Billy Mays Bio

Billy Mays was one of the most well-known salesperson/pitchmen on TV. If you’re familiar with OxiClean, Awesome Auger, Fix It!, Zorbeez, and Mighty Putty, or if you’ve seen their infomercials, you must know Billy Mays. He’s the bearded guy with the loud voice who always starts his advertisements with the line, “Hi, Billy Mays here.”

Billy Mays was born on July 20, 1958 in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. He attended West Virginia University but dropped out later to work for his father’s waste company. At age 25, he moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey and started working as a salesman. He traveled all over the United States to sell various products. In 1993, he was hired by Orange Glo International to promote their products on Home Shopping Network.

Mays had a successful career as a salesman for Home Shopping Network. Customers responded positively to his booming voice and his marketing techniques, even if the product reviews were bad. He was so good as a salesman, that later he created his own company, Mays Promotions, Inc.

Many companies recognized Mays’ marketing talents, and soon he was advertising for numerous As Seen on TV products, such as Mighty Putty, Fix It!, Zorbeez, Gopher, Jupiter Jack, and many others. In fact, Wikipedia has a list that includes over 50 of Mays’ advertised products, but this list was said to be incomplete.

On April 2009, Discover Channel started airing a documentary about Mays and Anthony Sullivan, another TV salesperson and Mays’ friend. Mays was also scheduled to appear in Taco Bell advertisements on August 2009.

Unfortunately, Mays died on the morning of June 28, 2009 in his house in Florida. According to the initial autopsy, he died from heart disease. On July 3, 2009, Mays was buried in his hometown in Pennsylvania. Reportedly, he was buried wearing his OxiClean shirt.