As much as I was not a real fan, hearing of the Oxi guys death actually hits home as this guys, and what ever cleaning product or super glue that he had been peddling has entered my home and stayed for 30 minutes at a time for over years. His friendly beard and joyful voice always seemed to make what ever it was he was hired to sell worthwhile buying.

Born on July 20, 1958 and Mays was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After dropping out of University he worked for his father's hazardous waste company. But it was only after moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey where he was taught how to sell by an older salesman in Atlantic City, "I was taught to pitch by a lot of old pitchmen. That's the kind of style I have." Mays sold the Washmatik portable washing device to passersby on the Atlantic City boardwalk, as well as other "As Seen on TV" products. He later traveled to home shows, auto shows, and state fairs across the United States for a 12 years, selling various maintenance products and tools, including cleaning products and food choppers.

In 1993 Mays was hired by the Orange Glo International to promote their line of cleaners, Oxi Clean, Orange Clean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom on the Home Shopping Network in St. Petersburg, Florida., which is where most of us grew to love him.
Most consumers seemed to love Mays’s enthusiastic sales pitches. He became famous for shouting in an abrasive manner during infomercials sharp, single handedly increasing sales after his first day on the network.

Mays founded Mays Promotions, Inc. at his home in Odessa, Florida. His pitchman skills were favored and he appeared in many commercials for "as seen on TV" products such as Oxi Clean and Mighty Putty.

In 2008, Mays began appearing in ads online for ESPN360 with Mays appearing to be doing a parody of himself. He also made a live appearance during the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl promoting ESPN's and ABC's January 1, 2009 bowl games.

Unfortunately, on the morning of June 28, 2009 Mays was found unresponsive by his wife in his Odessa, Florida, home on. He was then pronounced dead at 7:45 am, appearing to have died overnight. The Police did not suspect foul play.

On June 27, Mays had been aboard US Airways Flight 1241, which landed roughly when one of its front tires was blown out. The heavy impact of the landing caused objects from the overhead storage compartments to fall and strike some passengers. Mays told WTVT-TV, a local Tampa FOX news station, that some of the objects "hit me on the head, but I got a hard head." His wife noted that he felt unwell when he went to bed that night early at 10 pm. The next morning he was pronounced dead at 7:45 am by a local fire rescue crew.

Billy Mays, this “ full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown” (Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens) will be missed. So may I have a shout out able to loosen any Mighty putty… Good Bye Oxi Guy!!!