Sunday, June 28, 2009

'Pitchmen' Billy Mays Found Dead

Some sad news today (and even sadder, this is the latest in a string of high-profile tragic deaths this week including Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson). From Discovery Communications:
It is with incredible sadness that we have to report that
Billy Mays died in his sleep last night. Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger -than- life personality, generosity and warmth. Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family at
this time of incredible loss.


According to Fox News, Mays' wife found him unresponsive this morning in their Tampa, Florida home. There was no sign of forced entry and foul play is not suspected according to the Tampa police department. Billy Mays was 50 years old.

While I hadn't been writing about it here at PTR, I have been watching Billy and Anthony "Sully" Sullivan on their Discovery Channel reality show Pitchmen, so the news of his death is extra sad for me. I felt like I'd come to know both Billy and Sully through the show and I was so impressed by Billy's dedication and determination to the products he pitched and the people he pitched them for. I will miss his crazy pitches, blue shirt, back and forth with Sully and the excitement that he brought to inventors who risked everything they had for an idea. The pitching world will not be the same without Billy.

3 comments:

John said...

Billy Mays was a US Air flight from Philly to Tampa yesterday. The front tires blew on landing. He said it was a very rough landing and either he hit his head or something hit him in the head (the uncertainty is my recollection, not in his). But he said he had a hard head so it was okay (or words to that effect).

I wonder if he had the same thing as Natasha Richardson who hit her head skiing, walked away apparently unhurt and then later died from the injury.

TVFan said...

I've been wondering the same thing. The article said that they will be doing an autopsy and it should be completed Monday afternoon. I guess we'll find out then if the two are related or if he died from something else entirely. Sad either way.

John said...

I see that the preliminary results point to heart disease and there was no sign of head trauma.