If there was a hall of fame for pitchmen, Billy Mays would be its founder. Billy Mays possessed the rare ability to endear himself to you and sell you almost any product within two minutes. His pitches sold millions of units of such items as Orange Glo, Jupiter Jack, and Oxi Clean. Billy Mays’s beard and blue shirt became a symbol to every working man that success was not out of reach.
Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, on July 20, 1958. He would go on to attend Sto-Rox High School, while living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He dropped out of West Virginia University. Billy Mays began working with his father’s hazardous waste company. He then moved to Atlantic City in 1983.
In Atlantic City, Billy Mays made his living on the world famous boardwalk. He became a boardwalk pitchman. He made a living pitching a variety of products to anyone who walked by. One of Billy Mays’s early pitches was for a portable washing machine device called Washamatik.
Billy Mays learned from the best. Billy learned to sell from some of Atlantic City’s greatest pitchmen. Once again, he was destined to make a change. Billy Mays took his pitches on the road. He would spend the next 12 years traveling across the country. He would sell products at automobile shows, home shows, and state fairs.
Billy Mays met Max Appel in 1993. Max Appel had founded Orange Glo International. Appel and Billy were rival pitchmen. Even though he was a pitchman, Appel realized that Billy Mays could make him money. He hired Billy to promote his company’s cleaning products. Through the Home Shopping Network, Billy would turn such products as Kaboom, Orange Glo, and OxiClean into household names.
Mays Promotions, Inc. introduced Billy Mays to the world of entrepeneurship. He founded Mays Promotions, Inc. out of his Odessa, Florida home. Billy Mays served as the company’s CEO. He achieved success by becoming known as the world’s greatest pitchman. Companies would pay top dollar to have him pitch their products. Inventors would pitch their inventions to him, hoping that Billy Mays would turn them into millionaires.
Billy Mays was destined to become a TV superstar. With business partner Anthony Sullivan, he entered into a contract with Discovery Channel to produce “Pitchmen”. Pitchmen is a documentary that provides a behind the scenes look at infomercials. From reviewing new inventions to choosing the best one and filming an infomercial.
June 28, 2009 is a day that will live in infamy. Billy Mays’s wife found him unresponsive. At 7:45 a.m., he was pronounced dead. It is thought, he passed away during the night. News reports stated that early indications pointed to heart attack.
Hillsborough County medical examiner Dr. Vernard Adams performed Billy Mays’s autopsy. He announced that Billy’s death had been caused by hypertensive heart disease. Indicating, the most likely cause of death was a heart attack.
Billy Mays was memorialized and buried in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania on July 3, 2009. Each pallbearer wore Billy’s trademark blue shirts and khaki pants. KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh reported that Billy Mays was buried in an OxiClean shirt.
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