Billy Mays: Difference between revisions

On April 15, 2009, the [[Discovery Channel]] began airing ''[[PitchMen]]'', a documentary series that featured Mays and [[Anthony Sullivan (pitchman)|Anthony Sullivan]] in their jobs in [[direct-response marketing]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realitytvfans.com/2009/03/02/discovery-channel-announces-new-series-pitchmen-premiering-april-15.html |title=Discovery Channel Announces New Series "Pitchmen" Premiering April 15 |publisher=Realitytvfans.com |date=March 2, 2009 |access-date=June 28, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307010951/http://www.realitytvfans.com/2009/03/02/discovery-channel-announces-new-series-pitchmen-premiering-april-15.html |archive-date=March 7, 2009 }}</ref> After Mays' death, Discovery Channel aired a special Billy Mays tribute special, ''[[Pitchmen#Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays|Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays]]''.▼

== Personal life ==▼

After an initial [[autopsy]] on June 29, 2009, Vernard Adams, the [[Hillsborough County, Florida]] [[Coroner|medical examiner]], stated that Mays suffered from [[hypertensive heart disease]] and that heart disease was the likely cause of his death. According to a toxicology report released August 7, 2009, heart disease was the "primary cause of death" and [[cocaine]] was listed as a "contributory cause of death."<ref>{{cite news|title=Cocaine linked to Billy Mays death|work=The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer|publisher = CNN }}</ref><ref name="AP">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-08-07-billy-mays_N.htm|title=Autopsy: Cocaine contributed to Billy Mays' death|date=August 7, 2009|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref> In response to the release of the toxicology report, the Mays family issued a press release stating, "We are extremely disappointed by the press release released by the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office. We believe it contains speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension" and said in the release that they were considering "an independent evaluation of the autopsy results".<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090807005720&newsLang=en |publisher=Businesswire.com |title=Statement from Billy Mays' Family In Response to Medical Examiner's Report|date=August 7, 2009|agency=RFB Communications Group|author=Deborah Mays}}</ref>▼

The medical examiner concluded that "cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release. The office said Mays last used cocaine in the few days before his death but was not under the influence of it when he died. Hillsborough County spokeswoman Lori Hudson said that nothing in the toxicology report indicated the frequency of Mays' cocaine use. Cocaine can raise the arterial blood pressure, directly cause [[hypertrophy]] of the left ventricle, and accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, the release said. However, in October 2009, the results of a second medical examination, commissioned by Mays' family, concluded that cocaine was not a "significant contributing factor" to his death.<ref name="APsecondopinion">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-10-15-billy-mays_N.htm |title=Mays' family: Review finds no chronic cocaine use|agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=October 15, 2009 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=August 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018140337/https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-10-15-billy-mays_N.htm|archive-date=October 18, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>▼

According to subsequent news reports,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32334881 |title=Mays' family contests cocaine report |work=NBC News |date=August 7, 2009 |access-date=June 9, 2010}}</ref> the toxicology tests also showed levels of painkillers [[hydrocodone]], [[oxycodone]], and [[tramadol]], as well as anti-anxiety drugs [[alprazolam]] and [[diazepam]]. Mays suffered from hip problems and was scheduled to have had hip replacement surgery the day after he was found dead.▼

Mays' funeral was held on July 3, 2009, in his hometown of [[McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania]]. The [[pallbearer]]s wore blue shirts and khaki pants at the funeral, much like Mays wore when he advertised his products.<ref>"{{cite web |author=Joe Mandak |url=http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=146663 |title=Product pitchman Mays remembered as natural seller |agency=Associated Press |date=July 3, 2009 |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-date=August 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810042226/http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=146663 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery.<ref>Scott Wilson, ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', p. 492</ref>▼

In the immediate aftermath of his death, many companies pulled ads featuring Mays from the air, replacing them with similar ads featuring [[Anthony Sullivan (pitchman)|Anthony Sullivan]].<ref name="beyondgrave">{{cite web|last1=Hennigan|first1=W.J|title=Billy Mays pitches from beyond the grave|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/10/business/fi-mays10|website=L.A Times|date=July 10, 2009 |access-date=February 4, 2016}}</ref> By mid-July, with his family's consent, some ads were put back into rotation,<ref name="GoneNewYortkTimes">{{cite news|last1=STELTER|first1=BRIAN|title=Billy Mays Is Gone, but His Infomercials Go On|work=The New York Times |date=July 13, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/business/media/14adco.html?_r=0|access-date=February 4, 2016}}</ref> alongside previously unaired ads.<ref name="GoneNewYortkTimes"/><ref name="beyondgrave"/>▼

== In popular culture ==▼