Billy Mays

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Billy Mays in June 2009

William Darrell "Billy" Mays, Jr. (* 20 July 1958 in McKees Rocks , Pennsylvania ; † 28. June 2009 in Tampa , Florida ) was an American teleshopping - Moderator . In this role, he promoted OxiClean , Orange Glo and other well-known budget funds . His full beard and loud sales style made him well-known among American television audiences and was one of the most popular representatives of his trade.

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Mays was born in McKees Rock in 1958 to Joyce Palm and Billy Mays Sr. in Pennsylvania . After graduating from Sto-Rox High School in 1977, he began his career as a street vendor in Atlantic City , selling portable washing machines to passers-by. He later appeared at auto shows, home demonstrations, and fairs as a salesman; For twelve years he mainly sold household products.

A home demonstration in Pittsburgh hit Mays in 1993 to his colleague Max Appel, founder of Orange Glo International, a detergent manufacturer from Denver . He commissioned him to sell his products on the American home shopping channel Home Shopping Network .

The customers were very positive and in some cases enthusiastic about Mays, which was also reflected in a strong increase in sales after his first day at Home Shopping Network. He gained fame primarily through his loud and sometimes aggressive behavior during his performances. As a result, Mays presented numerous products for various companies. From the end of 2008 he also appeared for the sports channel ESPN , where he moderated commercials in which he himself parodied his now very well-known style . In April 2009 the Discovery Channel broadcast a documentary called Pitchmen (in German, for example: Warenanpreiser), which also dealt with Billy Mays, among other things.

Over time, Mays' commercials also found their way into Internet culture , so many of his programs were processed into remixes , and he himself became a widespread Internet phenomenon .

On June 28, 2009, Mays was found dead by his wife, Deborah Mays, at his Tampa, Florida home. According to the police report , Mays did not die from external agents. The doctor responsible for the autopsy announced the next day that Mays had suffered from high blood pressure . This statement was confirmed during the autopsy, and there was also evidence of cocaine and painkillers as at least an aggravating factor. Mays' family disagreed with the statement that the cocaine contributed to his death, citing the lack of medical treatment for his high blood pressure as the cause.

Mays was buried on July 3, 2009 in his birthplace, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. The pallbearers wore blue shirts and khaki pants, just as Mays did in most of his commercials. Mays himself wore an OxiClean shirt at his funeral.

Mays was married twice and had two children; Billy Mays III. (* 1985), son from his first marriage to Dolores Mays, and Elizabeth Mays (* 2006) with his second wife, Deborah Mays.

Sources and References

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Segal: Shill Game: With His Booming Voice, Billy Mays Projects That Sales Will Rise . Washington Post , August 19, 2008
  2. ^ GG Rigsby: As seen on TV: Billy Mays hawks it all for a price . Tampa Bay Business Journal , May 3, 2002.
  3. ↑ Discovery Channel Announces New Series “Pitchmen” Premiering April 15 ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Realitytvfans.com, accessed June 28, 2009  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.realitytvfans.com
  4. ↑ Report: Heart Attack Killed TV Pitchman Mays ( Memento June 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) cbs5.com, accessed June 29, 2009
  5. ^ Statement from Billy Mays' Family In Response to Medical Examiner's Report www.businesswire.com, August 7, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  6. ↑ MSN News: Product pitchman Mays remembered as natural seller, July 3, 2009; Retrieved March 8, 2011
  7. ↑ KDKA -TV: Infomercial King Billy Mays Laid To Rest. July 3, 2009, accessed on November 21, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Mays, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mays Jr., William D.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American television presenter
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH McKees Rocks
DATE OF DEATH June 28, 2009
Place of death Tampa