Mark Richardson
Member
Yusif Barakat saw an article in the same August 1967 Popular Science magazine where the Amphicar flood story ran about the actor John Wayne’s yacht called the Wild Goose and wrote him a letter offering to sell him an Amphicar. I have a copy of that letter and have the response which is attached.
He got a response from “The Duke’s” agent Donald LaCava politely declining the offer.
The response from Donald LaCava to Bearcat references that he discussed the Amphicar purchase with “The Duke” as he was recently in Georgia with him. I was curious why John Wayne would be in Georgia in July of 1967 and discovered that he was filming for “The Green Berets” movie at Fort Benning at the time, which he starred in and directed.
Turns out Donald LaCava was John Waynes’s son in law, married to his daughter Tori (Morrison) Wayne since 1956. Donald was the Vice President of Batjac Production company which was started by John Wayne to produce his movies. Donald also had his own management company called Markab Management Associates which had offices in Beverly Hills, California and later his own production company called Triton Productions.
The article about The Wild Goose is also attached and explains that the Yacht is a 132-foot converted military mine sweeper USS YMS328 and carries two tenders that are used for fishing, boating, and going ashore. Evidently, that large of a ship could easily accommodate an Amphicar for that purpose too! Always thinking about a sale, the owner of Bearcat Motors was bold enough to actually write a letter to John Wayne to sell him a car. The effort is quite remarkable, and another one of the interesting items found in The Bearcat Files.
One more interesting fact is that the yacht Wild Goose was also featured in the movie “The Presidents Analyst”, which we all know features one of the best movie scenes including an Amphicar. The Wild Goose appears when our hero is running from assassins and includes an Amphicar on the rear deck (pictured). The car is shown next in the water taking Coburn to shore. They left out the part where the car is unloaded from the ship and comes on land. Really not so farfetched to offer Wayne a car, and it is possible that Barakat saw this movie not realizing the ship was the same one in the article later in the year!
The Wild Goose has been restored and is still harbored in Newport Beach California and can be rented out or booked for a dinner cruise today. It still has much of the original interior from when “The Duke” and his Hollywood pals “The Rat Pack” sailed her. For reference, her sister ship is the famous YMS Calypso operated by Jacques Cousteau for many years and sung about by John Denver in 1975.
I agree with Barakat that John Wayne should have bought a white Amphicar for the yacht to go ashore. I can only guess why he would not want one as it seems to be a perfect match, and maybe Barakat should have offered one to Cousteau too?
He got a response from “The Duke’s” agent Donald LaCava politely declining the offer.
The response from Donald LaCava to Bearcat references that he discussed the Amphicar purchase with “The Duke” as he was recently in Georgia with him. I was curious why John Wayne would be in Georgia in July of 1967 and discovered that he was filming for “The Green Berets” movie at Fort Benning at the time, which he starred in and directed.
Turns out Donald LaCava was John Waynes’s son in law, married to his daughter Tori (Morrison) Wayne since 1956. Donald was the Vice President of Batjac Production company which was started by John Wayne to produce his movies. Donald also had his own management company called Markab Management Associates which had offices in Beverly Hills, California and later his own production company called Triton Productions.
The article about The Wild Goose is also attached and explains that the Yacht is a 132-foot converted military mine sweeper USS YMS328 and carries two tenders that are used for fishing, boating, and going ashore. Evidently, that large of a ship could easily accommodate an Amphicar for that purpose too! Always thinking about a sale, the owner of Bearcat Motors was bold enough to actually write a letter to John Wayne to sell him a car. The effort is quite remarkable, and another one of the interesting items found in The Bearcat Files.
One more interesting fact is that the yacht Wild Goose was also featured in the movie “The Presidents Analyst”, which we all know features one of the best movie scenes including an Amphicar. The Wild Goose appears when our hero is running from assassins and includes an Amphicar on the rear deck (pictured). The car is shown next in the water taking Coburn to shore. They left out the part where the car is unloaded from the ship and comes on land. Really not so farfetched to offer Wayne a car, and it is possible that Barakat saw this movie not realizing the ship was the same one in the article later in the year!
The Wild Goose has been restored and is still harbored in Newport Beach California and can be rented out or booked for a dinner cruise today. It still has much of the original interior from when “The Duke” and his Hollywood pals “The Rat Pack” sailed her. For reference, her sister ship is the famous YMS Calypso operated by Jacques Cousteau for many years and sung about by John Denver in 1975.
I agree with Barakat that John Wayne should have bought a white Amphicar for the yacht to go ashore. I can only guess why he would not want one as it seems to be a perfect match, and maybe Barakat should have offered one to Cousteau too?
