By Rennie Dyball Originally posted Sunday June 28, 2009 12:35 PM EDT
Billy Mays, the bearded infomercial pitchman with the trademark shout, has died in his sleep at home.
"Everyone [who knew] him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth," the Discovery Channel (which aired his series, Pitchmen with Anthony Sullivan) said in a statement. "Billy was a pioneer in his field … He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family at this time of incredible loss."
Authorities tells the Associated Press that the 50-year-old was pronounced dead Sunday morning after being found by his wife, Deborah Mays. No foul play is suspected. An autopsy is expected to be performed by Monday afternoon.
The married father of two cut his teeth selling goods on the Atlantic City boardwalk in the 1980s, allowing him to develop a booming voice for such products as OxiClean and Kaboom . For some pitches, "My voice has gone for 16 hours straight," he told PEOPLE in March.
Always proud of his work, Mays added that he never endorsed a product he didn't believe in, hawking everything from household products to insurance. "I sell products that help people out; I'm a problem solver," he said. "I'm not an actor, I'm a pitchman [and] it's been an exciting ride."
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Posts: 4923 | Location: Why Do You Want To Know? | Registered: November 21, 2006
Lead Actor - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer Lead Actress - Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Original Screenplay - Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
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TAMPA, FL -- It may be weeks before it's known exactly how TV pitchman Billy Mays died.
The well-known informercial salesman was found dead at his Tampa home on Sunday.
Preliminary findings seem to point to heart disease as the cause of death.
Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Dr. Vernard Adams spoke with reporters Monday afternoon and said early speculation that Mays may have died as a result of a blow to the head during a rough landing at Tampa International Airport was ruled out. There was "no evidence of...head trauma," Dr. Adams said.
He also said there was no evidence that Mays died from a blood clot.
Dr. Adams said it was likely that death was sudden and that Mays probably died in his sleep. Adams said "sudden death is not uncommon."
Mays was on several prescription medications, but Dr. Adams said there was no evidence of abuse.
He said there was evidence of hypertensive heart disease and muscular thickening of the heart wall.
Asked if this could be a classic case of someone who never saw it coming, Dr. Adams replied, "Yes."
A complete autopsy report, which will include toxicology tests, will be ready in 8 -10 weeks, according the the medical examiner's office.
Mays, known for his high-energy commericals and distinctive beard, was found dead by his wife in his Tampa home Sunday morning.
Tampa Fire Rescue units were called to his home in the 2800 block of Bowen Daniel Drive about 7:45 a.m. after his wife found the 50-year-old unresponsive and pronounced him dead at the scene.
No signs of forced entry to the home were found, and there were no apparent signs of foul play, according Lt Brian Dugan.
Mays' wife, Deborah, told investigators he didn't feel well before he went to bed that night.
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.
He said he was hit on the head when an airplane he was on made a rough landing Saturday at Tampa International Airport.
Mays' wife issued a statement through Tampa Police, "Although Bill 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' son, Billy Mays III, said Sunday on his Twitter account "my dad didn't wake up this morning..I'm sure you'll all hear about it. It hasn't yet hit me but it's about to."
Later, May III said "I'm thankful I got to talk to my dad last night. I miss him immensely already. But I feel him with me."
Mays was one of 138 passengers on a U.S. Airways flight that made a hard landing on Saturday afternoon at Tampa International Airport, after the plane's front tires blew as the plane touched down. No one was hurt.
He told WTVT that luggage came out of a storage bin as the plane landed.
"All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping," Mays said. "It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."
McElroy said any indication that Saturday's accident was linked to Mays' sudden death was "pure speculation". She said Mays' family members didn't report any health issues with the pitchman, but said he was due to have hip replacement surgery in coming weeks.
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.
AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of "As Seen on TV," said he first met Mays in the early 1990s when Mays was still pitching one of his early products, the Shammy absorbent cloth, at a trade fair. He said he most recently worked with Mays on the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs.
"His innovative role and impact on the growth and wide acceptance of direct response television cannot be overestimated or easily replaced; he was truly one of a kind," Khubani said of Mays in a statement.
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!"
Sarah Ellerstein worked closely with Mays when she was a buyer for the Home Shopping Network in the 1990s and he was pitching Orange Glo products.
"Billy was such a sweet guy, very lovable, very nice, always smiling, just a great, great guy," she said, adding that Mays met his future wife at the network. "Everybody thinks because he's loud and boisterous on the air that that's the way he is, but I always found him to be a quiet, down-to-earth person."
His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans for his commercials on a wide variety of products. People lined up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stopped 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.
As part of "Pitchmen," Mays and Sullivan showed viewers new gadgets such as the Impact Gel shoe insert; the Tool Band-it, a magnetized armband that holds tools; and the Soft Buns portable seat cushion.
"One of the things that we hope to do with 'Pitchmen' is to give people an appreciation of what we do," Mays told The Tampa Tribune in an April interview. "I don't take on a product unless I believe in it. I use everything that I sell."
His former wife, Dolores "Dee Dee" Mays, of McKees Rocks, Pa., recalled that the first product he sold was the Wash-matik, a device for pumping water from a bucket to wash cars.
"I knew him since he was 15, and I always knew he had it in him," she said of Mays' success. "He'll live on forever because he always had the biggest heart in the world. He loved his friends and family and would do anything for them. He was a generous soul and a great father."
Besides his wife, Mays is survived by a 3-year-old daughter and a stepson in his 20s, police said.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: bocaboy7,
2010 Oscars FYC:
Lead Actor - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer Lead Actress - Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Original Screenplay - Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Posts: 4923 | Location: Why Do You Want To Know? | Registered: November 21, 2006
