What a sad week we shared with the deaths of some of the most well known people in the world. It started with Ed McMahon, next was Farrah Fawcett, then Michael Jackson, and now Billy Mays.
Majority of people know who Billy Mays is, and if they don’t then they probably do not own a television set. Billy Mays was on so many commercials pitching products such as Orange Glo, OxiClean, and Kaboom. He became a pop-culture figure with his booming-voice, friendly demeanor, and distinctive beard. He reminded me of Al Borland (played by Richard Karn) from Home Improvement.
It is true, the beloved spokesman who took over our television sets was found dead on June 28th. Mr. Mays was unresponsive when discovered by his wife on Sunday morning. He was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. by the Tampa Fire Rescue Department. An autopsy is expected to be completed by Monday afternoon.
It is not certain how he died, but it may be a result from a rough landing his US Airways flight had going into Tampa on Saturday. The front tires blew out during the landing, and Mr. Mays reportedly hit his head. After the flight Mr. Mays was interviewed by Fox 13 and told them, “All the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.” Later that night he told his wife that he did not feel well, so he went to bed early.
His wife, Deborah Mays, issued a statement, “Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times.”
Mays recently starred in a reality show with Andrew Sullivan on the Discovery Channel, called Pitchmen. The show followed the infomercial kings as they searched for new inventions to plug. “I hate to say it, but the king is dead,” said Sullivan.
