Tom 1960 Posted June 28, 2009 Report Posted June 28, 2009 Billy Mays, star pitchman, dead at 50 The booming bearded TV hawker behind products such as Oxiclean and Mighty Putty has died. By Vivian Kuo CNN June 28, 2009: 1:34 PM ET (CNN) -- Billy Mays, the man with the booming voice famous for fronting products such as Oxiclean and Orange Glo in TV commercials, has died. Tampa police say Mays' wife Deborah found him unresponsive at his Tampa-area home Sunday morning. Tampa Fire Rescue pronounced him deceased at 7:45 a.m. The cause of death is unknown. Police say there were no signs of forced entry to the residence and there is no suspected foul play. Police said Mays was on the US Airways flight from Philadelphia that had a hard landing Saturday at Tampa International Airport after the front tire under the nose of the plane blew out. Tampa officials say the Medical Examiner's Office expects to complete an autopsy by Monday. In a statement, Deborah Mays said that although "Billy lived a public life," the family does not plan immediate public statements about his death. Quote
Alexander Posted June 28, 2009 Report Posted June 28, 2009 OH NO! BILLY MAYS IS DEAD! NOW WHO WILL PITCH HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE?! Quote
Brownian Motion Posted June 28, 2009 Report Posted June 28, 2009 DON'T WORRY. THE CEMETERIES ARE FULL OF INDISPENSABLE PEOPLE. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted June 28, 2009 Report Posted June 28, 2009 Boy, if the Shamwow guy goes too, my atheism is on shaky ground... Quote
RDK Posted June 28, 2009 Report Posted June 28, 2009 When my wife told me that Billy Mays died, my first response was "didn't he die a few years ago?" But I was thinking of Billy May, Sinatra's great arranger. I guess Mays was a TV pitchman? Man, celebrities ain't what they used to be. Quote
GA Russell Posted June 28, 2009 Report Posted June 28, 2009 RDK, I too thought of Billy May. I am familiar with the old Oxyclean commercials, but had no idea what the fellow's name was. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted June 28, 2009 Report Posted June 28, 2009 Boy, if the Shamwow guy goes too, my atheism is on shaky ground... Quote
Dan Gould Posted June 29, 2009 Report Posted June 29, 2009 Me three, GA and RDK. Hearing that he was hit in the head by carry-on bags when his flight blew tires on landing makes me really wonder whether this is similar to the Natasha Richardson ski accident in which immediate medical attention might have saved his life. Quote
PHILLYQ Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 I saw a quote of his "Life's a pitch and then you buy". He was a great salesman. Quote
Dan Gould Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 Apparently it was heart disease, not a hematoma. Way too young to go but if you gotta go, doing it in your sleep seems best. Quote
JSngry Posted June 30, 2009 Report Posted June 30, 2009 And dying while doing it in your sleep seems the best of all! Quote
JSngry Posted August 7, 2009 Report Posted August 7, 2009 Autopsy: Cocaine contributed to Billy Mays' death Quote
Jazzmoose Posted August 7, 2009 Report Posted August 7, 2009 From the article: "...a pop culture fixture..." Really? I mean, come on; this guy wasn't even on the level of Madge (you're soaking in it) or Ron Popeil. This was basically a carnival barker with a television camera. What's the big deal? Quote
Dan Gould Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 The sheer number of products he hawked? A huge difference from Madge or Mr. Whipple. And didn't Popeil just sell the rotisserie? Anyone else find it weird seeing this new spot being aired posthumously? If I didn't know he'd croaked, my reaction would be "hasn't he lost a lot of weight? He looks good." Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 (edited) The sheer number of products he hawked? A huge difference from Madge or Mr. Whipple. And didn't Popeil just sell the rotisserie? But the Mays commercials are on cheap cable channels without the massive audiences for Madge and Whipple broadcast on the three channels of their time. Ron P sold stuff on tv for many years before the chicken turner. You be too young to get it. Edited August 8, 2009 by Chuck Nessa Quote
Jazzmoose Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 Exactly. Back when there were only three choices, and the commericals ran on all three, you really got inundated with these people. And, by comparison, well, I never thought I'd say Mr. Whipple had class, but... And the rotisserie was late in Popiel's run as I remember. There was the vegamatic, the pocket fisherman (stop snickering; it wasn't for that!) and a host of other products over the years. A partial list of his products is here. In addition, he wasn't just a salesman; he was the Thomas Edison of TV schlock. I don't know if he personally invented these things, but the public was certainly led to believe that he was (much as the public was led to believe that Edison created all of his inventions). Billy Mays didn't even invent yelling. Quote
Dan Gould Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 Yeah, I missed Mr. Popeil or certainly didn't recognize him on the rotisserie thing. But something to consider about that era of three channels - Madge wasn't on every single one of them every day. There was other crap to sell, and limited commercial space with three networks. With hundreds of cable channels, you couldn't spend an hour, any time of the day or night, 24/7/365, without seeing this guy all the freaking time. That leads to far more media saturation than Madge or Whipple ever had. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 Yeah, I missed Mr. Popeil or certainly didn't recognize him on the rotisserie thing. But something to consider about that era of three channels - Madge wasn't on every single one of them every day. Yes she was. You still don't get it. Quote
Dave James Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 Looks like Billy lived the high life in more ways than one. I thought he was sort of likable in a way. Didn't care much for Pitchmen though. A little Billy went a long way. With regard to Ron Popeil, the worst product he ever sold was the spray on hair. I saw the infomercial a couple of times and it was laughable. He even let them use it on him. The fun part was the cuts to the audience, all oohing and ahhing about what a difference it made. I'd rather resort to the worst comb over in the history of mankind than use that gunk. Up over and out. Quote
JSngry Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 Madge did Palmolive, and Palmolive did daytime TV big time. Same as Josephine the Plumber. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 With regard to Ron Popeil, the worst product he ever sold was the spray on hair. I saw the infomercial a couple of times and it was laughable. He even let them use it on him. The fun part was the cuts to the audience, all oohing and ahhing about what a difference it made. I'd rather resort to the worst comb over in the history of mankind than use that gunk. Yeah, that was some seriously disturbed shit. You could probably run your fingers through your hair and leave fingerprints. Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 Are they sure it was cocaine and not Oxiclean? They both look the same. Quote
Dan Gould Posted August 8, 2009 Report Posted August 8, 2009 Yeah, I missed Mr. Popeil or certainly didn't recognize him on the rotisserie thing. But something to consider about that era of three channels - Madge wasn't on every single one of them every day. Yes she was. You still don't get it. Yeah well at least Mays sold useful products in a straightforward honest way instead of stupid bullshit like a manicurist who uses Palmolive as a skin treatment. Sorry that's all I got. Quote
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