Sam Ayers: (Nashua) Telegraph

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Ayers also works part time for Universal Studios, playing the character Doc Brown from "Back to the Future."

Ayers moved out of Memphis and to Texas in 1984 after his famous furry-hat stints caught the attention of Larry Schmittou of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Schmittou asked Ayers to come to Dallas and create a character for the Rangers. So, single and only 26, Ayers moved to Texas, where he studied acting.

He ended up landing a job as an extra -- mostly in wedding scenes -- on the popular drama "Dallas."

After various small movie roles, he decided to move to New York City and landed a role as an extra, then a speaking part as a recurring co-star as a detective on "As the World Turns."

Ayers' resumé includes a long list of TV shows, movies and theater stints. He has appeared in more than a dozen TV shows, including "Another World," "One Life to Live" and others.

In these soap operas, Ayers either played a supporting actor, meaning a small part with an average of under five lines, or a recurring co-star, meaning a few appearances that vary in length on screen.

Other highlights of Ayers' career include: a stand-in on "Ghostbusters 2," a small part in "Quick Change" starring Bill Murray, and the lead role in a New York University film called "The Big Window," which was directed by Adam Cohen of MTV's "Road Rules."

To help boost his career, the 1976 Merrimack High School graduate said he is hoping "The Pretender" viewers will call or send e-mails to NBC saying "bring this guy back," he said. He has been in 32 episodes of the series to date.

A career boost always helps, he said. After all life in Hollywood is not all the glitter and glamour that most people think, especially for someone his age, he said.

"In L.A., I'm considered a 'has-been,'" he said; 18- to 22-year olds are a hot commodity.

It's tough for people in their 30s and older to get a lead role in a movie, "unless you're a Mel Gibson or a Tommy Lee Jones," Ayers said.

Getting to this point in his career hasn't exactly been easy.

Ayers has had more than a dozen part-time jobs to support his acting career. "You never know when your next meal is," he said.

"You actually have to wait for a bartender to die to get a bartending job in New York."

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