Billy Mays has died

[Dave160]

Television pitchman Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday.

 

Mays, 50, was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department.

 

Police said there were no signs of forced entry to Mays' residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

 

"Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times," Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.

 

Mays was well known for his numerous television promotions of such products as Orange Glo and OxiClean. He was also featured on the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs.

 

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "as seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

 

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network.

 

Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays showing how it's done while tossing out kitschy phrases like, "Long live your laundry!"

 

Recently he's been seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. He's also been seen in ESPN ads.

 

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans. People line up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stop him in airports to chat about the products.

 

"I enjoy what I do," Mays told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. "I think it shows."

 

Mays was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported.

 

US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station.

 

Authorities have not said whether Mays' death was related to the incident.

 

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman released a statement Sunday extending sympathy to the Mays family.

 

"Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth," Hillman's statement said. "Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend."

[Messino]

I wouldnt be surprised if it was because of drugs, he was always wired for sound

[Urbanfortitude]

Now who's gonna tell me about how good Oxy Clean is

[Maserati7200]

why are so many well known people dying around now?

[R68 Subway Car]

People are now dying out of NOWHERE! NOW BILLY MAYS??!!

[KTrainExp]

They're all dying at 50 years old...coincidence?

_____

 

Nah, but seriously, my condolences go to him and his family. He doesn't look like the kind of guy who took drugs, nor has a reputation for taking them.

[Paul P]

They're all dying at 50 years old...coincidence?

_____

 

Nah, but seriously, my condolences go to him and his family. He doesn't look like the kind of guy who took drugs, nor has a reputation for taking them.

You sound very suspicious, but I would still say no. B)

[Novabus 5000]

I am so scared because my dad turns 50 soon!:eek:

[metsfan]

Very sad, he had energy & helped people a lot. He was a character, an original.

 

I think he had a blood clot issue/complication or aneurysm from the hit on the head.

 

I sent an email to his production company expressing my sorrow & condolences.

 

- A

[Shortline Bus]

Very sad, he had energy & helped people a lot. He was a character, an original.

 

I think he had a blood clot issue/complication or aneurysm from the hit on the head.

 

I sent an email to his production company expressing my sorrow & condolences.

 

- A

 

 

An update on his death.

 

Pitchman Billy Mays had heart disease

 

TAMPA: Monday, June 29(AP staff writers) -- Television pitchman Billy Mays likely died of a heart attack in his sleep, in his Tampa home but further tests are needed to be sure of the cause of death, a medical examiner said Monday.

 

Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Vernard Adams said Mays suffered from hypertensive heart disease, and the wall of the left ventricle of Mays' heart and the wall of one of his arteries were enlarged.

 

The boisterous, bearded 50-year-old known for hawking OxiClean and other products on national 'informericals' was found dead Sunday by his wife in their Tampa condominium. First reports that Mays had passed away after a crash in a plane crash are untrue.

 

"The heart disease is perfectly consistent with sudden death," Adams said.

An official cause of death will be issued after toxicology and other tests are completed in eight to 10 weeks.

Story continues belowAdvertisement"While it provides some closure to learn that heart disease took Billy from us, it certainly doesn't ease the enormous void that his death has created in our lives," his wife, Deborah, said in a statement. "As you can imagine, we are all devastated."

Adams said Mays was taking the prescription painkillers Tramadol and hydrocodone for hip pain, but there was no indication of drug abuse. Mays had planned to have hip-replacement surgery Monday.

Mays told his wife he didn't feel well when he went to bed sometime after 10 p.m. Saturday. Earlier in the day, he said he was hit on the head when his flight from Philadelphia had a rough landing at Tampa International Airport. The airline said no passengers reported serious injuries.

Adams said the autopsy showed no evidence of head trauma.

In a 911 tape released Monday, a frantic woman tells emergency operators she found Mays cold and unresponsive. The woman isn't identified, but police have said Deborah Mays found her husband dead.

When asked what had happened, the caller says she doesn't know.

A second person got on the phone as the operator encourages them to get Mays on the floor to start CPR.

"We can't get him up, ma'am," the woman says. "He's gone."

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "As Seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network, now known as HSN.

Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays using them while tossing out kitschy phrases like, "Long live your laundry!"

HSN released a statement Monday morning, praising Mays as a "legend in the electronic retail history whose personality, entrepreneurial spirit and thoughtfulness for others have always been larger than life."

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans for his commercials on a wide variety of products. People lined up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stopped him in airports to chat about the products.

"I enjoy what I do," Mays told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. "I think it shows."

Mays liked to tell the story of giving bottles of OxiClean to the 300 guests at his wedding, and doing his ad spiel ("powered by the air we breathe!") on the dance floor at the reception. Visitors to his house typically got bottles of cleaner and housekeeping tips.

Besides his wife, Mays is survived by a 3-year-old daughter and a stepson in his 20s, police said.

 

c)2009 AP, Inc.

[DX Local Train]

Somethings Up with all the Death Of People Well know...Its Quite Odd All the clebs Are dying...I Dont wanna die

[Race Harley]

R.I.P. The Ad Man will be missed.

[DOB2RTO]

I wouldnt be surprised if it was because of drugs, he was always wired for sound

 

Hopefully, he wasn't huffing Oxy Clean......

 

why are so many well known people dying around now?

 

Death comes in threes, or sets of threes sometimes.......

 

People are now dying out of NOWHERE! NOW BILLY MAYS??!!

 

Didn't most of them die in their homes? That's somewhere isn't it........

 

I am so scared because my dad turns 50 soon!:eek:

 

If he isn't famous, nothing to worry about.........

[Y2Julio]

[Messino]

I wouldnt be surprised if it was because of drugs, he was always wired for sound

 

Autopsy: Cocaine contributed to Billy Mays' death

 

MITCH STACY • Associated Press • August 7, 2009

 

An autopsy report shows that cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed TV pitchman Billy Mays in June, officials announced today.

 

 

The Hillsborough County medical examiner's office previously determined that the bearded, boisterous TV spokesman had a heart attack in his sleep. His wife found him unresponsive in bed in their Tampa condo June 28.

 

Mays was a pop-culture fixture with his energetic commercials pitching gadgets and cleaning products like Orange Glo and OxiClean.

 

While heart disease was the primary cause of death, a report released today by the medical examiner listed cocaine as a "contributory cause of death."

 

The medical examiner "concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release.

 

The office said Mays last used cocaine in the few days before his death but was not under the influence of the drug when he died. Hillsborough County spokeswoman Lori Hudson said nothing in the toxicology report indicated the frequency of Mays' cocaine use.

 

Cocaine can raise the arterial blood pressure, directly cause thickening of the left wall of the ventricle and accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, the release said.

 

The toxicology tests also showed therapeutic amounts of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam. Mays had suffered hip problems and was scheduled for hip-replacement surgery the day after he was found dead.

 

The McKees Rocks, Pa., native developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "As Seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

 

He got his start on TV on the Home Shopping Network and then branched out into commercials and infomercials. He developed such a strong following that he became the subject of a reality TV series, Discovery Channel's "Pitchmen."

[Grand Concourse]

Damn, that's a shame, about the drug use that is.

[Messino]

Yeah. Too many people dying because of drug use.

[Shortline Bus]

Please not trying to sound mean/rude but why is people on these boards so into Billy Mays and his passing?

[Grand Concourse]

He had this likeable personality and of course his 'character' was a source of mockery and he even made fun of himself with his appearances on Leno's show.

He's sort of like Steve irwin [Croc hunter], both likeable ppl that you just can't hate. That's what makes it sad they died so young.

Well that's what I believe.

[Shortline Bus]

He had this likeable personality and of course his 'character' was a source of mockery and he even made fun of himself with his appearances on Leno's show.

He's sort of like Steve irwin [Croc hunter], both likeable ppl that you just can't hate. That's what makes it sad they died so young.

Well that's what I believe.

 

I asked this question because other celebrities such as Movie Director John Hughes('Home Alone" "Breakfast Club" etc) and former Phillphines President Cory Aquniono just both also passed away in last week and got very little publicty. Maybe my bias against infomericals/home shopping channels. Mr Mays was a great tv salesman.

[Messino]

Please not trying to sound mean/rude but why is people on these boards so into Billy Mays and his passing?

 

I personally didnt start the thread, although I felt I should update it because I suspected drug use was a cause of his death and today they confirmed the suspicion. How celebrities are often looked up to as idols and people who are envied it should also send a message that no one is invincible to their demons and to the negative and often toxic effects of any drug use.

[metsfan]

I'm not judging (as i normally don't). There are reasons why people do everything they do. Heck i lost a friend after she had one beer (i don't drink) i tried to revive her, to no avail. No one is perfect, and to think so is delusional, even the most brilliant and renowned people have really serious issues sometimes, just like anyone. For instance Henry Ford was a hardcore racist & anti-semite, his cars were hand built to low specs and horrible to drive etc, but people remember him as a great pioneer and industrialist. People tend to bust out the sugar glazing & go to work, or refuse to use any glaze at all & only see the rough bits. Billy helped a lot of people, if he used cocaine for any reason, the usage was wrong, but since we don't know why, we will never know the full story, hence any judgement would be based on partial information. It is, though, i can say with utter certainty, a complete tragedy, shocking both in its randomness and now this later development.

 

- A

[Shortline Bus]

I personally didnt start the thread, although I felt I should update it because I suspected drug use was a cause of his death and today they confirmed the suspicion. How celebrities are often looked up to as idols and people who are envied it should also send a message that no one is invincible to their demons and to the negative and often toxic effects of any drug use.

 

I know my friend that R160 Manic did. Knowing the pressures of his informericals/business while i dont condone it, i am not shocked that he died from cocaine. Just like not offical i suspect Micheal Jackson died from an accidental overdose of phamarcy meds.

[Q101viaSteinway]

I know my friend that R160 Manic did. Knowing the pressures of his informericals/business while i dont condone it, i am not shocked that he died from cocaine. Just like not offical i suspect Micheal Jackson died from an accidental overdose of phamarcy meds.

 

Every celerbrity does stuff drugs, or what. Back home I see no one do this

[Shortline Bus]

Every celerbrity does stuff drugs, or what. Back home I see no one do this

 

Probably because cocaine/heroin is so expensive. I am sure in your part of the world such as China and other places in Asia, you can find 'bootleg' and cheaper illegal drugs as well if you looked hard enough.