Billy Mays TV advertiser Date of Birth: 20.07.1958 Country: USA

1. Biography of Billy Mays
2. Early Career
3. Success as a Pitchman
4. 'PitchMen' and Mays Promotions, Inc.
5. Later Career and Death
6. Legacy

Biography of Billy Mays

Billy Mays, born on July 20, 1958, in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, was a television pitchman known for his charismatic and passionate approach to selling products. He attended West Virginia University, where he played as a midfielder on the football team for two years. After leaving college, Mays worked in his father's hazardous waste company before relocating to Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1983.

Early Career

Mays began his career as a salesman, selling various products to passersby in Atlantic City. He learned the art of selling from experienced salesmen and traveled to home shows, auto shows, and city fairs across the United States, selling a wide range of goods, including cleaning products and kitchen knives. It was at a home show in Pittsburgh in 1993 that Mays struck up a friendship with Max Appel, the founder of Orange Glo International, a company that manufactured cleaning products.

Success as a Pitchman

Mays was hired by Orange Glo International to promote their products, including OxiClean, Orange Clean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom, on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) in St. Petersburg, Florida. His enthusiastic and energetic style of selling quickly increased the number of customers for the channel, although he also faced some negative feedback. Mays became famous for his distinctive beard and passionate approach to advertising.

'PitchMen' and Mays Promotions, Inc.

Mays's success as a pitchman led to him becoming the star of the documentary series "PitchMen" on the Discovery Channel. The show followed Mays and his business partner, Anthony Sullivan, as they searched for new innovative products to promote. In addition, Mays founded his own company, Mays Promotions, Inc., in Florida, where he continued to advertise products on television. He claimed to actively use and endorse all the products he promoted.

Later Career and Death

In December 2008, Mays began working with the online service ESPN360 of ESPN, where he parodied other salespeople, including himself. Before his death, Mays had signed a contract with the American fast-food chain Taco Bell to appear in a promotional show. However, on the morning of June 28, 2009, Mays was found dead in his home in Tampa, Florida. His autopsy revealed that he suffered from hypertensive heart disease and had a heart defect, which may have been exacerbated by his use of cocaine.

Legacy

Mays's death was initially thought to be caused by a head injury sustained during an airplane's landing. However, further investigation disproved this theory. Mays's funeral took place on July 3, 2009, in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. He was buried wearing a shirt with the OxiClean logo. Despite his controversial death, Mays left a lasting legacy as a memorable and influential pitchman in the United States and Canada.