Farewell Billy Mays

Billy Mays, born William Darrell Mays on July 20, 1958 will always be remembered for his trademark blue collar button down shirt and dark beard. He captivated his audiences with his booming voice & sales pitches making him the most popular “Pitchman” on television.


Billy grew up in Pennsylvania and later attended West Virginia University where he dropped out and went to work for his father’s hazardous waste company.

It was there that Billy was taught how to sell from the older salesmen in Atlantic City. He sold the Washmatic portable washing device along with other “As seen on TV” products.


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.


In 1993 at a home show in Pittsburgh, Mays struck up a friendship with Max Appel. Max was a rival salesman and founder of Orange Glo International which was a 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 Florida. He was very well known for shouting in an abrasive manner during infomercials. 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.


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. Mays and Sullivan appeared together on the June 23, 2009 episode of Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.


On June 27, Mays had been aboard US Airways Flight 1241, 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. 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.


You’ve helped so many people become successful, and you’ve made many dreams come true. The next generation of pitchmen will have a hard time filling your shoes… You had a loyal fan base Billy, and you will be missed. ……….. Farewell Billy Mays


* on a personal note* I can’t help but think that he passed on the same way Natasha Richardson did a few months ago. Both sustained a head injury and shrugged it off, both mentioned feeling ill shortly after and went to sleep, to never wake up the next morning.


Trauma to the head is a serious thing folks and it shouldn’t go unchecked, no matter how well you feel. Don’t pass it off as just a bump on the head, or just a slight headache. Learn from other peoples’ mistakes. Take advantage of the technology we have.