R.I.P. Billy Mays

[J.M. Vargas]

From MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31596003/ns/us_news-life/

Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean made him a pop-culture icon, 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.

Mays' wife, Deborah Mays, told investigators that her husband had complained he didn't feel well before he went to bed some time after 10 p.m. Saturday night, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

I'm stunned! My boss met with Billy on Thursday for a shoot and he seemed in fine condition. Guess this puts an end to his "Pitchmen" show on the Discovery Channel.

[Boba Fett]

Sounds like he got a head injury after a mishap on a commercial plane.

I loved the guy's commercials and he'll be sorely missed.

[thepegsdave]

RIP Billy Mays

[Steve T Power]

huh? who?

[Dan Mancini]

huh? who?

[BrettCullum]

Strange I thought celeb deaths were only supposed to come in 3s. And the whole formula "the elderly, the sick, and the sudden." This is another "sudden" for sure. Hard to imagine just bumping your head on an airplane could take you out. How many times have I done that when getting up too fast after a flight? Yikes.

Very sad... infomercials will never be the same.

[mkiker2089]

Well it's speculation at best to guess that it was a head injury, but we've seen it at least once in the past year. Could be anything.

Everyone knows him, you just may not recognize the name.

Two at 50 so close with so little warning. That's oddness.

[J.M. Vargas]

Fred Travalena has passed away: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-fred-travalena30-2009jun30,0,653197.story. It's the like the deadly plagues from "The Ten Commandments" are all over Hollywood (and Tampa).

[Steve T Power]

Well it's speculation at best to guess that it was a head injury, but we've seen it at least once in the past year. Could be anything.

Everyone knows him, you just may not recognize the name.

Two at 50 so close with so little warning. That's oddness.

Maybe you should pretend like you're talking to someone who hasn't had a TV signal on his personal set since 2002. I still don't know who this guy is.

[J.M. Vargas]

Preliminary autopsy results indicate it was heart desease: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1014168.ece.

The autopsy done this morning reveals no evidence of head trauma or drug abuse, said Dr. Vernard Adams. There had been speculation that Mays might have been injured during a hard landing Saturday at Tampa International Airport.

The autopsy showed he had hardening of the arteries, Adams said. He was taking pain medication after two recent hip surgeries, but there is no evidence that contributed to his death, Adams said.

Adams said Mays had no knowledge of his heart disease and was taking no medication for it.

"By definition, sudden death can't be predicted," Adams said. "This was a total surprise."

[J.M. Vargas]

Discovery will have a "Pitchmen" marathon this Wednesday from 11AM until the season (series?) finale of "Pitchmen" airs at 10PM ET/PT: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2009/06/billy-mays-discovery-channel-plans-pitchman-marathon-salute.html.

[corkbouy]

Strange I thought celeb deaths were only supposed to come in 3s.

Leave it to Billy Mays to throw in one extra, COMPLETELY FREE!




Sorry - too soon?

[J.M. Vargas]

Not at all, I actually LOL'ed hard at that one! If you've seen "Pitchmen" or his self-mocking ESPN 360 commercials you know Billy could take a good joke!

[Dan Mancini]

Maybe you should pretend like you're talking to someone who hasn't had a TV signal on his personal set since 2002. I still don't know who this guy is.

He was a dude who sold products like OxyClean and Orange Glow by yelling at the audience (in an affable sort of way). Also, he had a finely sculpted beard.

[Steve T Power]

Maybe you should pretend like you're talking to someone who hasn't had a TV signal on his personal set since 2002. I still don't know who this guy is.

He was a dude who sold products like OxyClean and Orange Glow by yelling at the audience (in an affable sort of way). Also, he had a finely sculpted beard.

I see, the beard hails, nay, DEMANDS respect.

[J.M. Vargas]

Cocaine found (and a contributing death factor) in Billy Mays' autopsied body: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/07/florida.mays.cocaine/index.html.

Oxy Clean jokes, here I come! Seriously though, what's with these pitchmen? The ShamWow guy with the prostitute and now Mays doing crack. I don't see how the sponsors that decided to keep Billy's commercials going post-mortum won't be forced to yank them now that their spokesperson is a confirmed (by an autopsy) cocaine user.

[Steve T Power]

Holy shit man - after reading that - How many drugs was this guy on???

[mkiker2089]

Wow, two 50 year olds dying in such a short time with drug related issues.

As far as judging him, I'm not sure people will care. It was a victimless crime after all. Perhaps I'm naive though.

You also have that tendency of people to be nice to the deceased.