Dec. 7--Lindsay Wagner makes pitches for Ford. Dustin Hoffman starred in a commercial for Volkswagen.

The crew from the Los Angeles-based Headquarters Films shooting part of a new campaign for Minute Maid Orange Juice hired Digger as their commercial's celebrity.

You might not recognize the name, but you can't forget the face. That pronounced nose. Those huge eyes. Those razor-sharp teeth.

Digger just happens to be a 6-foot-long alligator who has been working in show business for five years. She is best known as the star of the Lubriderm commercials.

Digger worked one day of the five days of filming on the commercial campaign here. The shoot took place at the McKittrick Ranch just south of Bakersfield.

"They called me and I called Joe (Camp). He actually owns Digger," said Jules Sylvester, of the Los Angeles-based Reptile Rentals, before helping the actor from her cage in the back of the van. Sylvester has some 80 creatures for use in TV, film and commercials. When he needs a tame alligator, he calls Camp.

Before going in front of the camera for her part of the commercial, Digger was given a rub down of baby oil and several feet of duct tape were removed from her muzzle.

"A lot of people don't understand why we use the tape. Part of it is safety, but mainly we are protecting her nose. That is the most tender part of an alligator and the tape keeps her from hurting herself while we travel," Camp said.

Digger was joined on the shoot by the film crew that has been taking up 50 rooms at the Red Lion Inn. Besides the lodging, the crew spent money from Von's to night spots such as the Rockin' Rodeo.

Susan Reep, marketing associate for the Kern County Board of Trade, estimated the filming would generate about $75,000 for the community.

"We have been working with them since Oct. 10. They scouted every orange grove in the state of California," Reep said. "They were so, so particular. There were five different location scouts we dealt with on this project."

Two cast members didn't cost the company anything for lodging. Local actors Thelma Horn and Dan Carothers were cast in the commercial.

Horn got the call from her agent with the Los Angeles-based C' La Vie and was delighted she would be filming close to home. She took it upon herself to be the unofficial tour guide for the other actors in the group.

Carothers, who operates his own agriculture consulting firm and stumbled into acting when he went to sign his 11-year-old daughter with the McCright Agency, said this was his second acting job. He portrays a chauffeur in the commercial.

A representative of the advertising agency putting together the campaign balked at talking about what was being shot. He did say that Kern County was selected because of its proximity to Los Angeles.

It was also selected because it could stand in for Florida. Several props of road signs were scattered around the farm. One warned of alligator crossings. Digger's shot was set up in front of two rows of huge palm trees that lead to the front of the ranch.

As to how a 6-foot-long alligator, a chauffeur and a group of "little old ladies" come together to sell orange juice will be revealed in 1997 when the commercials begin airing nationally.