ugh not trying to act like mod. just saying. this site had gotten to a bad point with people fighting on the public forum and people are starting to get banned and i dont want to see that. thats all.
but to stay on topic. RIP Billy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mays
Early life
Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, attended Sto-Rox High School, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1][6] He later attended West Virginia University, where he was a walk-on linebacker on its football team during his two years there.[7] After dropping out, he worked for his father's hazardous waste company before moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1983.[1]
Career
On the Atlantic City boardwalk Mays sold the Washmatik portable washing device to passersby,[8] along with other "As Seen on TV" products.[1] In Atlantic City, he was taught how to sell by the older salesmen, saying "I was taught to pitch by a lot of old pitchmen. That's the kind of style I have."[1] Mays then traveled to home shows, auto shows, and state fairs across the United States for a period of twelve years, selling various maintenance products and tools, including cleaning products and food choppers.[8]
At a Pittsburgh home show in 1993, Mays struck up a friendship with rival salesman Max Appel, founder of Orange Glo International, a Denver-based manufacturer of cleaning products. He was then hired by the company to promote their line of cleaners, OxiClean, Orange Clean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom on the Home Shopping Network in St. Petersburg, Florida.[9] Customer response to Mays' sales pitches was enthusiastic, with a sharp increase in sales after his first day on the network, although some reviews were poor. He was very well known for shouting in an abrasive manner during infomercials. For example, Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens called him "a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown".[10]
Mays was the CEO and founder of Mays Promotions, Inc., based at his home in Odessa, Florida.[4] His services as a pitchman became highly sought-after, and he appeared in commercials for many diverse "as seen on TV" products such as Mighty Putty. Mays claimed to be an avid user of the products he promoted.[11] In December 2008, Mays began appearing in ads for ESPN's online service, ESPN360.[12] These ads were a slight departure for Mays as they were designed to be parodies of his and other infomercial cliches with Mays appearing to be doing a parody of himself. He also made a live appearance during the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl promoting ESPN's and ABC's January 1, 2009 bowl games.
On April 15, 2009, the Discovery Channel began airing PitchMen, a documentary series that featured Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their jobs in direct-response marketing.[13] After Mays' death, Discovery Channel aired a special Billy Mays tribute episode of PitchMen called "Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays".[14]
On March 27, 2009 Mays appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He and Sullivan also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on June 23, 2009.[15]
Prior to his death Mays had signed a deal with Taco Bell to film infomercial-style commercials for the chain. Shooting was scheduled to begin in August 2009.[16]
