Actor, TV Star, And "Tough American" Spokesman for AMC: Sam Groom

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A transcript, cleaned up via AI and edited by a human staffer, is below.

[Image: YouTube Screenshot]

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Transcript: They took me out to what they called a “destruction track.” It was basically an area like a park where they would beat cars to death to test their tolerances. They had massive potholes and jagged obstacles, and they drove me around it just once—it almost broke my back. They would pound those cars until the springs and shocks were completely worn out. I had no idea they did things like that. It was really interesting to see.

The Last Independent Automaker Podcast was sponsored in part by Visit Detroit, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, MotorCities National Heritage Area, and by over 375 individuals and organizations who donated to the project. Thank you.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Last Independent Automaker Podcast. I’m your producer and host, Joe Ligo. Today’s episode features our extended interview with TV and film actor and AMC spokesman Sam Groom.

You might recognize him as the face of AMC’s “Tough Americans” campaign from around 1981 to 1983. If you’re a dedicated AMC enthusiast, you may also know him as the host of the company’s sales training videos that were distributed to dealerships on LaserDisc.

In terms of commercials, Sam only appeared in AMC product line ads. He didn’t do campaigns for Jeep or Renault, and Eagle had its own separate advertising approach. However, he did appear across all brands in the internal sales training videos.

If you’re a fan of vintage television, you might also recognize him as Dr. Simon Lockach from Police Surgeon in the 1970s. He also guest-starred in a number of well-known shows, including The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, Law & Order, and Gunsmoke.

When I first started thinking about The Last Independent Automaker about ten years ago, I was aware of Sam from the commercials, which have become fairly well known online. But I had no idea if he was still active or how to contact him. Still, I thought it would be great to include his story in the documentary.

Thanks to a friend of mine, Ben, from the American Motors Owners Club, we were able to track him down. After some convincing, Sam agreed to sit down for an interview. It’s a bit of an unusual request—two strangers calling and asking about a commercial from 30 years ago—but he gave us a chance.

I interviewed him in the fall of 2023 with my co-producer Jim and Ben. Unfortunately, we could only use a small portion of that interview in the final documentary. So this episode gives us a chance to share more of his stories—from his work in the automotive world to his experiences in Hollywood and the many people he met along the way.

One note: the interview has been lightly edited. The conversation originally jumped around quite a bit, so I rearranged some sections for clarity. I also removed pauses and interruptions—things like coughing, adjusting equipment, or breaks. Nothing was altered in a misleading way, just tightened up to make it easier to follow.

So, without further ado—Sam Groom.