Yes, this is true.  He was only 50.  :\'(

Billy is the boisterous TV pitch man who hawked products like OxiClean, Orange Glow, Mighty Putty, Hercules Hook, and The Ding King.  8)

Just saw this on CNN, no other details yet.
Just a couple weeks ago he was in his native Picksburgh, talking smack about the ShamWOW guy too...  :-\\

So he just checked out? How sad.

What was the cause of death? How'd you hear about this? ???

So he just checked out? How sad.

What was the cause of death? How'd you hear about this? ???


Here's a link:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-06-28-mays_N.htm

His wife found him at home, no other details.  My money says heart attack, stroke, or aneurysm.  :-\\

Autopsy to be conducted tomorrow afternoon.

Oddly he was a passenger on a USAir plane that had a rough landing in Tampa yesterday, in which the front tires went Kaboom and blew out.  Some passengers had bumps and bruises, but as of this time it is not known if Billy was injured in any way.

RIP Billy.  :\'(   You could sell ice cubes to the Eskimos Inuit.  :)

Wow! That's a shocker.



Cat

The overview of recent deaths can be like one of Billy's pitches :


'Hey, 3 prominent people have been taken from us, you've got your ED MCMAHON, you've got your FARRAH FAWCETT, and there is MICHAEL JACKSON!
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE,  we'll even throw in ... BILLY MAYS!'

Yes, you get all this in just 1 WEEK! READ ABOUT IT NOW!

 

Sad to hear!  :\'(  :\'(  :\'(

He was a good pitch man and 50 is indeed way too young to go. 

R.I.P. Billy Mays

The overview of recent deaths can be like one of Billy's pitches :


'Hey, 3 prominent people have been taken from us, you've got your ED MCMAHON, you've got your FARRAH FAWCETT, and there is MICHAEL JACKSON!
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE,  we'll even throw in ... BILLY MAYS!'

Yes, you get all this in just 1 WEEK! READ ABOUT IT NOW!

 



That is really low.



Cat

That is really low.

Cat
IDK, Cat. Billy might've found that funny. There's gotta be people who impersonate him for comedy's sake.

From what I read, he was on a flight landing in Tampa but not wearing his seat belt. When the tire blew, he was either pitched forward or conked over the head by falling carry-on baggage. He should have been hospitalized overnight to check for delayed blunt force trauma, but he laughed with reporters that he was hard-headed. Famous Last Words... :\'(

I had nothing against Mr. Mays, and my heart goes out to his family.

Your Pal,
Doc
:(

IDK, Cat. Billy might've found that funny. There's gotta be people who impersonate him for comedy's sake.

From what I read, he was on a flight landing in Tampa but not wearing his seat belt. When the tire blew, he was either pitched forward or conked over the head by falling carry-on baggage. He should have been hospitalized overnight to check for delayed blunt force trauma, but he laughed with reporters that he was hard-headed. Famous Last Words... :\'(

I had nothing against Mr. Mays, and my heart goes out to his family.

Your Pal,
Doc
:(


I wonder if when he got conked on the head, basically the same thing happened to him as did Natasha Richardson? ???

I wonder if when he got conked on the head, basically the same thing happened to him as did Natasha Richardson? ???

Sad to say it, LB, but I think your wondering is right on point. And if you're right, we can list Billy's COD as Typical Idiotic Machismo!
Your Pal,
Doc
8)

From what I've heard, Billy Mays was a genuine good guy. Sucky products or not, he was one hell of a salesman.

What a week - Ed McMahon, Farrah, MJ and now Billy Mays. Why couldn't it have been Charles Manson, Dick Cheney, Kim Jong Ill and Bin Laden?

Maybe some infamous people will die this week - balance and all...



Sad to say it, LB, but I think your wondering is right on point. And if you're right, we can list Billy's COD as Typical Idiotic Machismo!
Your Pal,
Doc
8)


A few days ago I saw a CSI episode of where a boy got hit on the head, which wouldn't have been fatal, except he was given aspirin and alcohol and bled to death. I wonder if something similar might have happened to Billy Mays.

Ant

Billy was an awesome pitchman.  He knew how to sell a product and was great at it.  The world of infomercials will never be the same.

R.I.P. Billy :\'(

Billy was an awesome pitchman.  He knew how to sell a product and was great at it.  The world of infomercials will never be the same.

R.I.P. Billy :\'(


Well, we still have Kathy Mitchell (Turbo Cooker, Microcrisp), Vince Shlomi (ShamWOW, Slap Chop), and the infomercial king, Ron Popeil (list too long to name here).    :)

This was really a surprise this morning!  Billy was quite a presence around Tampa, (and yes, he was a genuinely nice guy). He went on all the radio shows and at one time had a feud with one of the local dj's, and when they "kissed and made up", it was kind of cool. He even recently did some local commercials for some local restraunts, etc. It will be weird(er) around here without him.  Wonder if the place incident really did have something to do with it? Guess we'll have to wait and see.  So does this mean there will be 2 more deaths soon, if they come in 3's?

Here's one of the last local things he did:

Can you make change for a $100 at McDonalds?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtYdDK1uTDI

Good heavens, celebrities seem to be dropping like flies this past week... :(

Some people, after a death, let their imagination run wild with: Ed McMahon is now reunited with Johnny and are doing their show one again, Farrah Fawcet is back with Charlie, and so I guess I can imagine BILLY MAYS is up in the big heavenly audience scamming everyone for whatever he can get! 8-P 8-P

I thought I heard my son say he was dead, then I thought I was hearing things..now I know it's true RIP Billy

Good heavens, celebrities seem to be dropping like flies this past week... :(


I was thinking the same thing.....this one was definitely unexpected!  :\'(


RIP Billy Mays.  :\'(

Some people, after a death, let their imagination run wild with: Ed McMahon is now reunited with Johnny and are doing their show one again, Farrah Fawcet is back with Charlie, and so I guess I can imagine BILLY MAYS is up in the big heavenly audience scamming everyone for whatever he can get! 8-P 8-P


Billy is probably up there sharing war stories with Dennis James, another pitchman who sold crap on TV.

I really liked Billy Mays though, I think he was the real deal.  8)

Any other sucke...uh...procurers, get the Billy Mays LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCT...How did you explain this when you had to submit your hospital bill?

Any other sucke...uh...procurers, get the Billy Mays LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCT...How did you explain this when you had to submit your hospital bill?




He hawked life insurance?  I did not know that.

From what I've heard, Billy Mays was a genuine good guy. Sucky products or not, he was one hell of a salesman.

Yeah, I have to agree with you there. He did sell a lotta stuff with his personality.

Good heavens, celebrities seem to be dropping like flies this past week... :(


I was thinking the same thing.....this one was definitely unexpected!  :\'(

As was I! That's four people in the past six days alone!! :-\\

keep an ear out for Walter Cronkite..even his kids say there's no hope for recovery.

I am really sad. :( I've always had a thing for Billy Mays.

That is really low.



Cat


I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that.



Sad to say it, LB, but I think your wondering is right on point. And if you're right, we can list Billy's COD as Typical Idiotic Machismo!
Your Pal,
Doc
8)


How is it his fault if he conked his head during a rough landing on an airplane (assuming that's what killed him)? ::)


From what I've heard, Billy Mays was a genuine good guy. Sucky products or not, he was one hell of a salesman.

Ant


He hated on that ShamWow son of a bitch.  I've loved him ever since.  His products weren't sucky, either.  OxiClean and Orange Glow and that other oven cleaning stuff (not sure if they sell it anymore) hella worked. :)


Some people, after a death, let their imagination run wild with: Ed McMahon is now reunited with Johnny and are doing their show one again, Farrah Fawcet is back with Charlie, and so I guess I can imagine BILLY MAYS is up in the big heavenly audience scamming everyone for whatever he can get! 8-P 8-P



Any other sucke...uh...procurers, get the Billy Mays LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCT...How did you explain this when you had to submit your hospital bill?




Shut the hell up.

LASTDAY, CANCER 49S.  YEAR OF THE CITY 2009.  CAROUSEL CONTINUES...

I WAS ALWAYS MORE OF A VINCE FAN THAN A MAYS FAN.  HAVING SAID THAT, I'M WILLING TO RENDER A SUITABLE SALUTE TO A GREAT PITCHMAN.

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU, BILLY.

http://imgur.com/IJdtT.jpg

IN A WORLD IN WHICH SECOND PLACE WAS A SET OF STEAK KNIVES, THIS MAN EARNED THE CADILLAC ELDORADO.

I WAS ALWAYS MORE OF A VINCE FAN THAN A MAYS FAN.


:o

YOU ARE MY MORTAL ENEMY!!!!!!

Besides, how could you like a dude that got beat up by a prostitute? :D

:o

YOU ARE MY MORTAL ENEMY!!!!!!

Besides, how could you like a dude that got beat up by a prostitute? :D


Ah, Vince fought the Scilons after they screwed him over on The Underground Comedy Movie.  If I can overlook Jackson's kinks, I can certainly turn a blind eye to Shlomi's hooker-fail.  Vince was like Mays, but with moar lulz.  More importantly, Vince always seemed to know he was a parody of himself, and his commercials seemed to be more about self-parody as they were about the product. 

Mays, I had mixed impressions on until I started watching Pitchmen.  The guy was actually a lot more on the level than he ever let on during his infomercials.  And with Pitchmen, he actually advanced the industry -- Discovery channel used to be about science/technology, then it became about pseudoscience/sensationalism, but it took Mays to turn it into an infomercial.

Vince may have made informercials funny, but it took Mays to make informercials interesting.

My hat-tip to Vince aside...

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii18/drmabuse06/shamwow2.jpg

He who has laughed his last, may well have laughed best.

The overview of recent deaths can be like one of Billy's pitches :


'Hey, 3 prominent people have been taken from us, you've got your ED MCMAHON, you've got your FARRAH FAWCETT, and there is MICHAEL JACKSON!
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE,  we'll even throw in ... BILLY MAYS!'

Yes, you get all this in just 1 WEEK! READ ABOUT IT NOW!

 


Jess took mine... so I guess I'll have to go with my original response...... you're an ass

IMO, there can never be too few infomercial pitchmen.  I'd prefer they go find different careers, rather than dye, but if that's what it takes to get them out of the biz....

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/dontknow.gif

IMO, there can never be too few infomercial pitchmen.  I'd prefer they go find different careers, rather than dye, but if that's what it takes to get them out of the biz....

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/dontknow.gif


If all the pitchmen dyed then I think we all would be blue.

Billy Mays was indeed the real deal.  He was a born salesman, and if you ever saw him on interviews, you could tell that he loved what he did. 

Autopsy preliminary results came in.

Billy did not have any head trauma.  Instead they found that he had hypertensive heart disease.  Appears that his heart went Kaboom and that's what did him in.    :-\\

This is sad news in deed....

We should interrogate Vince Offer, the Sham Wow guy, in case he knows something.  ;D

All kidding aside, rest in peace, Billy.

We should interrogate Vince Offer, the Sham Wow guy, in case he knows something.  ;D



a.k.a., Vince Shlomi 

http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/128907273678313084.jpg

RIP Billy Mays.

a.k.a., Vince Shlomi 


They'll have to lure him out of hiding with a 'hooker'!

Actually I thought Mays had a rival that challenged him who could sell more or who will ..( ???OTHER GUY WINS)

^^ Awwww Rice!  "No you Did ent!"  :P That just means there may be 2 more!  :o 

This morning the local radio show on FLZ had a good 1 1/2 hrs about him because they had become good friends.  They also talked to his son and the Sullivan guy that is is partner in the Pitchman show-he was all broke up and could barely talk.,  You could tell he just lost his best friend.  Billy was suposed to have hip replacement surgery for the 3rd time today and THAT was what he was worried about. He had also just signed a HUGE deal with Taco Bell for a string of commercials.  Honestly, I would have thought he and Michael jackson would have outlived Patrick Swayze... ???

If all the pitchmen dyed then I think we all would be blue.


Very witty, Wilde, very, very witty!

;D

Sorry, I just can't bring myself to feel sad Billy Mays is gone.  They guy was trooooly obnoxious!

^^ Awwww Rice!  "No you Did ent!"  :P That just means there may be 2 more!  :o 




I didn't make the picture...don't shoot the messenger :D

I didn't make the picture...don't shoot the messenger :D


my only problem with the pic is it sort of makes saver's point... and I cannot to support anything that will validate a saver post if I can help it...

my only problem with the pic is it sort of makes saver's point... and I cannot to support anything that will validate a saver post if I can help it...


Ah...I see your point of view.  Billy Mays shilled for ESPN360 too, that was a funny commercial.

I didn't make the picture...don't shoot the messenger :D



BANG!!  You know I'm just kiddin' ya...  :D

I heard Rush Limbaugh took a stab at being a replacement for Billy Mays:

"HI!! RUSH LIMBAUGH HERE FOR OXYCONTIN!!!"
*cut*
"Rush, for the tenth time, it's Oxi-Clean"

Ant

HA :D

Check out this link, lots of cool Billy Mays cartoons and pics...  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1838111&op=1&o=all&view=all&subj=21595945195&aid=-1&oid=21595945195&id=619684297#/photo_search.php?page=2&oid=21595945195&aid=-1&auser=&view=all

Billy's funeral is being held this morning in his hometown McKees Rocks, just outside Picksburgh.

http://kdka.com/local/Billy.Mays.funeral.2.1070154.html

Farewell Billy.  :)

Oh what the heck.  Let me throw in one more farewell... AT NO EXTRA COST!  :) :)

Billy's funeral is being held this morning in his hometown McKees Rocks, just outside Picksburgh.

http://kdka.com/local/Billy.Mays.funeral.2.1070154.html

Farewell Billy.   :)

Oh what the heck.  Let me throw in one more farewell... AT NO EXTRA COST!   :) :)

LOL  cute.... I always liked this guy... so friendly..... REST IN PEACE

I'm actually seeing a commercial of his right now...is it not weird that he's gone but he's still selling stuff?  I know, like with music artists the music doesn't die along with them, but this seems different-it's almost like he's not really gone. ?

I'm actually seeing a commercial of his right now...is it not weird that he's gone but he's still selling stuff?  I know, like with music artists the music doesn't die along with them, but this seems different-it's almost like he's not really gone. ?


*epiphany*

We have spoken at length on this thread of the Death of a Salesman.

But if a salesman still brings in money, is he truly dead?

As of this moment, Billy Mays is my Short Duration Personal Savior.  Whether he knew it or not, he was a disciple of the Ipissimus of Sales, the one and only J.R. "Bob" Dobbs.  Mays could have turned his talents to mere hucksterism and become a mere Fisher of Men, but "Bob" made him a Fisher of Wallets. 

The world gave him worthless pieces of green paper - and in return, Billy Mays gave his audience Slack, for whether I was laughing with him or at him, I never watched - nor even flipped past - an informercial of his without smiling.

I made a song on amiright.com about him, Farrah, Ed, and Michael.

http://amiright.com/parody/60s/dion48.shtml

I hope you like it.

I made a song on amiright.com about him, Farrah, Ed, and Michael.

http://amiright.com/parody/60s/dion48.shtml

I hope you like it.


Hey Mr Cleveland, been a while since I saw you on the boards.  How ya doing?  ???

SHOCKING EXPOSURE!  Autopsy reveals BM had cocaine in his system which contributed to his death!

How else would you get someone to sell that crap on TV?