Billy Mays was `` Burt Reynolds in next-door format , '' advertising expert says . Mays started his career on the boardwalk of Atlantic City , New Jersey . `` I 'm a pitchman , my business comes from the pitch , nothing else , '' he said . Friend : `` No better pitchman on Earth '' » . ` He is now one of the most recognizable faces in America and has appeared in many movies including " The Longest Yard'( which won him an Oscar ), " Boogie Nights " ( where he played himself
Billy Mays was `` Burt Reynolds in next-door format , '' advertising expert says . Mays started his career on the boardwalk of Atlantic City , New Jersey . `` I 'm a pitchman , my business comes from the pitch , nothing else , '' he said . He is now one of the most recognizable faces in America and has appeared in many movies including " The Longest Yard'( which won him an Oscar ), " Boogie Nights " ( where he played himself