Before They Were Stars: Richard Dreyfuss in an AMC Car Commercial

We once again take a trip back to the late 1960s when renowned Academy Award-winning actors were paying their dues by doing car commercials. Like Dustin Hoffman shilling the Volkwagen Fastback Sedan and Robert De Niro doing an ad for the AMC Ambassador, here’s a young Richard Dreyfuss doing a silly accent while appearing in a commercial for the AMC Javelin. In all cases, the actor wound up having a much longer shelf life than the vehicle they were endorsing. If you want to play “Six Degrees of Separation”, Dustin Hoffman immediately attained stardom after doing his ad by starring in The Graduate… which also happens to feature Richard Dreyfuss’ film debut in a bit part where his only line is: “Shall I get the cops? I’ll get the cops”. I wonder if Mr. Hoffman advised Mr. Dreyfuss that doing a car commercial would be a good luck omen.