Billy Mays

Billy Mays
Born	William Darrell Mays, Jr. (1958-07-20)July 20, 1958 McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	June 28, 2009(2009-06-28) (aged 50) Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Other names	Billy Mays
Occupation	Television direct-response advertisement salesman
Years active	1993–2009
Spouse(s)	Dolores "Dee Dee" Mays Deborah Mays

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.

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 from an apparent heart attack.

Early life

Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, attended Sto-Rox High School, and was 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 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 features 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., both of whom were still living at the time of his death.

In an interview during the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Mays revealed he was 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.

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.

Mays' funeral was held on July 3, 2009 in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania where he was buried. 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.

List of products pitched

Product	Description
Arm and Hammer Baking Soda	Baking Soda.
Awesome Auger	An auger attached to a drill.
Big City Slider Station	A tray of five slider sections for cooking mini burgers on a stove.
Crocodile Cutter	Heavy duty shears that cut through virtually any material.
The Ding King	A dent remover.
DualSaw	A circular saw with two blades rotating in opposite directions.
Energize	Energy pills.
Engrave It	An engraving tool.
ESPN360	ESPN's service for broadband network for live sports programming.
Fix It!	Instant Scratch Remover
Flies Away	A bag with a lobster trap-like opening so flies can't get back out.
Fone Free Clip	A hanger clip that you glue your cellphone to.
Fone Free Headset	A headset that you glue your cordless phone to to make it hands-free.
Gator Blade	A wiper blade that scrubs the windshield as it wipes.
Gopher	A tool for grabbing out-of-reach objects.
Grater Plater	A ceramic grater.
Green Now!	Eco-friendly green spray paint for grass.
Grip Wrench	A tool to help gripping.
Handy Switch	A wireless switch for turning electronic devices on/off.
Hercules Hook	A steel wire hook for hanging objects on one's wall.
iCan	Affordable health insurance.
iTie	A necktie with a hidden pocket.
Impact Gel Insoles	Shock absorbing shoe insoles.
Jupiter Jack	Hands-free cell phone device for one's car.
Kaboom!	Tile and shower cleaner.
Lint-Be-Gone	Lint brush.	liquid Diamond	Liquid car polish	Mighty Mendit	A bonding agent for mending cloth.
Mighty Putty	An epoxy putty adhesive.
Mighty Putty Steel	A weld-like metal alloy adhesive putty.
Might Putty Super Pack	Package of products that includes Mighty Putty, Mighty Putty Wood and Mighty Putty Steel.
Mighty Putty Wood	A non-shrinking epoxy putty for wood.
Mighty Shine	A tarnish remover.
Mighty Tape	A self-fusing silicone rubber waterproof tape.
Orange Clean	A kitchen cleaner.
Orange Glo	A wood cleaner and revitalizer.
OxiClean	A sodium percarbonate (C2H6Na4O12) detergent and bleaching agent that produces hydrogen peroxide when dissolved in water.
Quick Chop	A chopping device with six rotating blades.
Samurai Shark	A knife sharpener.
Simoniz Fix-It	A car scratch remover.
Simoniz Liquid Diamond	A spray-on car polish.
Steam Buddy	A steam iron.
Swamp Buster	Universal, multi-function compressed air pump and drain opener.
Tool Band-it	A magnetic armband for keeping tools.
Turbo Tiger	A vacuum cleaner.
Ultimate Chopper	A food processor for chopping and grinding food.
Ultimate Ladder	Lightweight, portable, eight ladders in one aluminum ladder.
Vidalia Slice Wizard	All-in-one kitchen slicing tool or mandoline.
WashMatik	A hose that could pump soapy water from a bucket through a brush without being hooked up to a faucet.
What Odor?	An air freshener.
Zorbeez	A super-absorbent chamois.

External links

• Billy Mays at IMDb
• Official Twitter page
• Billy Mays at Find a Grave

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