“Hi, Billy Mays here!”

Sadly, Americans will only be able to hear his intro statement on late-night reruns. The ubiquitous pitchman died of a heart attack at his Florida home on Sunday, June 28, 2009. While he wasn’t the King of Pop or an iconic beauty, his passing just days after the death of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett sent another shudder through much of the already jolted American population.

Born in McKees Rocks, PA, Mays got his start in 1983 as a salesman on the Boardwalk of Atlantic City; there, he studied the techniques of older salesmen and developed his own “yell and sell” style. For the next several years, he traveled the country, selling a variety of products at state fairs, home shows and auto shows. He got his big break in 1993 when he met the owner of Orange Glo International and was hired to sell their line of cleaning products on television; he began pitching OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom and other cleaning products on the Home Shopping Network.

As his advertising empire grew, Mays became a highly demanded pitchman and hawked products such as Might Putty, Big City Sliders and the Hercules Hook. He was a constant figure on television and even did some commercials for ESPN, in which he parodied his own infomercials. In April 2009, he began co-starring with Anthony Sullivan on the show Pitchmen on the Discovery Channel, which gave inventors the chance to pitch their new products.

At Mays’ funeral, pallbearers wore blue work shirt and khaki pants, which the pitchman often wore in his advertisements. Mays himself was buried in a shirt bearing the OxiClean logo. His last commercial was shot three days before his death on June 25.

Thanks for the memories, Billy Mays. Nobody will ever be able to fill my nights of insomnia or make me want to pick up the phone and order quite like you.

Ever wondered if the products sold on TV by pitchmen like Billy Mays are worth it? You might be surprised at how much information the major consumer publications offer. Did you know you can access magazines like Consumer Reports through the library's databases in the comfort of your own home? Well, you can! You don't even have to call us in the next ten minutes to get the benefit of this FABULOUS OFFER! Just follow the Research Tools link by hovering over "Research & Learning" on the left side of the main RCPL home page or at the top of every page on our Web site. You can explore the databases by subject or by the database name, but if you're looking for a specific publication, it's easy to just type the name of the newspaper or magazine into the search box on that page.

Better yet, if you're interested in consumer information, couponing and saving money, come to the Savvy Shopper program next Monday, August 3! It's in the Bostick Auditorium on the Garden Level of the Main Library at 6:30 p.m. We'll have speakers from The State and the Department of Consumer Affairs, and we'll be talking about great resources for smart shopping. See you there!