Autopsy Finds Billy Mays Died of Heart Attack

June 30, 2009 by Suzanne Conlon

“Famous TV pitchman Billy Mays probably died of a heart attack”, a Florida medical examiner said yesterday. Mays, 50, was found dead by his wife in their Tampa, Florida condominium Sunday morning.

Some in the media had speculated that a head bump during a rough airplane landing that day contributed to Mays’ death. After a preliminary investigation, Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Vernard Adams saw no reason to suspect head trauma.  Mays’ heart disease, however, is "perfectly consistent with sudden death," Adams said.  The official cause will be determined after tests are completed in a few weeks.

The bearded, black-haired, boisterous Mays became an unlikely television icon as he enthusiastically advertised an array of commercial products.  As often as 400 times a week, Mays’ commercials brought information about Mighty Putty, Simoniz Fix It scratch remover, the Big City Slider Station, the Handy Switch, the Awesome Auger, and numerous other "As Seen on TV" products into people’s homes. His "Hi! Billy Mays here!" became a signature opening for each product endorsement.

In 1998, Mays met Max Appel, an inventor who was selling Orange Glo, a wood-polishing liquid. When Mays pitched the product on the Home Shopping Network, it sold 6,000 units in 11 minutes, at $18 a piece. Mays reached the pinnacle of success in 1999, when he did a two-minute commercial for the all-purpose OxiClean, created by Max Appel. Appel later sold his company for $325 million. By then, Mays had become a pitching superstar.

In 2008, The Washington Post did a profile on Mays and noted that top pitchmen get about $20,000 upfront for each commercial, although Mays made even more money from a commission on gross revenue. Mays did not reveal his annual income, but Forbes magazine said his pitches resulted in more than $1 billion in combined sales for his products.

The Discovery Channel reality show "Pitchmen" recently followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan, his business partner, as they enticed viewers with new gadgets  "One of the things that we hope to do with 'Pitchmen' is to give people an appreciation of what we do," Mays said in an interview. "I don't take on a product unless I believe in it. I use everything that I sell."

Funeral services for Billy Mays will be held Friday at St. Mary’s Church in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania.