Jay R. Ferguson

Handsome, sandy-haired actor Jay R. Ferguson saw frequent ups and downs in his career, starting when he was auspiciously cast as Ponyboy, the idealistic, sweet-faced lead of "The Outsiders," a 1990 Fox series based on the hit S.E. Hinton novel and film of the same name. Despite the almost legendary status of its source material, "The Outsiders" didn't make it past 13 episodes. Luckily for Ferguson, another job was already lined up and the young actor joined the cast of CBS' "Evening Shade" as the son of Burt Reynolds' football coach. A regular on the series from 1990-1993 and a recurring player from 1993-1994, Ferguson worked steadily and amassed a stable of fans, many of whom had initially noticed the performer in the teen magazine publicity blitz that met the debut of "The Outsiders." Following his television success, Ferguson found his career was a bit more hit or miss. He made his feature debut in the disjoined but hard-hitting and popular "Higher Learning" (1995), John Singleton's look at racial relations on a college campus. He was next featured in the 1995 Fox TV-movie "The Price of Love," a somewhat fluffy but heartfelt drama about hustlers in Los Angeles. Appearing in only a handful or roles in the mid- to late '90s, Ferguson began to be better known for the company he kept than the work he did when he began appearing in gossip pages as a frequent member of Leonardo DiCaprio's band of young revelers. Roles in the forgettable indie thriller "Campfire Tales" (1998), the well-intentioned but little-seen romance "Girl" (1999), the critically lambasted "The In Crowd" (2000) and the direct-to-cable crime caper "Blue Ridge Falls" (Cinemax, 2000) failed to register on the public interest meter. Having grown into his looks and his talents, Ferguson reemerged as a regular on The WB's short-lived suspense series "Glory Days" (2002) making the most of his featured role with a good measure of wry humor. He starred on the series as Rudy Dunlop, the young sheriff of a quaint waterfront town in Washington crawling with unexplained crimes. Ferguson reappeared on series television with the supporting role of art director Stan Rizzo on the Emmy-winning drama "Mad Men" (AMC 2007-2015). Originally a somewhat boorish, misogynistic type, Stan eventually bonded with rising young copywriter Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) and became the bearish, bearded, pot-smoking, in-house hippie of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Between seasons, Ferguson appeared in the noir "The Killer Inside Me" (2010) and romantic drama "The Lucky One" (2012). After the end of "Mad Men," Ferguson starred in the sitcom "The Real O'Neals" (ABC 2016-17) as amiable Chicago policeman Pat O'Neal, father of a close-knit family roiled by the sudden exposure of multiple family secrets.