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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead at Florida home By MITCH STACY TAMPA, Fla. -- Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman known for his boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean, has died. He was 50. Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife Sunday morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m. There were no signs of a break-in, and investigators do not suspect foul play, said Lt. Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police Department, who wouldn't answer any more questions about how Mays' body was found because of the ongoing investigation. The coroner's office expects to have an autopsy done by Monday afternoon. "Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days," said Mays' wife, Deborah. "Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times." Tampa area media outlets reported that Mays was a passenger on a U.S. Airways flight that made a rough landing on Saturday afternoon at Tampa International Airport, apparently blowing its front tires in an incident that left debris on the runway. Tampa Bay's Fox television affiliate interviewed Mays after the incident. "All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping," MyFox Tampa Bay quoted him as saying. "It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head." U.S. Airways officials said Sunday they could not immediately confirm that Mays was a passenger. 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 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. 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."
Poster Comment: Ok that's three.
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#1. To: farmfriend (#0)
I suspect that the blow to his head was not a good thing.
Natasha Richardson's "minor" fatal skiing accident in March should have served as a lesson to all to seek immediate medical attention after any injury, however seemingly innocuous, to one's head.
I do not 'get' what the head shaking was about, at all. Dolly was loving it all, and having a grand time. What was not to like about Allison's rendition? Two country artists that you'd best be very, very good to try to cover are George Jones and Dolly Parton, imo. Totally unique and amazing voices.
Hard to say what the head shaking was about. I didn't get disgust out of it though. She did sound like Dolly right there in the beginning. If there wasn't video I would have thought it was her.
That clip reminded me of something that Dolly said in an interview, back when, regarding her looks, hair, and costumes: "You don't know how much it costs to look this tacky." She is one class act, imo.
Agreed. I used to enjoy her variety show.
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