Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Billy Mays
Sign in to saveAlso known as King of the Pitch, William Darrell Mays, Jr.
European-American salesperson (1958–2009)
Film & TV
McKees Rock, Pennsylvania, USA
William Darrell Mays Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was a European-American businessman, entrepreneur, television direct-response and advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, and Zorbeez. His promotions aired mostly on the Home Shopping Network through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc although they…
Known for
- Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays — Billy Mays2009
- PitchMen — Himself - Host2009
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- William Darrell Mays Jr. , ( 1958-07-20 ) July 20, 1958, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania , U.S.
- Died
- June 28, 2009 (2009-06-28) (aged 50), Tampa, Florida , U.S.
- Resting place
- Mount Calvary Cemetery, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Other name
- King of the Pitch
- Occupation
- Television direct-response advertisement salesman
- Years active
- 1983–2009
- Employer
- Home Shopping Network
- Known for
- Infomercial acting
- Television
- PitchMen
- Board member of
- Mays Promotions, Inc.
- Spouses
- Dolores DiDesiderio ( divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1990 ) Deborah Mays ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 2002 )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Billy
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- McKees Rocks
- Place of death
- Tampa
- Occupation
- salesperson
- Employer
- HSN
- Political party
- Republican Party (United States)
- Languages spoken
- American English
- Native language
- American English
- Sport
- American football
- Country for sport
- United States
- Image
- Billy Mays headshot.jpg
- Number of children
- 2
Show 9 more facts
- place of burial
- McKees Rocks
- Commons category
- Billy Mays
- date of birth
- 1958-07-20
- date of death
- 2009-06-28
- cause of death
- hypertensive heart disease
- manner of death
- natural causes
- different from
- Willie Mays
- start of work period
- 1983-00-00
- social media followers
- 8149
via Wikidata · CC0
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
William Darrell Mays Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, Zorbeez, and Mighty Mendit. His promotions aired mainly on the Home Shopping Network through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc., although they have aired on other syndicated networks. Mays's infomercials were known for his catch phrase "Hi, Billy Mays here", and his shouted delivery of lines.
Mays and his business partner, Anthony Sullivan, were also featured on PitchMen, a Discovery Channel television series that documented their work. His distinctive beard, attire, loud voice, and impassioned sales pitches made him a recognized television presence in the United States and Canada.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Billy Mays” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.