With the recent spate of celebrity deaths this past week and a half, it’s hard to believe we just had another one today. While Billy Mays may have been a minor celebrity (or some wouldn’t even consider him one, honestly), to me, he was larger than life.
Discovery Channel, this season, started airing a new reality show called Pitchmen, following the work of famous infomercial pitchers Anthony Sullivan and Billy Mays. If you’ve never seen the show, head over to iTunes now and just buy it. It’s one of those shows that you won’t expect to like but will absolutely love. Billy and Sully were a great team, and seeing how much they cared for the people behind the products humanized them in a way you can’t even imagine. If you don’t respect the kind of people Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan are after watching, I can’t help you, but I reckon you’ll come away with the same feeling I did.
I’ve always liked Billy Mays. His personality and energy were infectious and his smile encouraged you to trust him. It almost said “Everything’s gonna work, or I wouldn’t put my name on it!” Frankly, I never bought a product he endorsed that let me down. Not a single one.
He’s not Michael Jackson, David Carradine, or Farrah Fawcett, but of all the recent celebrity deaths, this one really made me the saddest.
RIP Billy. You were one of a kind.