Maybe the strangest week for celebrity deaths ever. Saw this one coming about as much as Michael, maybe even less.
Originally posted by Fox NewsTelevision pitchman Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday, FOX News confirms.
Mays was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry to May's residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.
Mays, 50, was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported.
US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station.
Authorities have not said whether Mays' death was related to the incident.
"Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times," Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.
That's really weird. I kept seeing the commercials for his show Pitchmen when I'd watch Mythbusters and thought it could be entertaining but never got around to watching it. So today, I was sitting around flipping through the channels and saw it was on, so I watched it. Once it was over, I decided to check my email and Fark.com and saw he'd died. Really bizarre coincidence.
Yeah, he was on Conan earlier this week and I taped it because Elvis Costello was also on, and I just got around to watching it late last night. I had a similar reaction.
Holy crap...I can't believe this. He was a very effective salesperson. I bought a few things that he's advertised based on his spirit and attitude alone.
I liked how he stood behind the products that he peddled.
RIP, Billy.
(edited by Oliver on 28.6.09 1252) Go Bluebombers!
This is from CNN's (cnn.com) article on what happened, about the plane landing yesterday:
Mays was on the US Airways flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Tampa on Saturday that had a hard landing at Tampa International Airport when the plane's front tire blew out. There were no reported injuries on Flight 1241, US Airways told CNN.
According to a local Tampa TV station, Mays said: "All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."
If that quote is legit, that's a big bright flashing sign about what might have happened.
weird though. I was just watching ABC and here comes a Billy Mays commercial (arm and hammer). You would think they would pull them. At least for today.
(edited by AWArulz on 28.6.09 1950)
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Agreed. I would be on board for another seaosn of The Office, but if Tate is involved in any way, I am done. I do not find anything remotely funny or amusing about her character.