious onlookers pulled over to watch.

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"It was already the most televised police pursuit in history, but now it's so bizarre with people coming out," Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Pool, who was the officer who originally spotted the 1993 Bronco, told NBC News in 2014. "There were people interfering with our pursuit. At one point, when we got into L.A., it was as though a concert had let out on the freeway. People were partying. I thought, if this was a movie, people would say that was a pretty good movie until that stupid car chase!"

The Bronco ultimately arrived at Simpson's L.A.-area home at 8 p.m., with police, and snipers, surrounding the house. Simpson eventually exited the vehicle — in which the LAPD found makeup adhesive, a fake mustache and goatee, Simpson’s passport and a gun — and surrendered to authorities.

Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated via Getty

Ultimately, Simpson was charged with Brown Simpson and Goldman's murders, though he was acquitted in what was dubbed "The Trial of the Century ." Following his acquittal,  Simpson was sued in civil court  by the Browns and Goldmans and found liable.

Simpson later wrote a controversial book  If I Did It , in which he spoke about Brown Simpson and Goldman's killings. The Goldman family, who receive proceeds from the purchase of the book , view it as the late Simpson's confession of responsibility for the murders.

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Maya Angelou's journey from a waitress to a legendary writer is still inspiring the world

History has been a witness to the women who broke the social barriers to make their mark on the world. Renowned American author Maya Angelou is one such influential woman. While many know about her remarkable literary works, her career trajectory before she started her literary journey is not popularly known. One would be surprised by the versatile jobs she did before becoming an author and the book, " Maya Angelou: Writer and Activist " by Del Sandeen speaks volumes about the poet's unconventional career path, per History . To name a few, Angelou delved into acting, dancing, journalism and even was a streetcar conductor, all while it was not common for women to work outside their homes.

As a teen, Angelou was determined to take up the role of a street car conductor. While it was rare to find a woman streetcar conductor, Angelou was resolute in visiting the railway office several times to apply for the conductor job and eventually secured it. As per the National Women's History Museum , the "Letter to My Daughter" author became the first African American streetcar conductor in San Fransisco. However, as a high school student Angelou prioritized completing her education in 1945 and earning her diploma from George Washington High School. So, the conductor job didn't last long. However, the resilient woman kept toiling hard even after welcoming her child Clyde "Guy" Johnson. As a teenage mother , Angelou worked as a cook before she began her cocktail waitress job in Los Angeles.

People are sharing the 10 greatest qualities that make them like someone instantly

Though Angelou wasn't so proud of her job as a cocktail waitress in a nightclub, she found it to be essential to support herself and her child. However, her regret amplified and once she made enough money to buy a car, she returned to the place where she spent most of her childhood: Stamps, Arkansas. However, the poet found her calling in San Fransisco after working some temporary jobs in restaurants, clothing stores and real estate offices. Purple Onion, a nightclub in San Fransisco offered Angelou a job as a dancer and calypso singer though she wasn't trained much in vocals but had taken some dancing lessons in her youth. This job became a turning point in her life because it got her a small part in the "Porgy and Bess" musical in 1954. Shortly after divorcing her husband Tosh Angelos that year, Angelou's job demanded her to travel all over Europe. However, the guilt of a mother took over her and she was determined to not leave her son in the U.S. during her travels.

So, the doting mother stayed back in America and continued her singing and dancing gigs. It was when they moved to New York City in 1959 that Angelou's writing endeavors spawned a little. She took part in the Civil Rights Movement by organizing fundraising events, writing letters, managing volunteers and so on. Teaming up with a South African activist named Vusumzi Make whom she was in love with, Angelou traveled across Africa and landed the role of an editor in The Arab Observer newspaper. Despite having no experience in journalism, Angelou chose to learn and grow in her job. It was a foundation for her career as an enthusiastic writer. So, when political activist Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, Angelou was emotionally impacted and she chose to bare her soul by writing. It was how her masterpiece "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," was born and since then Angelou had chosen her pen as her weapon to share the stories that needed to be told.

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O.J. Simpson, Football Star Whose Trial Riveted the Nation, Dies at 76

He ran to football fame and made fortunes in movies. His trial for the murder of his former wife and her friend became an inflection point on race in America.

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By Robert D. McFadden

O.J. Simpson, who ran to fame on the football field, made fortunes as an all-American in movies, television and advertising, and was acquitted of killing his former wife and her friend in a 1995 trial in Los Angeles that mesmerized the nation, died on Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 76.

The cause was cancer, his family announced on social media.

The jury in the murder trial cleared him, but the case, which had held up a cracked mirror to Black and white America, changed the trajectory of his life. In 1997, a civil suit by the victims’ families found him liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald L. Goldman, and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages. He paid little of the debt, moved to Florida and struggled to remake his life, raise his children and stay out of trouble.

In 2006, he sold a book manuscript, titled “If I Did It,” and a prospective TV interview, giving a “hypothetical” account of murders he had always denied committing. A public outcry ended both projects, but Mr. Goldman’s family secured the book rights, added material imputing guilt to Mr. Simpson and had it published.

In 2007, he was arrested after he and other men invaded a Las Vegas hotel room of some sports memorabilia dealers and took a trove of collectibles. He claimed that the items had been stolen from him, but a jury in 2008 found him guilty of 12 charges, including armed robbery and kidnapping, after a trial that drew only a smattering of reporters and spectators. He was sentenced to nine to 33 years in a Nevada state prison. He served the minimum term and was released in 2017.

Over the years, the story of O.J. Simpson generated a tide of tell-all books, movies, studies and debate over questions of justice, race relations and celebrity in a nation that adores its heroes, especially those cast in rags-to-riches stereotypes, but that has never been comfortable with its deeper contradictions.

There were many in the Simpson saga. Yellowing old newspaper clippings yield the earliest portraits of a postwar child of poverty afflicted with rickets and forced to wear steel braces on his spindly legs, of a hardscrabble life in a bleak housing project and of hanging with teenage gangs in the tough back streets of San Francisco, where he learned to run.

“Running, man, that’s what I do,” he said in 1975, when he was one of America’s best-known and highest-paid football players, the Buffalo Bills’ electrifying, swivel-hipped ball carrier, known universally as the Juice. “All my life I’ve been a runner.”

And so he had — running to daylight on the gridiron of the University of Southern California and in the roaring stadiums of the National Football League for 11 years; running for Hollywood movie moguls, for Madison Avenue image-makers and for television networks; running to pinnacles of success in sports and entertainment.

Along the way, he broke college and professional records, won the Heisman Trophy and was enshrined in pro football’s Hall of Fame. He appeared in dozens of movies and memorable commercials for Hertz and other clients; was a sports analyst for ABC and NBC; acquired homes, cars and a radiant family; and became an American idol — a handsome warrior with the gentle eyes and soft voice of a nice guy. And he played golf.

It was the good life, on the surface. But there was a deeper, more troubled reality — about an infant daughter drowning in the family pool and a divorce from his high school sweetheart; about his stormy marriage to a stunning young waitress and her frequent calls to the police when he beat her; about the jealous rages of a frustrated man.

Calls to the Police

The abuse left Nicole Simpson bruised and terrified on scores of occasions, but the police rarely took substantive action. After one call to the police on New Year’s Day, 1989, officers found her badly beaten and half-naked, hiding in the bushes outside their home. “He’s going to kill me!” she sobbed. Mr. Simpson was arrested and convicted of spousal abuse, but was let off with a fine and probation.

The couple divorced in 1992, but confrontations continued. On Oct. 25, 1993, Ms. Simpson called the police again. “He’s back,” she told a 911 operator, and officers once more intervened.

Then it happened. On June 12, 1994, Ms. Simpson, 35, and Mr. Goldman, 25, were attacked outside her condominium in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, not far from Mr. Simpson’s estate. She was nearly decapitated, and Mr. Goldman was slashed to death.

The knife was never found, but the police discovered a bloody glove at the scene and abundant hair, blood and fiber clues. Aware of Mr. Simpson’s earlier abuse and her calls for help, investigators believed from the start that Mr. Simpson, 46, was the killer. They found blood on his car and, in his home, a bloody glove that matched the one picked up near the bodies. There was never any other suspect.

Five days later, after Mr. Simpson had attended Nicole’s funeral with their two children, he was charged with the murders, but fled in his white Ford Bronco. With his old friend and teammate Al Cowlings at the wheel and the fugitive in the back holding a gun to his head and threatening suicide, the Bronco led a fleet of patrol cars and news helicopters on a slow 60-mile televised chase over the Southern California freeways.

Networks pre-empted prime-time programming for the spectacle, some of it captured by news cameras in helicopters, and a nationwide audience of 95 million people watched for hours. Overpasses and roadsides were crowded with spectators. The police closed highways and motorists pulled over to watch, some waving and cheering at the passing Bronco, which was not stopped. Mr. Simpson finally returned home and was taken into custody.

The ensuing trial lasted nine months, from January to early October 1995, and captivated the nation with its lurid accounts of the murders and the tactics and strategy of prosecutors and of a defense that included the “dream team” of Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. , F. Lee Bailey , Alan M. Dershowitz, Barry Scheck and Robert L. Shapiro.

The prosecution, led by Marcia Clark and Christopher A. Darden, had what seemed to be overwhelming evidence: tests showing that blood, shoe prints, hair strands, shirt fibers, carpet threads and other items found at the murder scene had come from Mr. Simpson or his home, and DNA tests showing that the bloody glove found at Mr. Simpson’s home matched the one left at the crime scene. Prosecutors also had a list of 62 incidents of abusive behavior by Mr. Simpson against his wife.

But as the trial unfolded before Judge Lance Ito and a 12-member jury that included 10 Black people, it became apparent that the police inquiry had been flawed. Photo evidence had been lost or mislabeled; DNA had been collected and stored improperly, raising a possibility that it was tainted. And Detective Mark Fuhrman, a key witness, admitted that he had entered the Simpson home and found the matching glove and other crucial evidence — all without a search warrant.

‘If the Glove Don’t Fit’

The defense argued, but never proved, that Mr. Fuhrman planted the second glove. More damaging, however, was its attack on his history of racist remarks. Mr. Fuhrman swore that he had not used racist language for a decade. But four witnesses and a taped radio interview played for the jury contradicted him and undermined his credibility. (After the trial, Mr. Fuhrman pleaded no contest to a perjury charge. He was the only person convicted in the case.)

In what was seen as the crucial blunder of the trial, the prosecution asked Mr. Simpson, who was not called to testify, to try on the gloves. He struggled to do so. They were apparently too small.

“If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit,” Mr. Cochran told the jury later.

In the end, it was the defense that had the overwhelming case, with many grounds for reasonable doubt, the standard for acquittal. But it wanted more. It portrayed the Los Angeles police as racist, charged that a Black man was being railroaded, and urged the jury to think beyond guilt or innocence and send a message to a racist society.

On the day of the verdict, autograph hounds, T-shirt vendors, street preachers and paparazzi engulfed the courthouse steps. After what some news media outlets had called “The Trial of the Century,” producing 126 witnesses, 1,105 items of evidence and 45,000 pages of transcripts, the jury — sequestered for 266 days, longer than any in California history — deliberated for only three hours.

Much of America came to a standstill. In homes, offices, airports and malls, people paused to watch. Even President Bill Clinton left the Oval Office to join his secretaries. In court, cries of “Yes!” and “Oh, no!” were echoed across the nation as the verdict left many Black people jubilant and many white people aghast.

In the aftermath, Mr. Simpson and the case became the grist for television specials, films and more than 30 books, many by participants who made millions. Mr. Simpson, with Lawrence Schiller, produced “I Want to Tell You,” a thin mosaic volume of letters, photographs and self-justifying commentary that sold hundreds of thousands of copies and earned Mr. Simpson more than $1 million.

He was released after 474 days in custody, but his ordeal was hardly over. Much of the case was resurrected for the civil suit by the Goldman and Brown families. A predominantly white jury with a looser standard of proof held Mr. Simpson culpable and awarded the families $33.5 million in damages. The civil case, which excluded racial issues as inflammatory and speculative, was a vindication of sorts for the families and a blow to Mr. Simpson, who insisted that he had no chance of ever paying the damages.

Mr. Simpson had spent large sums for his criminal defense. Records submitted in the murder trial showed his net worth at about $11 million, and people with knowledge of the case said he had only $3.5 million afterward. A 1999 auction of his Heisman Trophy and other memorabilia netted about $500,000, which went to the plaintiffs. But court records show he paid little of the balance that was owed.

He regained custody of the children he had with Ms. Simpson, and in 2000 he moved to Florida, bought a home south of Miami and settled into a quiet life, playing golf and living on pensions from the N.F.L., the Screen Actors Guild and other sources, about $400,000 a year. Florida laws protect a home and pension income from seizure to satisfy court judgments.

The glamour and lucrative contracts were gone, but Mr. Simpson sent his two children to prep school and college. He was seen in restaurants and malls, where he readily obliged requests for autographs. He was fined once for powerboat speeding in a manatee zone, and once for pirating cable television signals.

In 2006, as the debt to the murder victims’ families grew with interest to $38 million, he was sued by Fred Goldman, the father of Ronald Goldman, who contended that his book and television deal for “If I Did It” had advanced him $1 million and that it had been structured to cheat the family of the damages owed.

The projects were scrapped by News Corporation, parent of the publisher HarperCollins and the Fox Television Network, and a corporation spokesman said Mr. Simpson was not expected to repay an $800,000 advance. The Goldman family secured the book rights from a trustee after a bankruptcy court proceeding and had it published in 2007 under the title “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.” On the book’s cover, the “If” appeared in tiny type, and the “I Did It” in large red letters.

Another Trial, and Prison

After years in which it seemed he had been convicted in the court of public opinion, Mr. Simpson in 2008 again faced a jury. This time he was accused of raiding a Las Vegas hotel room in 2007 with five other men, most of them convicted criminals and two armed with guns, to steal a trove of sports memorabilia from a pair of collectible dealers.

Mr. Simpson claimed that he was only trying to retrieve items stolen from him, including eight footballs, two plaques and a photo of him with the F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover, and that he had not known about any guns. But four men, who had been arrested with him and pleaded guilty, testified against him, two saying they had carried guns at his request. Prosecutors also played hours of tapes secretly recorded by a co-conspirator detailing the planning and execution of the crime.

On Oct. 3 — 13 years to the day after his acquittal in Los Angeles — a jury of nine women and three men found him guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping, assault, conspiracy, coercion and other charges. After Mr. Simpson was sentenced to a minimum of nine years in prison, his lawyer vowed to appeal, noting that none of the jurors were Black and questioning whether they could be fair to Mr. Simpson after what had happened years earlier. But jurors said the double-murder case was never mentioned in deliberations.

In 2013, the Nevada Parole Board, citing his positive conduct in prison and participation in inmate programs, granted Mr. Simpson parole on several charges related to his robbery conviction. But the board left other verdicts in place. His bid for a new trial was rejected by a Nevada judge, and legal experts said that appeals were unlikely to succeed. He remained in custody until Oct. 1, 2017, when the parole board unanimously granted him parole when he became eligible.

Certain conditions of Mr. Simpson’s parole — travel restrictions, no contacts with co-defendants in the robbery case and no drinking to excess — remained until 2021, when they were lifted, making him a completely free man.

Questions about his guilt or innocence in the murders of his former wife and Mr. Goldman never went away. In May 2008, Mike Gilbert, a memorabilia dealer and former crony, said in a book that Mr. Simpson, high on marijuana, had admitted the killings to him after the trial. Mr. Gilbert quoted Mr. Simpson as saying that he had carried no knife but that he had used one that Ms. Simpson had in her hand when she opened the door. He also said that Mr. Simpson had stopped taking arthritis medicine to let his hands swell so that they would not fit the gloves in court. Mr. Simpson’s lawyer Yale L. Galanter denied Mr. Gilbert’s claims, calling him delusional.

In 2016, more than 20 years after his murder trial, the story of O.J. Simpson was told twice more for endlessly fascinated mass audiences on television. “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” Ryan Murphy’s installment in the “American Crime Story” anthology on FX, focused on the trial itself and on the constellation of characters brought together by the defendant (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.). “O.J.: Made in America,” a five-part, nearly eight-hour installment in ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary series (it was also released in theaters), detailed the trial but extended the narrative to include a biography of Mr. Simpson and an examination of race, fame, sports and Los Angeles over the previous half-century.

A.O. Scott, in a commentary in The New York Times, called “The People v. O.J. Simpson” a “tightly packed, almost indecently entertaining piece of pop realism, a Dreiser novel infused with the spirit of Tom Wolfe” and said “O.J.: Made in America” had “the grandeur and authority of the best long-form fiction.”

In Leg Braces as a Child

Orenthal James Simpson was born in San Francisco on July 9, 1947, one of four children of James and Eunice (Durden) Simpson. As an infant afflicted with the calcium deficiency rickets, he wore leg braces for several years but outgrew his disability. His father, a janitor and cook, left the family when the child was 4, and his mother, a hospital nurse’s aide, raised the children in a housing project in the tough Potrero Hill district.

As a teenager, Mr. Simpson, who hated the name Orenthal and called himself O.J., ran with street gangs. But at 15 he was introduced by a friend to Willie Mays, the renowned San Francisco Giants outfielder. The encounter was inspirational and turned his life around, Mr. Simpson recalled. He joined the Galileo High School football team and won All-City honors in his senior year.

In 1967, Mr. Simpson married his high school sweetheart, Marguerite Whitley. The couple had three children, Arnelle, Jason and Aaren. Shortly after their divorce in 1979, Aaren, 23 months old, fell into a swimming pool at home and died a week later.

Mr. Simpson married Nicole Brown in 1985; the couple had a daughter, Sydney, and a son, Justin. He is survived by Arnelle, Jason, Sydney and Justin Simpson and three grandchildren, his lawyer Malcolm P. LaVergne said.

After being released from prison in Nevada in 2017, Mr. Simpson moved into the Las Vegas country club home of a wealthy friend, James Barnett, for what he assumed would be a temporary stay. But he found himself enjoying the local golf scene and making friends, sometimes with people who introduced themselves to him at restaurants, Mr. LaVergne said. Mr. Simpson decided to remain in Las Vegas full time. At his death, he lived right on the course of the Rhodes Ranch Golf Club.

From his youth, Mr. Simpson was a natural on the gridiron. He had dazzling speed, power and finesse in a broken field that made him hard to catch, let alone tackle. He began his collegiate career at San Francisco City College, scoring 54 touchdowns in two years. In his third year he transferred to Southern Cal, where he shattered records — rushing for 3,423 yards and 36 touchdowns in 22 games — and led the Trojans into the Rose Bowl in successive years. He won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s best college football player of 1968. Some magazines called him the greatest running back in the history of the college game.

His professional career was even more illustrious, though it took time to get going. The No. 1 draft pick in 1969, Mr. Simpson went to the Buffalo Bills — the league’s worst team had the first pick — and was used sparingly in his rookie season; in his second, he was sidelined with a knee injury. But by 1971, behind a line known as the Electric Company because they “turned on the Juice,” he began breaking games open.

In 1973, Mr. Simpson became the first to rush for over 2,000 yards, breaking a record held by Jim Brown, and was named the N.F.L.’s most valuable player. In 1975, he led the American Football Conference in rushing and scoring. After nine seasons, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, his hometown team, and played his last two years with them. He retired in 1979 as the highest-paid player in the league, with a salary over $800,000, having scored 61 touchdowns and rushed for more than 11,000 yards in his career. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Mr. Simpson’s work as a network sports analyst overlapped with his football years. He was a color commentator for ABC from 1969 to 1977, and for NBC from 1978 to 1982. He rejoined ABC on “Monday Night Football” from 1983 to 1986.

Actor and Pitchman

And he had a parallel acting career. He appeared in some 30 films as well as television productions, including the mini-series “Roots” (1977) and the movies “The Towering Inferno” (1974), “Killer Force” (1976), “Cassandra Crossing” (1976), “Capricorn One” (1977), “Firepower” (1979) and others, including the comedy “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad” (1988) and its two sequels.

He did not pretend to be a serious actor. “I’m a realist,” he said. “No matter how many acting lessons I took, the public just wouldn’t buy me as Othello.”

Mr. Simpson was a congenial celebrity. He talked freely to reporters and fans, signed autographs, posed for pictures with children and was self-effacing in interviews, crediting his teammates and coaches, who clearly liked him. In an era of Black power displays, his only militancy was to crack heads on the gridiron.

His smiling, racially neutral image, easygoing manner and almost universal acceptance made him a perfect candidate for endorsements. Even before joining the N.F.L., he signed deals, including a three-year, $250,000 contract with Chevrolet. He later endorsed sporting goods, soft drinks, razor blades and other products.

In 1975, Hertz made him the first Black star of a national television advertising campaign. Memorable long-running commercials depicted him sprinting through airports and leaping over counters to get to a Hertz rental car. He earned millions, Hertz rentals shot up and the ads made O.J.’s face one of the most recognizable in America.

Mr. Simpson, in a way, wrote his own farewell on the day of his arrest. As he rode in the Bronco with a gun to his head, a friend, Robert Kardashian, released a handwritten letter to the public that he had left at home, expressing love for Ms. Simpson and denying that he killed her. “Don’t feel sorry for me,” he wrote. “I’ve had a great life, great friends. Please think of the real O.J. and not this lost person.”

Alex Traub contributed reporting.

An earlier version of this obituary referred incorrectly to the glove that was an important piece of evidence in Mr. Simpson’s murder trial. It was not a golf glove. The error was repeated in a picture caption.

How we handle corrections

Robert D. McFadden is a Times reporter who writes advance obituaries of notable people. More about Robert D. McFadden

10 things to remember about O.J. Simpson

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ten things to remember about O.J. Simpson , the NFL running back-turned actor who was acquitted of murdering his wife and her friend.

The family announced on Simpson’s official X account — formerly Twitter — that Simpson died Wednesday after battling prostate cancer. Simpson’s attorney confirmed to TMZ he died in Las Vegas.

How he met Nicole Brown

She was a waitress at the trendy Beverly Hills restaurant, The Daisy. They met when he dined there and they quickly became inseparable. They married in 1985, had two children, Sydney and Justin, and divorced in 1992.

His son’s early death

Simpson had three children by his first marriage to Marguerite Whitley: Arnelle, Jason and Aaren, who drowned at the age of 2 in a family swimming pool in 1979.

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NFL career highlights

At the University of Southern California, Simpson won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 and was the first player chosen in the 1969 NFL draft. As a pro, Simpson was the first player to rush for more than 2,000 yards. He was NFL Player of the Year in 1972, 1973 and 1975 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. Simpson played for the Buffalo Bills for nine years and for the San Francisco 49ers for two years.

His overwhelming fame

At the height of his football fame, polls indicated he was one of the top three most recognized faces in North America. In 1977, he became the first pro football player to make the cover of “Rolling Stone." In 1978, he became the second professional athlete to host “Saturday Night Live.”

Actor Simpson’s movies

He had roles in “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” (1988), “The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear” (1991) and “The Towering Inferno” (1974). He was considered for the title role in “The Terminator,” but producers feared he was "too nice" to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer. He was working on a film called “Frogmen” shortly before the killings.

Commercials had him running through airports

He made a series of commercials for the Hertz rental car company, including the juggernaut ad that had him jumping over counters at an airport.

The Bronco chase

The infamous Bronco chase caused one television station to rearrange coverage of an NBA Finals game, featuring the chase on the main screen and the game as an inset. Nearly every network was broadcasting the chase as it headed toward the cemetery where his ex-wife was buried, then wound back to Simpson’s house. Cameras in helicopters showed Simpson holding a gun to his head as his friend Al Cowlings drove. Because the chase was so slow, huge crowds had time to gather on overpasses, where they cheered wildly when he drove by.

Mother’s moment

Simpson’s frail 73-year-old mother left her wheelchair, hobbled to the witness stand and told jurors how her son had rickets as a child and had inherited rheumatoid arthritis from her, suggesting he was too crippled to kill anyone.

Two books he wrote for money

While in jail during his criminal trial, he wrote a book called “I Want to Tell You” with a collaborator. It helped finance his defense. In 2008, he collaborated on a hypothetical confession called, “If I Did It,” which stirred up so much controversy that it was withdrawn from publication. Simpson said he needed money to pay for his children’s education. He called the proceeds “blood money.”

Johnnie Cochran

Attorney Johnnie Cochran was not his first attorney. That was Robert Shapiro. Cochran was reluctant to take on the case but was eventually convinced after praying with his pastor. He had been a commentator on the trial before becoming a part of it. He instantly went from being a well-known local attorney to being world famous.