Billy Mays dies at 50; boisterous TV pitchman

6/28/09 • LA Times

Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo, OxiClean and ESPN made him a pop-culture icon, died today. He was 50. Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife, Deborah Mays, this morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m. Investigators do not suspect foul play, said Lt. Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police Department.