Billy Mays Found Dead At 50

Bear and advertising icon Billy Mays was found dead in his family home early Sunday at the age of 50. Family members say that Mays reported hitting his head during a rough commercial US Airways landing the day before and had said he wasn't feeling well afterwards.

It was unclear whether the bumpy landing contributed to Mays' death, but he complained about not feeling well before going to bed. "All of a sudden as we hit, you know, it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping," Mays told Fox 13 in Tampa. "It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head." He wrote on Twitter: "Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air." Mays' wife, Deborah, found him in bed at their home and called 911 when she couldn't revive him around 7:45a.m. Tampa police said there were no signs of foul play. Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said any connection between the rough landing and Mays' death would "purely be speculation."

Just two week ago I reported that a bill had been introduced in Congress to force television stations to reduce the volume on commercials by shouting pitchmen like Billy Mays. It's been a bad week for celebrities, hasn't it?

UPDATE: A preliminary autopsy shows that Mays probably died from heart disease, not from a bump to the head.

Bear TV

Billy Mays, the advertising pitchman (and bear icon) that the Washington Post is calling the most ubiquitous face on television today, is getting a reality show. About being an advertising pitchman.

In the fall, Mays will start taping a TV reality show, "Pitchmen," which will follow the creation of a two-minute commercial, from start to finish. But with many of his ads appearing 400 times a week, often at two minutes a pop, Mays could already be the single most ubiquitous figure on television today, measured purely in face time. His only competition comes from actors in perpetual syndication, like Seinfeld and Bart Simpson. "You would think there would be a saturation point," says Scott Opfer, a director who has worked often with Mays. "But we never seem to reach it."

Too much of a good thing? All that shouting! PS: Mays is hetero and married.

(Via - Gawker)