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William Darrell “Billy” Mays, Jr., the most famous television advertisement pitchman, will be remembered for pitching Oxi Clean, Orange Glo, and numerous other cleaning, and maintenance products. His distinctive beard and unique persona produced one of the most recognized television presences in the United States.

Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, on July 20, 1958. He would go on to attend Sto-Rox High School, while living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He dropped out of West Virginia University. Billy Mays began working with his father’s hazardous waste company. He then moved to Atlantic City in 1983.

In Atlantic City, Billy Mays made his living on the world famous boardwalk. He became a boardwalk pitchman. He made a living pitching a variety of products to anyone who walked by. One of Billy Mays’s early pitches was for a portable washing machine device called Washamatik.

Pitchmen must be able to draw people to them, interest them, and make the sale. Billy Mays learned how to sell from other Atlantic City pitchmen. Billy listened to every word. The skills learned in Atlantic City would become the launchpad for Billy Mays’s career. Leaving Atlantic City, he traveled from home shows, to automobile shows, to state fairs throughout the country.

In 1993, Bill Mays became friends with Max Appel. Max Appel was another pitchman with whom Billy had cultivated a rivalry. Appel had moved from pitchman to entrepeneur by founding Orange Glo International. Max Appel realized the greatness that was Billy Mays. He hired Billy to pitch his line of cleaners on the Home Shopping Network. Billy moved to St Petersburg, Florida to pitch products such as OxiClean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom.

Billy Mays realized that he wanted to be his own boss. He founded Mays Promotions, Inc. and served as its CEO. Initially, Mays Promotions, Inc. was run out of his Odessa, Florida home. He soon achieved fame as one of the greatest pitchmen alive. Inventors and companies chased after Billy Mays to promote their products.

Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan increased their own personal brands by filming “Pitchmen”. Pitchmen is a Discovery Channel reality show that allows viewers a behind the scenes look at infomercials. Viewers follow Billy and “Sully” through pitch sessions where they review new inventions, watch as they chose products to sell, and filmed the infomercial.

Billy Mays’s wife found him unresponsive on June 28, 2009. Initially, it was thought that he may have suffered a head injury. The day before, he had been on a very turbulent flight. The overhead bin had opened and items fell onto him. Later announcements would state that Billy Mays had died of a massive heart attack.

Hillsborough County medical examiner Dr. Vernard Adams performed Billy Mays’s autopsy. He announced that Billy’s death had been caused by hypertensive heart disease. Indicating, the most likely cause of death was a heart attack.

July 3, 2009, Billy Mays was laid to rest in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. In honor of him, pallbearers wore the same khaki pants and blue shirts that were Billy’s trademark. He was even buried in a shire with the OxiClean logo.

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