Pitchman William “Billy” D. Mays, Jr., Oxy-Clean Spokesman, and Vince from ShamWow rival, passed away on 6/28/09.

He started his career selling portable washing machines on the Atlantic City boardwalk before being hired by OrangGlo to promote their various cleaners.

He went on to pitch for the following products: OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, Engrave It, Handy Switch, iCan, Mighty Mendit, Mighty Putty (regular) & Mighty Putty Wood, Hercules Hook, AwesomeAuger, Steam Buddy ,Zorbeez, Big City Slider Station,The Ding King, ESPN 360, Energize, Impact Gel Insoles, Omni DualSaw, Jupiter Jack, What Odor?, Tool Bandit, SIMONIZ Instant Shine, SIMONIZ fix it! (regular) & fix it! PRO, Gopher, Samurai Shark, Grater Plater, Ragazzi’s Pizza, and Green Now!

He also recently got a show on Discovery, but I didn’t think it was that good.

He was on an airplane flight the day before his death where the tires blew out on landing. Though no one on board was thought to suffer severe injuries, it is unclear if this incident had anything to do with his death.

Update: Preliminary autopsy results indicate heart disease is a likely cause of death.

Source: Wiki