William Darrell "Billy" Mays, Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was an American 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 in the United States and Canada.

Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and began his career as salesman on the Atlantic City boardwalk. He traveled 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 led 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' wife found him dead in his home.

Early life

Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, attended Sto-Rox High School, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later attended West Virginia University, where he was a walk-on linebacker on its football team during his two years there. After dropping out, he worked for his father's hazardous waste company before moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1983.

Career

On the Atlantic City boardwalk Mays sold the Washmatik portable washing device to passersby, along with other "As Seen on TV" products. In Atlantic City, he was taught how to sell by the older salesmen, saying "I was taught to pitch by a lot of old pitchmen. That's the kind of style I have." Mays then 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.

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. Customer response to Mays' sales pitches was 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".

Mays was the CEO and founder of Mays Promotions, Inc., based at his home in Odessa, Florida. 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. In December 2008, Mays began appearing in ads for ESPN's online service, ESPN360. 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.

On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing PitchMen, a documentary series that featured Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their jobs in direct response marketing. After Mays' death, Discovery Channel aired a special Billy Mays tribute episode of PitchMen called "PitchMan: A Tribute to Billy Mays".

On March 27, 2009 Mays appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He and Sullivan also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on June 23,2009.

Prior to his death Mays had signed a deal with Taco Bell to film infomercial-style commercials for the chain. Shooting was scheduled to begin in August 2009.

Personal life

Mays' first marriage to Dolores "Dee Dee" Mays ended in divorce. He had a son with Dolores named Billy Mays III, who was 24 years old at the time of Mays' death and who worked as a production assistant alongside his father on the PitchMen television show. Mays had a daughter, Elizabeth, with his second wife, Deborah Mays. His daughter was three years old at the time of his death. Mays' mother is Joyce Palm and his father is Billy Mays, Sr.; they both survived him.

In an interview during the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Mays revealed himself to be a Republican.

Death

Mays was found unresponsive by his wife in his Tampa, Florida, home on the morning of June 28, 2009. He was pronounced dead at 7:45 am, appearing to have died sometime overnight. The Associated Press reported that there were no indications that the house had been broken into, and that police did not suspect foul play. Initially, there was wrong speculation that he had a head injury after he was struck on the head by luggage after an airline landing mishap where tires blew out.

After an initial autopsy on Mays' body on June 29, Dr. Vernard Adams, the Hillsborough County, Florida medical examiner, stated that Mays suffered from hypertensive heart disease and that heart disease was the likely cause of his death. A final determination as to the cause of death would not be made until toxicology and tissue tests were complete. According to a toxicology report released August 7, heart disease was the "primary cause of death" and cocaine was listed as a "contributory cause of death." In response to the release of the toxicology report, the Mays family issued a press release stating, "We are extremely disappointed by the press release released by the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office. We believe it contains speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension..." and said in the release that they were considering "an independent evaluation of the autopsy results".

The medical examiner "concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release. The office said Mays last used cocaine in the few days before his death but was not under the influence of the drug when he died. Hillsborough County spokeswoman Lori Hudson said nothing in the toxicology report indicated the frequency of Mays' cocaine use. Cocaine can raise the arterial blood pressure, directly cause thickening of the left wall of the ventricle and accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, the release said. However, in October 2009, the results of a second medical examination, commissioned by Mays' family, concluded that "cocaine was not a significant contributing factor" to his death.

Longtime friend and colleague AJ Khubani, founder and CEO of the "As Seen on TV" product company Telebrands, said Mays never exhibited any signs of drug use and was always prepared for his many commercial shoots. "I'm just shocked," Khubani said. "He was the model of a responsible citizen."

According to subsequent news reports the toxicology tests also showed levels of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam. Mays had suffered hip problems and was scheduled for hip replacement surgery the day after he was found dead.

Mays' funeral was held on July 3, 2009 in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. The pallbearers for the funeral wore blue shirts and khaki pants at the funeral, much like Mays wore when he advertised his products. According to KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, he was buried wearing a shirt with the OxiClean logo on it.

Products pitched

Product	Description
Awesome Auger	A gardening tool.
Big City Slider Station	A mini-burger cooker.
The Ding King	A dent repairing device.
ESPN360	A broadband service.
EZ Crunch Bowl	"A new way to eat breakfast cereal".
Flies Away	A fly trap.
Gopher	A tool for grabbing out-of-reach objects.
Grater Plater	A ceramic plate with grater teeth.
Green Now!	Lawn fertilizer in a can.
Grip Wrench	A tool to help gripping.
Handy Switch	A wireless electric switch.
Hercules Hook	A hook for hanging objects on one's wall.
iCan health insurance	Affordable health insurance.
iTie	A necktie with a hidden pocket.
Kaboom!	Tile and shower cleaner.
Mighty Mendit	A bonding agent for mending cloth.
Mighty Putty	An epoxy putty adhesive.
Mighty Putty Steel	A metal alloy adhesive putty.
Mighty Putty Wood	A non-shrinking epoxy putty for wood.
Mighty Tape	A self-fusing silicone rubber waterproof tape.
DualSaw	A circular saw with two blades.
Orange Glo	A wood cleaner.
OxiClean	A general purpose cleaner.
Quick Chop	A chopping device.
Samurai Shark	A knife sharpener.
Simoniz Fix-It	A scratch remover.
Tool Band-it	A magnetic armband for holding hand tools.
Turbo Tiger	A vacuum cleaner.
Ultimate Chopper	A kitchen tool.
Vidalia Slice Wizard	A kitchen tool.
WashMatik	A hose that could pump water from a bucket without being hooked up to a faucet.
What Odor?	An odor-removing fluid.
Zorbeez	A chamois cloth.

References

1. "Company sold, local pitchman keeps his job," St. Petersburg Times, July 24, 2006.
2. " Discovery Channel to air Billy Mays Tribute". Examiner, 2009-07-03.
3. Billy Mays Was Set to be Taco Bell's Pitchman. TMZ. June 28th 2009. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
4. Condé Nast Portfolio:World According to... Billy Mays
5. RAW DATA: Chilling Billy Mays 911 Tape. Fox News. Monday, June 28, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-06-28.
6. Businesswire.com: Statement from Billy Mays’ Family In Response to Medical Examiner’s Report
7. Mays' family: Review finds no chronic cocaine use - Associated Press
8. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32334881/ns/us_news-life/
9. " Product pitchman Mays remembered as natural seller". Yahoo News. Associated Press. 2009-07-03. Retrieved on 2009-07-03.
10. Infomercial King Billy Mays Laid To Rest. KDKA-TV. 2009-07-03. Retrieved on 2009-07-03.
11. Maltby, Emily (2009-06-29). " Billy Mays: An industry loses its voice" CNNmoney.com.
12. Barrett, Annie (2009-06-29). " Billy Mays got Conan interested in the Gopher, iTie, and even 'The Tonight Show' last week". Entertainment Weekly.

External links

• Official Twitter page