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RIP - Billy Mays, Infomercial Pitchman

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  • RIP - Billy Mays, Infomercial Pitchman

    http://www.people.com/people/article...s-topheadlines


    Informercial Pitchman Billy Mays Dies at 50


    Billy Mays, the bearded infomercial pitchman with the trademark shout, has died in his sleep at home.

    "Everyone [who knew] him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth," the Discovery Channel (which aired his series, Pitchmen with Anthony Sullivan) said in a statement. "Billy was a pioneer in his field … 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."
    He was on the flight with the two blown tires, TMZ is saying he took a smack to the head during the hard landing:

    http://www.tmz.com/2009/06/28/faa-bi...belt-on-plane/






    All these people....it's getting really weird......

  • #2
    Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

    But Wait...there's more!


    I can just see that chisled in his headstone.
    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

      Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
      But Wait...there's more!


      I can just see that chisled in his headstone.
      i think mays would have been charmed by that response.

      i don't think there's anything weird about so many famous people dying. i've never been convinced that "death happens in threes." has anyone actually done a study on the so-called phenomenon? is it more that as humans, we look for patterns, and when two famous people have died, we go looking for a third death in proximity?

      looking at the entries on Na Kanaka, the following have passed away in the last month:

      David Carradine (in his seventies. death by unfortunate circumstances)
      Farrah Fawcett (in her sixties. cancer)
      Michael Jackson (fifty years old. heart attack)
      Ed McMahon (in his eighties. not gonna bother to look why he died; i remember hearing pre-mortem, that he had a lot of health issues. plus, hello--in his eighties!)
      Billie Mays (possibly due to head injury)

      i guess those of us who live in hawaii would add duke bainum (abdominal aneurysm) too.

      you can look at wikipedia's list of deaths of notable people here. far more notable people have died this year than most of us realize, and most of them are beyond a certain age (meaning likely to be a result of natural causes). so it just seems to me that we "pick" who are "notable" enough to include in any arbitrary clumping of "three."

      additionally, let's face it--famous people of a certain generation are at the age where they're more likely to die than they were, say, ten years ago. if you're of baby boomer or gen-x age, more celebrities who are of significance to you are going to die than before. so maybe it's more accurate to say that it's discomfiting to be reminded of one's mortality (vis-a-vis the deaths of those whose names you know). that's not a "weird" phenomenon. it's completely human and to be expected.
      superbia (pride), avaritia (greed), luxuria (lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath) & acedia (sloth)--the seven deadly sins.

      "when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people i deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly..."--meditations, marcus aurelius (make sure you read the rest of the passage, ya lazy wankers!)

      nothing humiliates like the truth.--me, in conversation w/mixedplatebroker re 3rd party, 2009-11-11, 1213

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

        Possibly Michael Jackson's death was the start of a new series of 3. I agree, Peshkwe, this is getting weird. I saw Mays interviewed on Leno's show a couple of months ago. Seemed like a really nice guy.

        After Mays' hit on the head yesterday I wonder if he had a faster reaction to the same condition that took Natasha Richardson's life.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

          Well I'm shocked! We've been watching "Pitchmen" and have enjoyed seeing
          the dynamics of Billy & Sully and their unique business sense. It's a great show
          and I'm saddened by the loss for his family and friends. There will never be another like him. I'm sad today. Thanks Billy for your hard work and entertaining way.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

            Nah....it's weird.

            Not because any discomfiting or over-the-hill angst about death, (been there done that, it ain't no big deal)...but because I say so! For I am Peshkwe the great purveyor of weirdness

            I think Bainum is on his own or ya gotta wait for more local notables to kick it to make a locals three.

            The majority of those listed in the wiki are people who if you stopped 20 people on the street showed em a picture of the person and asked who they were, would go "I dunno...who?" Carradine, Fawcett etc. name em or show a picture and people will recognize em pretty quick...maybe not put a name and face together but they go through the whole light bulb lighting "Oooohhhhh YEAH!! I know them!" thing.

            So now ya look at the list and play the threes game it's easy to see:

            Carradine

            Jackson

            Mays

            All died unexpectedly and quick.



            Then there's the 'really ill / older than dirt' category:

            McMahon

            Fawcett

            ?

            Then think about who's older than dirt or really ill that is super recognizable at the same time....could be next.
            Last edited by Peshkwe; June 28, 2009, 10:10 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

              Originally posted by Peshkwe View Post
              Nah....it's weird.

              Not because any discomfiting or over-the-hill angst about death, (been there done that, it ain't no big deal)...but because I say so! For I am Peshkwe the great purveyor of weirdness

              I think Bainum is on his own or ya gotta wait for more local notables to kick it to make a locals three.

              The majority of those listed in the wiki are people who if you stopped 20 people on the street showed em a picture of the person and asked who they were, would go "I dunno...who?" Carradine, Fawcett etc. name em or show a picture and people will recognize em pretty quick...maybe not put a name and face together but they go through the whole light bulb lighting "Oooohhhhh YEAH!! I know them!" thing.

              So now ya look at the list and play the threes game it's easy to see:

              Carradine

              Jackson

              Mays

              All died unexpectedly and quick.



              Then there's the 'really ill / older than dirt' category:

              McMahon

              Fawcett

              ?

              Then think about who's older than dirt or really ill that is super recognizable at the same time....could be next.
              you can be all about the wierdness, then. you know me--i admire those who own a statement they make.

              and with that in mind, i lead you to this website.
              superbia (pride), avaritia (greed), luxuria (lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath) & acedia (sloth)--the seven deadly sins.

              "when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people i deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly..."--meditations, marcus aurelius (make sure you read the rest of the passage, ya lazy wankers!)

              nothing humiliates like the truth.--me, in conversation w/mixedplatebroker re 3rd party, 2009-11-11, 1213

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                Originally posted by cynsaligia View Post
                you can be all about the wierdness, then. you know me--i admire those who own a statement they make.

                and with that in mind, i lead you to this website.


                Ooooo......shiney!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                  When it came to informercials, Billy Mays was already a legend in his time. Right up there with Ron Popeil (Ronco), Vince Shlomi (ShamWow), Jay Kordich (the Juiceman), and the late Mike Levey (Amazing Discoveries series of informercials).
                  This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                    Whoa!

                    I've seen a lot of his commercials. In general, I find commercials annoying (as a viewer), but I always had the impression that he was a good person. R.I.P.!

                    Last edited by Vanguard; June 28, 2009, 11:01 AM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                      Originally posted by Peshkwe View Post
                      Then there's the 'really ill / older than dirt' category:

                      McMahon
                      Fawcett
                      ?

                      Then think about who's older than dirt or really ill that is super recognizable at the same time....could be next.
                      Hoping it's NOT Walter Cronkite...or Pete Seeger.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                        Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                        Hoping it's NOT Walter Cronkite...or Pete Seeger.


                        There's a plethora of folks in the 'older than dirt' sub category...Karl Malden at 97 anyone?

                        Check em out


                        In the ill section the ones that come immediately to mind are Steve Jobs (liver transplant just recently) and Patrick Swayze with the pancreatic cancer.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                          He got what was thought to be a mild head injury during a rough landing when a plane he was on blew a tire. Evidently not wearing his seat belt. I thought flight crews were required to see that everybody was strapped in for landings and take offs. I am sorry to be spacing on the name of the famous woman, a skier, who died a few days after suffering what was thought to be a mild head injury while skiing, a few months back. She got medical attention, the first evaluations were good, but she was gone in only a matter of days. Its weird because we all have banged our heads and know people who have, with no bad effects, yet obviously in some cases what seems like a minor bang can be fatal. Protect the head seems to be the moral.

                          I did not like his act. I have never liked being yelled at, and if you want me to not buy a product yelling at me is the way to do it. But I am sorry he died. I just wish he hadn't yelled so much.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                            Originally posted by Kalalau View Post
                            He got what was thought to be a mild head injury during a rough landing when a plane he was on blew a tire. Evidently not wearing his seat belt. I thought flight crews were required to see that everybody was strapped in for landings and take offs. I am sorry to be spacing on the name of the famous woman, a skier, who died a few days after suffering what was thought to be a mild head injury while skiing, a few months back. She got medical attention, the first evaluations were good, but she was gone in only a matter of days. Its weird because we all have banged our heads and know people who have, with no bad effects, yet obviously in some cases what seems like a minor bang can be fatal. Protect the head seems to be the moral.

                            I did not like his act. I have never liked being yelled at, and if you want me to not buy a product yelling at me is the way to do it. But I am sorry he died. I just wish he hadn't yelled so much.

                            That would have been Natasha Richardson


                            As far as the seat belt thing, sure he prolly woulda been better off with it on, but unless he was wearing it to strap a pillow on his head it wouldn't have protected him from the stuff falling out of the overhead that nailed him in the noggin.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: RIP - Billy Mays, Infomertial Pitchman

                              I haven't read all the recent RIP threads here, but where does the 'death in threes' originate? I thought it was a japanese thing... or a local Hawaii superstition?

                              Whisper: I had no idea who Billy Mays was.

                              Comment

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