RIP Billy Mays.

[Razgovory]

My mom bought some Orange stuff and was very happy with it.

[Jaron]

Actually, regular Oxi-Clean works pretty well, in my personal experience.  I never tried any of the related products, though.

Explain how it has worked for you.  I tried just about everything it advertised and it pretty much always fell short of how it was advertised.  It never seemed to clean any better than standard soap/detergent/stain remover, etc.

Maybe you are just filthier than the average American.

[CountDeMoney]

Actually, regular Oxi-Clean works pretty well, in my personal experience.

I use it for whites in the laundry.

[Syt]

Actually, regular Oxi-Clean works pretty well, in my personal experience.

I use it for whites in the laundry.

With every passing comment like this I think more and more of you as Mr French from Family Affair.

[Scipio]

Actually, regular Oxi-Clean works pretty well, in my personal experience.

I use it for whites in the laundry.

Word.

[jimmy olsen]

Sounds like an odd funeral. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31724651/ns/us_news-life/

Mays remembered as ultimate TV pitchman
Cousin: 'He sold more OxiClean than Andy Warhol sold Campbell's Soup'

AP
updated 9 minutes ago

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. - References to television pitchman Bill Mays' trademark image were everywhere at his funeral Friday near Pittsburgh.

Most mourners wore stickers showing a cartoon image of his distinctive bearded face. The six pallbearers eschewed suits and instead wore bright blue button-down shirts like the ones Mays wore on TV. At the conclusion of the ceremony, they gave a "thumbs up," just as Mays did at the end of one of his commercials.

Mays, whose high-energy hawking turned products like OxiClean from infomercial curiosities into mainstream successes, was remembered as a pop culture icon who never forgot his hometown or spiritual roots.

"He sold more OxiClean than Andy Warhol sold Campbell's Soup," cousin Dean Panizzi said in eulogizing Mays and comparing him to the Pittsburgh-born pop artist who turned soup cans into works of art.

Panizzi's 20-minute eulogy evoked everything from memories of their childhood together — complete with a Christmas Eve remembrance of their parents ringing sleigh bells outside — to Mays' devout Christian faith. Panizzi recited various lines Mays made famous, including "Life's a pitch, and then you buy" and drew a standing ovation parroting Mays' signature introduction, "Hi, Billy Mays here."

Hundreds of mourners packed the black brick, gothic Catholic church in the suburb of McKees Rocks, where Mays was raised, to remember the popular pitchman. Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "As Seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk and worked for years as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

Power of persuasion
Mays got his start on TV on the Home Shopping Network and then branched out into commercials and infomercials. He developed such a strong following that he became the subject of a reality TV series, Discovery Channel's "Pitchmen."

"Pitchmen" creator and executive producer Chris Wilson said the outsized personality that earned Mays a place in the pop culture lexicon was paired with an innate ability to reach viewers.

"Billy had an amazing way of just making you believe that everything he said was true," Wilson said Friday. "He didn't sell you, he told you."

The likable personality Mays presented on TV viewers existed in real life, too, Wilson said.

"As great as a pitch man Billy was, he was an even better man and an even better individual," he said.

Master hawker
Outside the funeral, a company owned by fellow "Pitchmen" star Anthony Sullivan handed out the shiny stickers bearing a caricature of Mays' face.

Mays hawked everything from the Wash-matik, a device for pumping water from a bucket to wash cars, to Orange Glo, an environmentally friendly cleaner. Sporting a jet-black beard and coupling high-energy demonstrations with booming pitches, Mays always seemed ready to jump off the screen.

Joanne Barthurst's son graduated from high school with Mays and she watched the funeral procession from her porch across the street. She said Mays' strong ties to his hometown are what made him great. He remained Everyman, even though he was one of the most visible people in the country.

"Watching him on TV and everything like that, his infomercials and stuff, even though he wasn't around you still felt like you had some ties because he was a McKees Rocks boy," she said.

Mays is believed to have died of a heart attack in his sleep June 28 at his home in Tampa, Fla., but further tests are needed to be sure of the cause of death.

[Tonitrus]

So, it turns out he was a coke junkie.

Any sympathy = gone.

Autopsy Shows Cocaine Contributed to Billy Mays' Death

Friday , August 07, 2009


TAMPA, Fla. —
An autopsy shows that cocaine use contributed to the death of boisterous TV pitchman Billy Mays, officials announced Friday.

The 50-year-old info-mercial king died of a heart attack in his sleep after going to bed at his Tampa condo the night of June 27. His wife found him unresponsive the next morning.

The Hillsborough County medical examiner's office Friday said although Mays died from heart disease, cocaine use was a contributing cause of death. Mays had last used cocaine days before his death, the report said.

The Mays family issued a statement Friday saying, "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, which only demonstrates how important it is to regularly monitor one's health."

According to the family's statement, Mays used prescription pain medication for a severe hip condition but always at recommended levels and under the guidance of his physician.

"We were totally unaware of any non prescription drug usage and are actively considering an independent evaluation of the autopsy results," the family said.

Mays was a pop-culture fixture with his energetic commercials pitching gadgets and cleaning products like Orange Glo and OxiClean.

He developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "As Seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk. For years he worked on commission on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

He got his start on TV on the Home Shopping Network and then branched out into commercials and infomercials. He developed such a strong following that he became the subject of a reality TV series, Discovery Channel's "Pitchmen."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

[garbon]

Coke use = junkie?

[MadImmortalMan]

I'm shocked. Wait. No I'm not.

[Jaron]

Damn.

And you know he sold that shit too.

BUT WAIT!

THERES MORE!

[Caliga]

 

[jimmy olsen]

Damn.

And you know he sold that shit too.

BUT WAIT!

THERES MORE!

Brilliant!

[DGuller]

Damn, who could've guessed that he could be on something?

[garbon]

So I just read that the following was also found in his system: hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (painkiller), alprazolam (Xanax), nordiazepam (Valium), benzoylecgonine (byproduct of cocaine) and temazepam (anti-anxiety). Ethanol — alcohol

Oh my.

[DGuller]

So I just read that the following was also found in his system: hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (painkiller), alprazolam (Xanax), nordiazepam (Valium), benzoylecgonine (byproduct of cocaine) and temazepam (anti-anxiety). Ethanol — alcohol

Oh my.

Wow, he sure left nothing to chance.  I wonder how he managed to look normal on TV, given that he probably had several serious addictions.