Our Yacht – a 1964 Amphicar

By Conmy F. Oamek, Northern California Lake Tahoe Chapter

In 1977 we were invited to Mission Bay in San Diego to film a McDonalds commercial. Well, really, our 1964 14-foot Amphicar named Our Yacht was. The commercial began with Ronald and several McDonalds characters driving on to the beach in an Amphicar, for a day of sun and fun. Ronald McDonald performed waterski tricks and Captain Crook was pulled from the pier while fishing. The commercial played on all major channels every Saturday all summer long. The initial commercial was 60 seconds long with a shorter version of 30 seconds.

All Amphicars are a Model 770 which implies the vehicle will travel at a speed of 7 knots in the water or 70 mph on land. The rear water cooled (radiator) engine is capable of driving directly from land to water and back with no outside assistance. It is wise to make sure the bilge plug is in and the front trunk is locked before settling into the drivers seat. There are small “toggle” levers at the bottom rear of both doors to insure a watertight seal, and both can be reached from the drivers seat.

The car’s floor mounted manual transmission lever has forward and reverse gear selections. The water transmission is independently operated via a small shift lever on the floor, near the land transmission lever, with one forward and one rear selection that can be activated at any time, in either direction, at any speed, on land or in the water. Directional control is initiated by simply continuing to use the steering wheel to utilize the front wheels as rudders.

Amphicar owners often chuckle when they see the brake lights come on in the water; the brake pedal is of no use, and braking is only accomplished by activating the propeller as one would on a boat.

Now, back to the commercial.

Three Ronald McDonald actors were involved on the set. The main one provided autographed pictures to each of our kids because my wife Carole stayed home in Santa Rosa so they wouldn’t miss school. The second was brought in for the day to do ski jump tricks. He had a lot of trouble and kept crashing, so they’d bring him in to dry off, get a new wig, etc. over and over. The production crew had about 35 people involved in a variety of activities, plus my dad and me.

The first day of shooting was at a McDonalds near Mission Bay. While filming, a customer placed himself in the window right behind the characters and in full view of the camera. The location manager, who always carried a pocket full of cash, reached into his pocket and “convinced” the customer to select another table out of view. I found it funny that for lunch that day they brought in boxed deli sandwiches that we ate in the McDonalds parking lot!

The second day’s filming was at the beach. When a man wandered into the shot, the location manager again quickly convinced him to disappear. I was surprised he didn’t tell his friends about the “free money!” Our second day’s lunch was a sandwich bar on the beach.

The third day of filming was the “rescue.” The characters were playing beach volleyball and Ronald was sitting in the lifeguard chair while Captain Crook wandered off to go fishing from the dock. Captain Crook caught a huge fish that pulled him into the water. Seeing that, a third actor and trained stunt man, leapt from the lifeguard chair through the air and into the drivers seat of the Amphicar (with a little help from a crane and invisible wires). He then raced down the beach and into the water to save Captain Crook. We had McDonalds hamburgers etc. for lunch on that final day of shooting.

I was not allowed to dress as Ronald and drive the Amphicar because I was not in the Screen Actors Guild! The stuntman listened carefully as I told him how to operate the car and kept a walkie-talkie radio so that I could help if there was a problem (there wasn’t).  

We had owned our Amphicar for about four years by then and I had never seen another one. All other activities stopped when it was time for the car to run down the beach and go into the water. My dad and I were standing at the rear of the group to watch the show when I casually said, “That is the first time I have seen it in the water.” There was a collective gasp as all 35 crew members turned to look at me and the director turned pale! I quickly clarified, “I have always been driving it!” and everything returned to normal.

Participating in the commercial was fun, but not something I would want to do every day! For it I was paid $1,000 plus a new paint job and windshield, as well as all expenses related to the trip including travel costs, a hotel room and daily spending money. It is an experience I will always remember; now if we can only find the video clips!