His wife found him unresponsive today. Dead at 50.

It is the guy that is famous for many commercials.

Been a terrible week for the celebs

Say what you will about the products he pitches...if you ever watched The Pitchmen, the guy knew his stuff when it came to selling products average Americans think up.

yeah, i just read this. i liked his show "pitchmen" on discovery. nik4 is right, really bad week for celebs.

You know I liked Billy Mays. He built himself and his business, knew what he was talking about and personally believed in the products he pitched.

He didn't take himself seriously either. He did a great ESPN commercial a while back making fun of himself.

It appears that the US Airways could be the blame for his death.

There was a rough landing when a tire was blown out. The airline was quick to blame him for not wearing a seat belt. Seat belt or not, he didn't fly up to the roof of the plane. Things fell down to his head.


Billy posted about it last on his Twitter last night, saying, "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."

Ummm... He posted that message on Twitter too soon.

Billy Mays | TMZ.com (http://www.tmz.com/category/billy-mays/?icid=webmail|wbml-aol|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tmz.com%2Fcategory% 2Fbilly-mays%2F)

That's the link to the updates on his final hours. Start from bottom and work your way up.

No matter how minor the head injury is...always get checked out at a hospital.

I'm kinda bummed. I really liked Billy. He was a great pitchman, and just plain fun to watch. And I really liked his new show on Discovery. I'm 49. Seeing people my age start dying is a little sobering.

Sad, sad stuff. After getting a better glimpse of his personality on his reality show on Discovery, he really seemed like a cool, down-to-earth, family guy and nerd all wrapped into one.

His son has been twittering today. twitter.com/YoungBillyMays

Sad stuff.

Ed McMahon ,Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and now Billy Mays.
Does anyone remember when celebs used to die in 3's?
Guess inflation even got to Death...

It turns out that he had an enlarged heart that was causing some issues. More testings will be done.

I just saw a commercial for I Can Benefit insurance company and Billy was the pitchman for it.

So, here the thought. Do we think companies should continue to air commercials with him pitching after his death?

It turns out that he had an enlarged heart that was causing some issues. More testings will be done.

I just saw a commercial for I Can Benefit insurance company and Billy was the pitchman for it.

So, here the thought. Do we think companies should continue to air commercials with him pitching after his death?

Billy shot so many ads for so many different products, it'll take a few days for all the advertisers and all the stations to pull them. They'll be withdrawn soon.

Why withdraw them? The companies paid for the advertising spots- why shouldn't they get to use them?

When I first saw Billy, I thought he was fake like the Norman Nobody idiot or Tom Park that put his name on anything that sold in mass numbers.

Then I saw the TV show Pitch Men on Discovery. He focused on good products at value prices. If something was a flop he told the inventors the truth. At the same time he was not an ass about it. He told them what they needed to do to improve it.

He was a master of his trade. He even mananaged to keep his nose clean unlike the Sham Wow kid.

I know If I had his skills I would have my face on everything from TV Dinners to Urinal Cakes.

There has been another celebrity death as well....

CNN.com - Comedian Fred Travalena dies of cancer (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/29/fred.travalena.dies/index.html)

> I would have my face on everything from TV Dinners to Urinal Cakes.

If there is one place I never want my face placed, it's on a urinal cake.
But, that raises an interesting notion for decorations at politico conventions.

Anyone hear the radio spot today for Sonic? Really bad timing. It was taking a satirical poke at 'pitchmen' and obviously impersonating Billy Mays. Naturally it was recorded some time ago, but this was the first time I heard it. I hope they pull it quickly.

If I heard a commercial with him on it today, I wouldn't be upset. I'd just think, aw, God bless ya' Billy.

I don't know why all his advertisements should be pulled. Now, perhaps if his family said something about it, I'd definitely respect them. However, having him still on the air is kind of a memorial in itself.

Ed McMahon ,Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and now Billy Mays.
Does anyone remember when celebs used to die in 3's?
Guess inflation even got to Death...


They still do - every third one.

Luke, did you know that Billy just got done shooting a new OxiClean informerical? That was what he was returning from when he arrived home in Tampa, FL. I wonder if the company will add "In Memory of Billy Mays" at the start and end of the new informerical? They should definately do a special limited time pricing in honor of him.

I'm wondering how long it will be before someone is hawking the Billy Bumper head Botector, to wear during landings, only 29.95, no wait, call in the next ten minutes and it is only 19.95

too soon? Maybe, but something tells me Billy would probably approve

I know USAIR must been sweating since his death, but the results with him having a heart aliment must have been a relief for them.

> I would have my face on everything from TV Dinners to Urinal Cakes.

If there is one place I never want my face placed, it's on a urinal cake.
But, that raises an interesting notion for decorations at politico conventions.

Sorry Kevinpate, they've been doing the political face in the urinal thing for decades. The first time I saw it was either the late 80's or early 90's, yet even if it's an old idea it can be fun.

Season finale of Pitchmen tonight was very good. The tribute at the end was pretty sad but good. They'll have a special next Thursday at 8pm on Billy.

Like others have said, after watching the show you really get to like the man that was Billy Mays and what he meant to his family, co-workers, and the average American inventor that had a dream.

If I had to guess, I think he would have liked these dubs. He seemed to have a good sense of the humor about his job. YouTube - Might Putty Dub! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_4a4O7kXQo&feature=related)