OxiClean pitchman Billy Mays, who passed away Saturday at the age of 50, may have had heart disease according to a preliminary autopsy, reports People. Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Vernard Adams said Mays “had an enlarged heart, a thickening of the wall of the ventricle which takes blood to the heart.” The official cause of death along with final autopsy results will not be known for weeks.
Update: On August 7, the results of Mays’ autopsy revealed that cocaine use had contributed to his heart disease. [Yahoo!]
This is a blow for all mankind. OxiClean was my Thriller.
I am very sad about Billy Mays. I was just getting in to watching his and his pitchman partner’s TV show. I like him because he was so excited about stuff. He is was excited about life and living. He instilled that in everyone around him – the joy in everyday stuff – life, living, love. He loved to help people realise their dreams. Geez, when we have to endure the endless BS about pop icons, no matter how disgustingly debauched their lives were, the massive amounts of media time devoted to endless tributes and the interviews and the boohooing over individuals who were great talents to be sure but who were total sleezebags and drug addicted mental cases, where is the celebration for the gentle, kind, mannerly and loving lives of people like Billy Mays and Ed McMahaon, whose lives were as much about helping people as the show biz/promotion aspects, who go out with little more media attention than a quick retrospective of their careers. Blessings on you and your family, Billy Mays.
God Bless you and your family Billy Mays.
Our Family felt that we really got to know who the real Billy Mays was on Pitch Men.
I am glad we got to know you and the family.
You will be missed my friend.
RB
I knew it….. his arteries were clogged with mighty putty. That’ll kill you everytime.
Farrah Fawcett, Micheal Jackson,and now Billy Mays. Who’s next?
Hasn’t ANYONE thought of the possibility that being in a near-crash aircraft incident precipitated the heart attack? Under normal circumstances he may have lived quite a long time.(if his artery congestion had not been detected). I still believe US Airways contributed to his rapid death. Ciao, Maxx
to Whitney: Hopefully Speidi
i will always buy oxi clean in ur loving memory dude
rip
when finally know, when finally flow
http://www.nowgoal.com/21.shtml
Billy was my friend for 15 years. And while you knew him as the loud Pitchman, I know him to be one of the kindest, most generous, upstanding, and yes, soft spoken men I’ve ever known. He came from nothing, never seeking the spotlight. He never screwed anyone over on his way to success. He was truly a humble man. He helped everyone along in the business and was quick with a joke, a word of encouragement, or a helping hand. There are so many of us who owe him so much and are heartbroken over his passing and heartbroken for his lovely wife, Deborah, their little girl and his wonderful son. Death never comes at the right time whether it is sudden, or after a long illness. Go home and hug your babies, spouses, parents and partners. Spend more time with the people you love, tell them every day you love them, appreciate what a gift life is. Live your life.
The ME said he died of a PE (pulmonary elbolism) which usually arises from DVT (deep vein thrombosis) which can result in sitting too long in one spot.
He was on a flight the day before ( I dont know how long it was) so it could have been from the flight but not from hitting his head but from a clot forming from sitting too long or it can be heart disease.
I’m sorry. A death is a death; it is devastating. But what happened to us? The guy made a living (a very good living) at selling stuff that we were convinced we needed. No harm in that beside one’s own gullibility. And now it’s right up there in headline news. Talented as he was in the regard of selling stuff no one really needs, the last part is not the point. It’s as if a heart disease staged a coup d’etat. Well, no it’s not. And frankly there are a lot Billy Mays out there (just not in this case with the sincerity and the genuine charisma). He might have been a great guy personally. And who died was the person, not the profession. We’ll soon have some one else shouting at us to buy this and that, which is when, with all respect, I, like most people with a life, none the less flick the channel. Billy Mays sold stuff. He excelled. He was likeable. That’s all. O.K? It’s fine. And it’s world news. That’s seriously Rome a long time coming.
for I and my honey, Wednesday nights were usually set aside for dollar beers at a local bar. Since discovering Pitchmen, our drunken Wednesdays had come to a end. I looked more forward to Pitchmen than any other show in the history television. It felt like Billy was apart of our family. He will be greatly missed.. even by those who didn’t know him….. back to the bars
My boyfriend and I never missed an episode of Pitchmen. Even when Pitchmen wasn’t on and there wan’t anything else to watch we would flip through the channels just to watch Billy Mays shouting at you to buy something. lol. Anyways Billy Mays was great at what he did, and the legacy of his shouting (lol) will live on even without Billy. Billy Mays we love you!!!!!
We will miss you Billy. I loved watching Pitchman, we can see how excited you got when you were pitching a new product. RIP