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Peace out Billy Mays

NOKUY

Active member
Veteran
WTF is goin on...now 'billy mays' is dead

WTF is goin on...now 'billy mays' is dead

not really his biggest fan, but that kind of shocked me.


TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead at Florida home

TAMPA, Fla. – Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean made him a pop-culture icon, has died. He was 50.

Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife Sunday morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m. It was not immediately clear how he died. He reportedly was hit on the head when an airplane he was on made a rough landing Saturday, and Mays' wife told investigators the TV personality didn't feel well before he went to bed that night.

There were no signs of a break-in at the home, and investigators do not suspect foul play, said Lt. Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police Department, who wouldn't answer any more questions about how Mays' body was found because of the ongoing investigation. The coroner's office expects to have an autopsy done by Monday afternoon.

Mays' wife, 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.

"Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days," Deborah Mays said in a statement Sunday. "Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times."

U.S. Airways confirmed Sunday that Mays was among the passengers on a flight that made a rough landing on Saturday afternoon at Tampa International Airport, leaving debris on the runway after apparently blowing its front tires.

Tampa Bay's Fox television affiliate interviewed Mays after the incident.

"All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping," MyFox Tampa Bay quoted him as saying. "It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."

McElroy said linking Mays' death to the rough landing Saturday afternoon would "purely be speculation." She said Mays' family members didn't report any health issues with the pitchman, but they said he was due to have hip replacement surgery in the 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.

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!"

Recently he's been seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. He's also been seen in ESPN ads.

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans. People line up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stop 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 interview in April. "I don't take on a product unless I believe in it. I use everything that I sell."

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman released a statement Sunday extending sympathy to the Mays family.

"Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth," Hillman's statement said. "Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend."
 

Mrs.Babba

THE CHIMNEY!!
ICMag Donor
Veteran
yukon..moved your thread with the other one already going...thats the second one Ive merged..lets try not to have too many of the same ones ok guys?? thanks :D
 

MtnKuSh

Member
HE JUST LAUNCHED HIS OWN SHOW CALLED "PITCH MEN" AND NOW HES GONE. head trauma most likely is going to be the cause
 

Fuzz420

Ganja Smoker Extraordinaire
Veteran
RIP Billy Mays,TV's pitchmen

RIP Billy Mays,TV's pitchmen

TAMPA — Billy Mays, the TV pitchman whose trademark voice helped sell everything from cleaning supplies to baking soda, was found dead this morning by his wife at his Tampa home. No cause of death has been reported and no foul play is suspected, according to Tampa police.

Mays, 50, was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. in his gated neighborhood near the Westshore Yacht Club, said Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy. He told his family he wasn't feeling well Saturday and went to sleep early at 10 p.m., McElroy said. His wife, Deborah Mays, found him unresponsive this morning.

"This is a very tragic case. Billy Mays was in the prime of his life, the prime of his career," McElroy said. "As you can imagine the family is devastated."

Mays is survived by his wife, a three-year-old daughter and a stepson in his 20s, McElroy said. The Medical Examiner's Office will complete Mays' autopsy by tomorrow afternoon.

"Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days," Deborah Mays said in a statement today. "Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times."

Mays was a passenger on Saturday of a 737 airplane that had a front tire blow out, said spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan. Mays and other passengers were interviewed by US Airways staff after the hard landing. Responders reported no injuries.

"Tampa Fire (Rescue) reported no injuries. Nobody asked for treatment," Geoghagan said. "Some of the passengers said they had bruises."

Mays told a FOX 13 reporter that he was returning from the filming of an Oxyclean commercial in Philadelphia, according to the station.

"All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping," he said. "It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."

Mays posted to his Twitter soon after the accident, "Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air."

Mays had no major medical problems, McElroy said, besides a hip replacement. A previous Tweet from Mays mentioned another upcoming hip replacement. "Monday is the big day," he wrote.

The Federal Aviation Authority has yet to provide a comment on the accident or Mays' death, said spokeswoman Laura Brown. US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said the company would not speculate before more information was made available.

"We're very sad about" Mays' passing, Olson said. "We obviously extend our thoughts and prayers to his family."

Mays was one of the stars of "Pitchmen," a Discovery Channel documentary series that focused on Mays' claim to fame: inventions and infomercials. Mays' booming voice and larger-than-life appearance, including a crisp blue dress shirt and finely trimmed beard, became his signature, which he used for humor at spots around Tampa Bay.

Mays' son, Billy, posted to his Twitter account this morning that his "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."

"On my way to the house. He's gone," Tweeted Mays, who wrote that he lives in Clearwater. "I'm gonna be strong for him. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers everyone." An update that followed said he is now with family.

"I'm thankful I got to talk to my dad last night," he Tweeted. "I miss him immensely already. But I feel him with me."

Many of Mays' relatives were in town this weekend for his sister in law's wedding shower, McElroy said. Mays' mother had plans to fly into town today.

Hillsborough County property records show Mays owns another home in Odessa.

Times staff writer Richard Danielson contributed to this report. Drew Harwell can be reached at [email protected] or (727) 445-4170.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1014018.ece#
 
G

Greyskull

fuck man
farrah, ed, kung fu, jacko, now pitchman?
and keith richards is still alive...
 

Stoner4Life

Medicinal Advocate
ICMag Donor
Veteran


damn that's a shame, really, I did like the guy.
He was a friend of one of my friends for many years and although Bob never told me what he suffered from he'd told me that Billy Mays was ill, constant treatment for a disorder of some sort. Of course I'd suspect the head impact to be the cause of his death.




R.I.P. Billy Mays

but wait!!! call right now and we'll.......



 

Mr.Waters

Member
Billy was a cool guy. We'd run into him every once and a while in Tampa. My friend even burned with Billy outside of a Tampa bar in Billy's Bentley. I really liked the guy he was always trying to make everyone laugh. R.I.P. Billy Mays you will be missed.
 
T

TrichyTrichy

Everything i have read about him today says he was the nicest guy,to everyone. RIP Billy
 

DeezyH

Active member
ICMag Donor
Rip.
 

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Mrs.Babba

THE CHIMNEY!!
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Billy was a cool guy. We'd run into him every once and a while in Tampa. My friend even burned with Billy outside of a Tampa bar in Billy's Bentley. I really liked the guy he was always trying to make everyone laugh. R.I.P. Billy Mays you will be missed.


very cool mr waters..Billy puffed, I like that!
 

wvkindbud38

Elite Growers Club
Veteran
RIP Billy Mays......I go around all the time trying to say some of the sales pitches like he did lol......after all the commercials you kinda feel like you know the guy or something
 

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