Billy Mays, Dead at 50
Published by Toronto Mike on June 28, 2009 @ 14:40 in Celebrity Deaths
Billy Mays was 50. He was the burly, bearded television pitchman known for his boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean.
When I read that Billy Mays had passed away, I asked myself a simple question. Who's Billy Mays? I hit up YouTube and didn't recognize his face or voice at all. Furthermore, I had never heard of Orange Glo or OxiClean. I figured if I had never heard of Billy Mays, he was most likely too minor a celebrity to warrant an entry.
I tweeted that I hadn't heard of Billy Mays and quickly got this reply from @SimonOstler, Assignment Editor & Producer at Global Edmonton.
@torontomike you've never come home late, sat down on the couch surfed through channels and seen Billy Mays. He is the MJ of infomercials.
I figured the MJ of infomercials was worthy of an entry, even if I had never heard of him. Further validation was this very recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, an episode I've PVR'd but not yet seen.
 Entry Permalink |
 10 comments |
Tweet |
Down Goes Brown
June 28, 2009 / 15:33
I didn't know who he was either. But we must be in the minority, since CNN apparently felt it was worth sending an e-mail alert about him.