TV Pitchman Billy Mays dead at 50

By Germain Lussier on June 29th, 2009

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Anyone who has flipped through every single channel on their TV set at any time of day knew pitchman Billy Mays. He passed away Sunday from a heart disease. He was 50.

Mays was a TV mainstay, whose loud voice, friendly demeanor and trademark beard helped sell various products, most notably OxiClean and OrangeGlo. He also co-hosted a show on the Discovery Channel called “Pitchman.”

Various reports claim that Mays didn’t feel well before going to bed on Saturday and TMZ has a copy of the 911 call placed by Mays’ wife Deborah Sunday morning. A preliminary autopsy report performed by the Hillsborough County medical examiner Monday said that Mays died of heart disease, CNN reported.

Mays’ passing, originally, was speculated to have been related to a blow to the head he suffered on a flight, which he eerily reported his Twitter page. “Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air.” He also tweeted that Monday he as scheduled to have a hip replacement surgery.

Though the boisterous master of cleaning products was a well known TV personality and spent much of his life in the spotlight, the family will keep the memorial private.

“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days,” Deborah Mays’ wife said in a statement. “Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times.”