BillyMays-related stories
Posted Oct 15th 2009 7:35PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Commercials, Celebrities, Reality-Free
The wife of the late Billy Mays once again came to the side of her late husband over allegations that a cocaine overdose killed the pitchman.
This time
Billy's wife, Deborah, claims she has conclusive proof that her late husband was not a habitual drug user.
The family paid for a second review of Billy's autopsy and doesn't deny that he may have used cocaine in the days leading up to his death, but does deny that he was a "chronic" user. The latest release from the family said the independent investigation concludes cocaine use did not contribute to his untimely death.
[via
TVTattle]
Posted Oct 9th 2009 1:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Commercials, Celebrities, South Park, Reality-Free
If you're a celebrity and you appear on TV's
South Park, chances are it's not going to end good for you. You're either going to end up dead, in Hell, or dead and in Hell.
So you can probably imagine the reaction from the family of the late TV pitchman Billy Mays: exuberant joy and ecstatic excitement.
Billy's son Billy Mays III said on
his Twitter page that he was "proud" and "honored" his late father was included in their "Dead Celebrities" episode. He's also trying to get a cel of his father's caricature autographed by Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
He hasn't said if he's gotten it yet or not, but he's reportedly sweetening the deal for the
South Park creators by throwing in an extra bottle of Chipotlaway absolutely free. Matt and Trey, call now!
Posted Sep 21st 2009 11:00AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Commercials, Obituaries, Emmys, Reality-Free
I'm not saying that I necessarily think Billy Mays should have won a posthumous Emmy, or even that his show
Pitchmen should have been included in their "The Year in Reality" segment. But leaving him out of the "In Memoriam" segment? You have people from every facet of the television industry, and you leave out the most famous infomercial personality ever. Infomercials are television programming.
Yes, they're annoying at times and yes, they're not as exciting as
Lost or
The Amazing Race, but it's still television. Billy Mays was famous
because of television. And he was famous. Virtually everyone in this country recognizes "Hi, Billy Mays here!" and that almost patented way of
shouting talking he had.
But hell, even if you don't buy any of those arguments, he was one of the stars of
Pitchmen, a successful reality show. You honor reality shows, right? I'm just saying, It seems to me that one of the most famous faces of the modern era
on television, and one of the most powerful men in the commercial industry, could have maybe earned a quick mention upon his passing.
Posted Aug 8th 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Commercials, Celebrities, Obituaries, Reality-Free
So now we know why Billy Mays was so hyped in his commercials -- he used cocaine. The autopsy results for the TV pitchman confirm that he died of heart disease, but there were also
traces of cocaine in Billy Mays' system from a few days prior to his demise.
There was a family history of heart disease, and cocaine can elevate blood pressure and contribute to coronary blockages. The coroner, Dr. Chrostowski, reported that "cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of Mays' heart disease and thereby contributed to his death."
Continue reading Coke contributed to Billy Mays' death
Posted Jul 10th 2009 3:03PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Video, Commercials, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Obituaries
I don't know how true this axiom is, since I just made it up out of thin air. But it seems to me that, in the world of reality TV, you can edit a nice person to look like a jerk, but it's much tougher to edit a jerk into looking like a nice person. It's just harder to fake being a good person than it is to fake being a jerk. And what I learned by the entire season of
Pitchmen, including
last night's tribute episode, was that Billy Mays was a good guy.
Sure, he had an ego. Sure, there are probably production staffs out there who think the guy was a jerk because he was having a bad day when he worked with them. But, the entire season of
Pitchmen showed that Mays was a fun-loving guy that seemed to be a dedicated family man; he also seemed to be truly committed to helping people realize their dreams through their inventions. Considering how many different people teared up during the tribute episode last night, I could tell the guy was loved and admired.
Continue reading Pitchmen pays teary tribute to Billy Mays
Posted Jul 9th 2009 4:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 7, G4 has the 1000th episode of Attack of the Show.- At 8, ABC has two new episodes of Samantha Who?
- CBS has the season premiere of Big Brother at 8.
- At 9, Discovery has a Billy Mays tribute episode of Pitchmen.
- USA has a new Burn Notice at 9, then a new Royal Pains.
- Spike has a new TNA Impact at 9.
- At 10, NBC has a new episode of The Listener.
- Comedy Central has a new Tosh.0 at 10.
- Bravo has a new episode of The Fashion Show at 10.
- Also at 10: Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Big Brother, Billy Mays Tribute, Burn Notice
Posted Jun 29th 2009 2:16PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Obituaries
If you're wearing
blue to pay tribute Billy Mays, you were probably as shocked by
the pitchman's death as I was. Heck, I was even more surprised by Billy's passing than I was by Michael Jackson's. The guy seemed as healthy as a horse, sporting nothing more than the slight beer gut anyone of his age that's not a fitness fanatic and lives the good life is likely to have.
So in a perverse way, some of us approaching middle age were hoping that the cause of Billy's death could have been explained by the bump on the head he got after his flight had a rough landing the day before he died. We figured it was a delayed response to head trauma, a la what happened to Natasha Richardson earlier this year.
But autopsy results, verified by
Billy Mays III on his Twitter feed, showed that there was no head trauma.
Mays simply died of heart disease. Continue reading Billy Mays died of heart disease, says autopsy
Posted Jun 29th 2009 9:08AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Commercials, Celebrities, Obituaries, Reality-Free
News of someone's death always implants a little sadness in my brain, whether its the passing of a major celebrity or some innocent bystander who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Part of it is completely selfish. Someone's passing always reminds me of the frailty of human life and lets me know I'm always one less beer away from reaching the end of my time.
The other part is the projection of my own pain. We've all lost someone close to us and know what that pain feels like when our brain is scrambling to catch up with the reality of that loss. There is someone out there who has to deal with that same pain, whether the person who died was worthy of Catholic sainthood or the Bastard of the Year Award.
Continue reading Today is "Wear Blue for Billy" day
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