Billy Remembered as Natural Seller

Television pitchman Billy Mays, whose high-energy hawking turned products like OxiClean from infomercial curiosities into mainstream successes, was remembered as a pop culture icon at his funeral Friday near Pittsburgh.

"He sold more OxiClean than Andy Warhol sold Campbell's Soup," said Mays' cousin Dean Panizzi, comparing Mays to the Pittsburgh-born pop artist who turned the soup can into a work of art.

Scores of mourners came to the tiny suburb of McKees Rocks, where Mays was raised, to remember the popular pitchman. Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "As Seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk and worked for years as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

Mays got his start on TV on the Home Shopping Network and then branched out into commercials and infomercials. He developed such a strong following that he became the subject of a reality TV series, Discovery Channel's "Pitchmen."

"Pitchmen" creator and executive producer Chris Wilson said the outsized personality that earned Mays a place in the pop culture lexicon was paired with an innate ability to reach viewers.

"Billy had an amazing way of just making you believe that everything he said was true," Wilson said Friday. "He didn't sell you, he told you." The likable personality Mays presented on TV viewers existed in real life, too, Wilson said.

"As great as a pitch man Billy was, he was an even better man and an even better individual," he said.

Outside the funeral, a company owned by fellow "Pitchmen" star Anthony Sullivan handed out shiny stickers bearing a caricature of Mays' face.

Mays hawked everything from the Wash-matik, a device for pumping water from a bucket to wash cars, to Orange Glo, an environmentally friendly cleaner. Sporting a jet-black beard and coupling high-energy demonstrations with booming pitches, Mays always seemed ready to jump off the screen.

Mays is believed to have died of a heart attack in his sleep, but further tests are needed to be sure of the cause of death.

Mesage from John Ford
President and General Manager
Discovery Channel

Anthony "Sully" Sullivan, longtime infomercial pitchman and co-host of "Pitchmen" released the following statement on the passing of his dear friend and colleague:

There are no words to describe how I feel about the passing of my great friend and fellow Pitchman Billy Mays. I have a massive hole in my heart. My thoughts go out to his wife, Deborah, son Billy III, and his beautiful daughter, Elizabeth, his mom and dad and his whole family.

Billy and I have known each other for 15 years. We are the greatest of friends. He was the best at what he did -- his uncompromising style coupled with his black beard, blue shirt and khaki pants will be embedded in my memory for all time. His uniqueness created an industry that I am proud to be a part of. We were literally joined at the hip for the past six months.

Discovery Channel's "Pitchmen" was not only a wonderful experience, but also a great opportunity for Billy and I to let people into our world and see what an awesome guy he was in front of the cameras and show our friendship to the world.

There was a lot more to Billy as a person than Billy the Pitchman -- he was a loving, caring family man with the heart and roar of a lion. He loved what he did and loved his fans. The overwhelming outpouring of support shows what an amazing individual Billy was.

I'm proud to have had him as a friend. I'll miss him greatly and I'll miss hearing him saying, "Hi Billy Mays here... Here's how to order!"