Report: 'Infomercial King' Billy Mays Found Dead in Home - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment - FOXNews.com (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529328,00.html)

DEVELOPING: Television pitchman Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday, FOX News confirms.

Mays 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 May's residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

Mays, 50, 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.

"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.

Wow :(

my goodness.

Don't see it anywhere else yet, but Wikipedia is of course already updated. They are using the Fox News source

They are using the Fox News source

AP has cleared it in the last little bit as well, citing Tampa police.
My Way News - Police: TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead at home (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090628/D993PB680.html)

I have also heard that Bill Mays, the jazz pianist, has died. Not sure if either of these are really true yet, but we'll know once more sources come in.

I thought bad news came in threes, not fives.

David Carradine
Ed McMahon
Farah Fawcett
Michael Jackson
Billy Mays

:eek:

GOODNIGHT, PITCHMAN!!!!!!

I thought bad news came in threes, not fives.

David Carradine
Ed McMahon
Farah Fawcett
Michael Jackson
Billy Mays

:eek:

Just means one more to complete the second group of 3.

Just means one more to complete the second group of 3.

my thoughts exactly

Billy Mays will no longer be on my television? I'm sorry the guy died but I'm going to call this one a mixed blessing.

Billy Mays will no longer be on my television? I'm sorry the guy died but I'm going to call this one a mixed blessing.

Maybe we will get more Vince now.

man, that's too bad. I bumped into Billy at the Super Bowl and he was nice enough to stop for a couple of pictures (http://inthecheapseats.com/sb/sb085.JPG).

May this shill rest in peace.

Just means one more to complete the second group of 3.

Jackson and Mays were both 50, it looks like, so all 50-year-old celebrities better be careful or else they'll finish off that second group.

I'm not convinced that this is a true story.

CNN doesn't have anything on it.

Could this be a hoax, or mistaken identity?

Could this be a hoax, or mistaken identity?

Considering there's a statement from his wife (and yes, the name matches hers, I checked) and his son twittered (http://twitter.com/YoungBillyMays/status/2372136294) about his dad's death, I'm thinking CNN is just too busy fawning over MJ to notice.

Considering there's a statement from his wife (and yes, the name matches hers, I checked) and his son twittered (http://twitter.com/YoungBillyMays/status/2372136294) about his dad's death, I'm thinking CNN is just too busy fawning over MJ to notice.

I see it now, HLN has coverage, CNN is busy with politics<:confused:

I see it now, HLN has coverage, CNN is busy with politics<:confused:

Now CNN has it, amazing how long that took.

R.I.P. Hank Scorpio. :(

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Pouring out a 40 of Oxyclean. RIP

Can everyone please stop this "These things always come in threes" nonsense? I lose respect for anyone who says that.

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Pouring out a 40 of Oxyclean. RIP

No wonder morning radio shows always get shut down. With stupid wastes of time and money like this, they deserve to have to pack it up and start over in Omaha.

That was great. I had not seen that video before.

No wonder morning radio shows always get shut down. With stupid wastes of time and money like this, they deserve to have to pack it up and start over in Omaha.

I agree on the "bad news comes in threes" bit, but this rant is a little bit over the top.

Wow.

What's sad is that my kids will know Billy Mays more than they would Michael Jackson. They're bound to be shocked too.

Any guy who thinks sports at work is better than work at work, is ok in my book.

What's sad is that my kids will know Billy Mays more than they would Michael Jackson.

Not all that sad afaic, I probably got more entertainment out of Billy than Jacko over the sum of their careers. And your kids would have been safer hanging out with Billy.

Can everyone please stop this "These things always come in threes" nonsense? I lose respect for anyone who says that.

You're right this one came in 4's (Add McMahon)

Seriously, a pretty rough week for celebrity deaths, especially another so young!

RIP

My 5 year old will be so upset. Every time he came on, my son would say that we had to get whatever it was because it really works. Impressionable minds.

We are on a bad run of celebrity deaths.

Just means one more to complete the second group of 3.

Swayze.

Although the "death comes in threes" thing bugs the hell out of me.

It's gotta be Betty White which will also complete the three of golden girls, although I think White will live forever...maybe Blanche then

HI! BILLY MAYS HERE, TO TELL YOU ABOUT DYING EARLY.

My 5 year old will be so upset. Every time he came on, my son would say that we had to get whatever it was because it really works. Impressionable minds.

We are on a bad run of celebrity deaths.

my 4 year old daughter has been really big on the commercials lately too, although she didn't like Mays because he yelled too much. last night at dinner, we were talking about something not coming clean in the dishwasher, and Hannah's eyes got really wide: "hey, I know what you can use," she exclaimed. she then went on to tell us all about this great new jet dry product that we can put in our dishwasher. hilarious stuff.

THIS SUCKS.

My daughter liked BILLY MAYS, even if she referred to him as the guy who shouts too much.

Not all that sad afaic, I probably got more entertainment out of Billy than Jacko over the sum of their careers. And your kids would have been safer hanging out with Billy.

Heh. Good points.

I dunno about the rest of you, but generally everything I bought from him worked pretty well.

I dunno about the rest of you, but generally everything I bought from him worked pretty well.Everything I bought from him sucked ass, but goddamnit I kept buying because the guy was so damn good. I've got a tub of oxyclean and a half-box of magic putty sitting under my sink. I'll leave it there for posterity now. Godspeed, pitchman.

Rest in peace to the guy, but jeez, what passes as celebrity these days is getting ridiculous.

Given that celebrity is defined as "the state of being well known", it doesn't surprise me. A lot of people know who he is, which would certainly meet the definition.

I guess in the true sense of the word then yes he is a celebrity. But lumping him in with Ed, MJ and Farrah as the next big celeb death is kind of crazy.

I liked both of those. And orange glow. Everything I bought from him sucked ass, but goddamnit I kept buying because the guy was so damn good. I've got a tub of oxyclean and a half-box of magic putty sitting under my sink. I'll leave it there for posterity now. Godspeed, pitchman.

Get the fuck out of Vince's way or you'll be the third to go.

Crazy week.. 50? Way to young... :(

They didn't manage to pull all his commercials yet. Do they even bother or just fade him out over time? Just heard a couple in the background while the wife was watching Wipeout.

Didn't he have a Reality show starting soon?

They didn't manage to pull all his commercials yet. Do they even bother or just fade him out over time? Just heard a couple in the background while the wife was watching Wipeout.

That will be an enormous task, and those who will have to deal with it literally wouldn't have been able to find anyone at most places to unschedule them.
If they're still running this time next week I'll be disappointed but not surprised.

Didn't he have a Reality show starting soon?

Debuted on Discovery (http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/pitchmen/pitchmen.html) back in April afaik.

That show is pretty good too. As far as reality stuff goes, I'll actually sit down and watch it. While most crap like that, I'll leave the room.

He was my favorite Persian Peddler.
I always got a kick out of what he was "peddling" next.

I remember the "Awesome Auger", and thought to myself, "What a piece of junk, it'll probably break the first time being used."

RIP
Billy Mays

I thought bad news came in threes, not fives.

David Carradine
Ed McMahon
Farah Fawcett
Michael Jackson
Billy Mays

:eek:

No, no, no...that's just silly superstition. This is clearly the beginning of the Rapture.

Any guy who thinks sports at work is better than work at work, is ok in my book.

Amen!!

I thought bad news came in threes, not fives.

David Carradine
Ed McMahon
Farah Fawcett
Michael Jackson
Billy Mays

:eek:

It's more like alphabetical order,
David
Ed
Farah
Michael
William(Billy)

Strange.

I correct myself,
David Carradine was actually John Arthur "David" Carradine

Still strange though.

It's more like alphabetical order,
David
Ed
Farah
Michael
William(Billy)

Strange.

Is Zsa Zsa still alive?

Is Zsa Zsa still alive?

Still kicking, birth date is 1917.

I knew he attended WVU, but just found out that he was briefly on the football team as a walk-on.

Sad news -- 50 is way too young to go.

RIP Billy Mays

Was really starting to get into Pitchmen, he seemed like a really nice guy, and a good dad.

This is no reflection on Billy Mays and I don't mean this to be a slight, particularly towards the dead.

However, to put him in the same sentence as Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, or even Farah Fawcett is just laughable and I've heard it quite a few times today.

SI

This is no reflection on Billy Mays and I don't mean this to be a slight, particularly towards the dead.

However, to put him in the same sentence as Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, or even Farah Fawcett is just laughable and I've heard it quite a few times today.

SI

He is certainly more contemporary than any of the others.

Interesting that he was on the US Air flight that landed hard and he got hit on the head by falling luggage or something. That was Saturday. Then that night he told a friend he wasn't feeling well and was groggy. Then he dies overnight. Wonder if this was a Natasha Richardson-type injury?

Interesting that he was on the US Air flight that landed hard and he got hit on the head by falling luggage or something. That was Saturday. Then that night he told a friend he wasn't feeling well and was groggy. Then he dies overnight. Wonder if this was a Natasha Richardson-type injury?

That's what I was wondering after hearing about his flight (my son, who was pretty down about this, wanted something to happen to the pilot of the plane...I didn't know what he was even talking about at first).

Interesting that he was on the US Air flight that landed hard and he got hit on the head by falling luggage or something. That was Saturday. Then that night he told a friend he wasn't feeling well and was groggy. Then he dies overnight. Wonder if this was a Natasha Richardson-type injury?

is that because he wasn't being careful that contents may have shifted during flight like they warn you once you land?

This is no reflection on Billy Mays and I don't mean this to be a slight, particularly towards the dead.

However, to put him in the same sentence as Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, or even Farah Fawcett is just laughable and I've heard it quite a few times today.

SI

Most people under 35 have only a vague idea of who Michael Jackson was, and they likely have no idea who Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon were. They all know who Billy Mays was.

I caught an episode of pitchmen. Suprisingly good show.

RIP Billy.

Most people under 35 have only a vague idea of who Michael Jackson was, and they likely have no idea who Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon were. They all know who Billy Mays was.

Generalizations FTL!

Generalizations FTL!

hxxp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/06/28/ST2009062802656.html

Most people under 35 have only a vague idea of who Michael Jackson was, and they likely have no idea who Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon were. They all know who Billy Mays was.


Generalizations FTL!

hxxp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/06/28/ST2009062802656.html

Yeah, I'm with Jeebs here. I think you picked a bad age.

This article says anyone after say 1982. I think that's more accurate. Someone born in 1982 would be 27 years old.

I'm 30. If anyone the same age as me doesn't have a very good understanding of who Michael Jackson, they need to be punched in the face.

I'm 32. My wife is 26. Now while my wife was hit much harder by MJ's death, I grew up listening to him. My wife and I know who Farrah Fawcett is, and certainly Ed McMahon. And all I know about Billy Mays is that he did infomercials, though I probably couldn't name a product other than OxiClean.

Probably 90% of the people I work with are under the age of 30...hell, 75% are probably under 25. And just about every single one of them have been talking about MJ and Farrah the past few days (there was one girl, though, an 18 year old who asked who Farrah Fawcett was)...

Yeah, I'm with Jeebs here. I think you picked a bad age.

This article says anyone after say 1982. I think that's more accurate. Someone born in 1982 would be 27 years old.

I'm 30. If anyone the same age as me doesn't have a very good understanding of who Michael Jackson, they need to be punched in the face.

Okay, I'll go with 27 for Michael Jackson :)

But by God, I'm sticking with 35 for Ed McMahon :mad:

Jesus. I'm 26, currently working with a bunch of new hires, 22 years old and fresh out of college. We were just talking about how the weekend was a constant stream of MJ music among our groups of friends. I was in Central Park yesterday and all kinds of young people blasting his music. Maybe it's a geographical thing.

But by God, I'm sticking with 35 for Ed McMahon :mad:

Plenty of people younger than 35 know about him from Star Search... :)

Come on guys, this is a Billy Mays thread, keep your MJ out of it!

Plenty of people younger than 35 know about him from Star Search... :)

Forgot about that.

Okay, I give. :)

This is no reflection on Billy Mays and I don't mean this to be a slight, particularly towards the dead.

However, to put him in the same sentence as Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, or even Farah Fawcett is just laughable and I've heard it quite a few times today.

SI

A lot of factors come into play here. I think a lot depends upon where you live and what you grew up exposed to. I am familiar with all of the people who have died in the past week and a half (albeit less with David Carradine than the others). I also think there are different levels of being a celebrity. Obviously, Billy Mays is not at the same level as MJ or even Ed McMahon, but is he a celebrity in his own right? No question. When his commercials come on tv most of us know immediately who he is and what he does. The same can be said when we hear an MJ song on the radio (or video on MTV before the network decided to suck balls). So, it is all just really a matter of perception I guess.

Plenty of people younger than 35 know about him from Star Search... :)

Ed McMahon is a lot like Jerry Lewis, in a way. A lot of younger people will know who he is and identify him with something specific, but few will know him for what made him a star to begin with. I'm almost 40, and to this day, Jerry Lewis - to me - is some cruise ship singer-looking guy who does a telethon every year. I'm aware of his past, of course, but when he goes, I bet most young people won't know or care much about it. Although, I have no doubt there will be tons of press about it.

My Way News - Medical examiner: Pitchman Mays had heart disease (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090629/D994EMP00.html)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida medical examiner says television pitchman Billy Mays likely died of a heart attack but further tests are needed.

Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Vernard Adams said Monday the boisterous, bearded 50-year-old known for hawking Oxiclean suffered from hypertensive heart disease. He was found dead Sunday in his Tampa home. A day earlier he bumped his head during a rough landing on a commercial airliner, but Adams says there there was no evidence of head trauma.

He says Mays was taking the prescription painkillers Tramadol and hydrocodone for hip pain. But Adams says there was no indication of drug abuse, and pill counts showed Mays had been taking the correct amount of the drugs.

Most people under 35 have only a vague idea of who Michael Jackson was, and they likely have no idea who Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon were. They all know who Billy Mays was.

I'm 34, and I have no idea who Billy Mays is other than what I've gleaned from this thread.

NOW I WON"T HAVE TO LISTEN TO HIM YELLING AT ME TO GET ME TO BUY SOMETHING!!!

RIP BILLY MAYS!!!!

http://imgur.com/IJdtT.jpg

http://imgur.com/IJdtT.jpg

LOL. I love it.

Most people under 35 have only a vague idea of who Michael Jackson was, and they likely have no idea who Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon were. They all know who Billy Mays was.

That's kind of a laughable statement. I'm 29, and I hang out in bars with a number of under 35 crowd. We all know Michael Jackson (and did a few shots for him with Jackson music coming from the jukebox). We all also knew Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. Billy Mays is that yelling telemarketer guy, yes, but less of a knowledge that the other three.

Hell, if you go by Twitter, which trends young, on the day Billy Mays dies, he's trending below Michael Jackson right now, who has been dead for a few days now.

So wrong yet funny:

they say celebs die in threes. leave it to billy mays to throw in one extra COMPLETELY FREE!

My Way News - Billy Mays remains a TV pitchman, even in death (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090709/D99B7H3G0.html)
NEW YORK (AP) - Death won't still the voice of Billy Mays or his mighty powers of persuasion. Viewers will continue to find the boisterous, bearded TV pitchman hawking household products for the indefinite future. And at least one of his commercials is being introduced posthumously.

"Just stretch, wrap and it fuses fast," says Mays, demonstrating a product called Mighty Tape on a kitchen drain pipe in the new commercial. Moments later, he's seen, still wearing his signature sport shirt and khaki slacks but accessorized with scuba gear, as he repairs a hole in another diver's air hose underwater using Mighty Tape.

The commercial will begin airing July 20. Mays' advertising for other products in the Mighty brand line returned to the air earlier this week. The commercials were pulled after Mays' death June 28 of an apparent heart attack.

"Our feeling is, everyone wants to have Billy go on," said Bill McAlister, president of Media Enterprises, a sales and marketing company based in Trevose, Penn. "This is what he would have wanted."

Besides Media Enterprises, the 50-year-old Mays had worked with several other companies as the yell-and-sell spokesman for products with rousing names like OxiClean, Awesome Auger, WashMatik and Orange Glo.

It's not yet certain which among Mays' product pitches will continue to be broadcast, and for how long, said his attorney, Roger Pliakas.

"We're waiting to hear what the companies want to do," said Pliakis, who declined to specify the firms with which Mays was associated when he died.

"It's not a legal conversation but an informal conversation" with each company, Pliakas said. "We don't know all the specifics. We're just hoping it's all done in a tasteful manner."

On Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT, Discovery Channel will air a one-hour documentary, "Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays." Mays had been featured in a 12-part series on the network called "Pitchmen."

I enjoyed the Pitchmen show, even if it was some kind of weird meta-infomercial for infomercials. Billy came off as a real dude....not like a real 'nice', or 'good' guy, but pretty much exactly what you would expect a dude like that to be off camera, a lot of ego, an obvious need to be liked AND heard, but he seemed to know exactly where he fit in the world. I got the feeling that Billy and Sully still thought of themselves as some version of 'carnies', despite the Bentleys and private planes. On the other hand, I believe he did have some hand in producing the show, so it's not surprising that the picture it painted was overwhelmingly positive.

I saw a big city slider ad today.

"Our feeling is, everyone wants to have Billy go on," said Bill McAlister, president of Media Enterprises, a sales and marketing company based in Trevose, Penn. "This is what he would have wanted."

Woooo Trevose!


/grew up in Feasterville (Feasterville-Trevose)

I had a feeling all of that loudness and energy wasn't completely natural.

Cocaine contributed to pitchman Mays' death, autopsy report says (http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/07/cocaine-contributed-pitchman-mays-death-autopsy-re/news-metro/)

I had a feeling all of that loudness and energy wasn't completely natural.

Cocaine contributed to pitchman Mays' death, autopsy report says (http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/aug/07/cocaine-contributed-pitchman-mays-death-autopsy-re/news-metro/)

Whoah! Still seeing commercials with him too....kinda creepy.

I'd guess this will be the straw that gets the commercials removed from the air?

I'd guess this will be the straw that gets the commercials removed from the air?

Some, probably not all to be honest about it though.

The cost of producing a new one will cause at least some to leave them on the air assuming they have that option.

I'd guess this will be the straw that gets the commercials removed from the air?

I see what you did here.

I'd guess this will be the straw that gets the commercials removed from the air?

nice

I don't believe it for a second. If Billy Mays was using coke, I am sure that everyone that watches TV at 3am would have known about it, and probably would have bought some.

I'd guess this will be the straw that gets the commercials removed from the air?

We can only hope.

or in the spirit of the coc-head...

WE CAN ONLY HOPE!!!!!

5 Surprising Things You Learn as the Son of Billy Mays | Cracked.com (http://www.cracked.com/article_22094_5-surprising-things-you-learn-as-son-billy-mays.html)