billy-mays

Billy Mays, the exuberant television pitchman known for hawking products like OxiClean, Mighty Putty, and Orange Glo, was found dead in his Tampa home yesterday.  It remains unclear whether a rough landing on a flight the day prior — during which Mays, 50, was hit in the head — contributed to his death.  He is survived by his wife, Deborah.

There was a New York Times Magazine article last fall that aptly described Mays’s unique kind of fame: “Mays is a celebrity endorser whose celebrity is based entirely on having endorsed things.”  His sincerity, enthusiasm, and car horn of a voice led people to say things like:

  • “Billy Mays came over to my house and sold me tap water from my sink.”
  • “Billy sold me a crisp five-dollar bill for 4 easy payments of only $19.95 + shipping and handling!”
  • “He was the only human that was allowed to speak entirely in CAPS LOCK.” [source]

Good Lord, this is getting out of hand. I’m going to have to stop doing individual obituaries and just do celebrity death link dumps.  “Here are today’s celebrity deaths…”  Can you imagine a plague that killed off all the famous people in the world?  Would it be worth losing supermodels and George Clooney to get rid of the cast of “The Hills”?  I’m willing to take that chance.

After the jump, some of my favorite Billy Mays mash-ups and re-dubs, plus his appearance on “The Tonight Show” last week.