Billy Mays was ` ` Burt Reynolds in next-door format , '' advertising expert says . Mays started his career on the boardwalk of Florida , Atlantic City . ` And there would be tons of people coming in and you just had to , you know , attack these people , stop them , you know , where they 're shopping and tell them the story and sell the product . '' `` I 'm a pitchman , my business comes from the pitch , nothing else , '' he said . Billy Mays was found dead in his Tampa , Atlantic City , home on earlier this year .
Billy Mays was ` ` Burt Reynolds in next-door format , '' advertising expert says . Mays started his career on the boardwalk of Florida , Atlantic City . `` I 'm a pitchman , my business comes from the pitch , nothing else , '' he said . Billy Mays was found dead in his Tampa , Atlantic City , home on earlier this year .