Billy Mays Died he was 51

William Darrell "Billy" Mays, Jr.died he was 51. Mays was a television direct-response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home-based, and maintenance products. His distinctive beard and loud sales pitches made him a recognized television presence.^[4]

Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and began his career as salesman on the Atlantic City boardwalk. He travelled across the United States for 12 years, selling various items before he was hired to sell OxiClean and other products on the Home Shopping Network. His success as a TV pitchman lead him to found Mays Promotions, Inc. On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing Pitchmen, a documentary series that featured Mays. On the morning of June 28, 2009, Mays was found dead in his home by his wife.

(July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009)^[3]

Mays was born on July 20, 1958 and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later dropped out of West Virginia University and worked for his father's hazardous waste company before moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was taught how to sell by the older salesmen in Atlantic City, saying "I was taught to pitch by a lot of old pitchmen. That's the kind of style I have."^[1] In Atlantic City boardwalk he sold the Washmatik portable washing device to passersby,^[5] and other "As Seen on TV" products.^[1]

Mays later traveled to home shows, auto shows, and state fairs across the United States for a period of twelve years, selling various maintenance products and tools, including cleaning products and food choppers.^[5]

At a Pittsburgh home show in 1993, Mays struck up a friendship with rival salesman Max Appel, founder of Orange Glo International, a Denver-based manufacturer of cleaning products. He was then hired by the company to promote their line of cleaners, OxiClean, Orange Clean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom on the Home Shopping Network in St. Petersburg, Florida.^[6]

Customer response to Mays' sales pitches were enthusiastic, with a sharp increase in sales after his first day on the network, although some reviews were poor. He was very well known for shouting in an abrasive manner during infomercials. For example, Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens called him "a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown."^[7]

Mays was the CEO and founder of Mays Promotions, Inc., based at his home in Odessa, Florida.^[4] His services as a pitchman became highly sought-after, and he appeared in commercials for many diverse "as seen on TV" products such as Mighty Putty. Mays claimed to be an avid user of the products he promoted.^[8]

In December 2008, Mays began appearing in ads for ESPN's online service, ESPN360.^[9] These ads were a slight departure for Mays as they were designed to be parodies of his and other infomercial cliches with Mays appearing to be doing a parody of himself. He also made a live appearance during the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl promoting ESPN's and ABC's January 1, 2009 bowl games.

Mays resided in Florida in a $1.8 million home which was built in 2005.^[10]

In February 2009, Mays publicly challenged Vince Offer to a "pitch-off" between their respective products, the Zorbeez and the Shamwow. Popular Mechanics compared the absorbancy of two towel products and declared Shamwow the clear winner.^[11]

On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing Pitchmen, a documentary series that features Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their jobs in direct response marketing.^[12] Mays and Sullivan appeared together on the June 23, 2009 episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.^[13]

The commercials for his products became a popular internet meme, and have spawned countless video remixes.^[14]

YouTube Poop: Billy Mays Peddles More Crap You Can't Afford

Mays was found unresponsive by his wife in his Odessa, Florida, home on the morning of June 28, 2009. He was then pronounced dead at 7:45 am, appearing to have died sometime overnight.^[2][3][15] The Associated Press reported that there were no indications that the house had been broken into, and that police did not suspect foul play.^[15]

On June 27, Mays had been aboard US Airways Flight 1241,^[16] which landed roughly when one of its front tires was blown out. The heavy impact of the landing caused objects from the overhead storage compartments to fall and strike some passengers. Mays told WTVT-TV, a local Tampa FOX news station, that some of the objects "hit me on the head, but I got a hard head." His wife noted that he felt unwell when he went to bed that night early at 10 pm. The next morning, he was pronounced dead at 7:45 am by a local fire rescue crew.^[15] According to his official Twitter feed, Mays was scheduled for hip-replacement surgery on Monday, June 29.^[17]