Sunday, June 28, 2009

Billy Mays, star pitchman, dead at 50

Billy Mays, the man with the booming voice famous for fronting products such as Oxiclean and Orange Glo in TV commercials, has died.

Tampa police say Mays' wife Deborah found him unresponsive at his Tampa-area home Sunday morning. Tampa Fire Rescue pronounced him deceased at 7:45 a.m.

The cause of death is unknown. Police say there were no signs of forced entry to the residence and there is no suspected foul play.

Mays was on the US Airways flight from Philadelphia that had a hard landing Saturday at Tampa International Airport after the front tire under the nose of the plane blew out.

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

Airline spokesman Jim Olson told CNN Sunday there were no reported passenger injuries from flight 1241. The airline vowed to "cooperate fully" with authorities in the investigation.

Billy Mays was about to film a bunch of commercials for Taco Bell -- this according to a radio host who talked to the pitchman a few hours before he died. During the call, Todd said Billy had just signed a deal with Taco Bell for a series of infomercial-style adverts that were going to be filmed in August.

17 comments:

  1. RIP Billy Mayes :-(

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  2. Wow, what a bad week for the loss of celebrities. RIP Billy, I will miss hearing your voice in the middle of the night. There will be no replacement for you!!! God Bless!

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  3. man.....What a week...................

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  4. damn he just got his new show too

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  5. I feel for his family and friends. My prayers to them. Like someone said, what a freakin week!!! It seems like celebrities are dropping like flies. I always liked Billy. He was the best at his craft. He was a one of a kind!! Way to young to die. Bet he would have been cool to meet in person.
    R.I.P. Billy Mays!

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  6. man. this has been a strange week. i loved hearing his commercials. he was a one of a kind sales person. bet he could of sold a akimo a airconditioner. im gonna miss his commercials. him and the dark beard and blue shirts.

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  7. My prayers go out to Billy's family. Take comfort in the fact that he truely left his mark on this earth.

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  8. so sad to see this week rip

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  9. What a bummer...Billy was a great dude, I can't wait to bulk up and grow a beard in his honor.

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  10. what a sad thing to hear my son told me about his passing I thought it was a joke. I thought he was funny I am going to miss his show pitchmen I always thought it would be great to be on that show. Whose next wonder if it will the verizon guy?

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  11. Sad to hear about Billy's passing. Just as the oher celebrities we have lost recently. I just confirmes, "Death is no respecter of persons". When God wants you, He comes and gets you. Sll the money and status in this world cant's prolong death. We just have to live each day as it could be our last. One day it will be...

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  12. I respected Billy a lot. He seemed to be a hard working and sincere person, honoring his Pittsburgh roots. My prayers will be with his family in the difficult months ahead.

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  13. He made a living with a well shaved beard and a blue shirt bless him

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  14. I'm positively floored! So many deaths all at once this week. It reminds us of our own mortality... When our # is called, that is it. Bless all the families and close friends of all involved.

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  15. OMG... SO MANY DEATHS SO LITTLE WEEK wow R.I.P GREATEST PITCHMAN OF ALL TIME I LOVE UR SHOW...

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  16. You will truly be missed Billy. I was a huge fan of your show and commercials. You had the thickest and most well groomed beard known to man. He was a god amongst mere mortals. Your beard, voice, and kind nature will always be remembered. In loving memory of Billy Mays

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  17. I worked with Billy at HSN...he was a great guy and will be missed!

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