Autopsy: Cocaine in Billy Mays’ body

TAMPA, Fla. - An autopsy shows that cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed boisterous TV pitchman Billy Mays in June, officials announced Friday.

The 50-year bearded TV personality died of a heart attack in his sleep after going to bed at his Tampa condo the night of June 27. His wife found him unresponsive the next morning.

The Hillsborough County medical examiner’s office Friday said Mays had last used cocaine days before his death. The report said that although Mays died from heart disease, cocaine use was a contributing cause of death.

Mays was a pop-culture fixture with his energetic commercials pitching gadgets and cleaning products like Orange Glo and OxiClean.

The McKees Rocks, Pa., native developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other “As Seen on TV” gadgets on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

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Autopsy: Cocaine in Billy Mays’ body

Damn Billy, we didn’t know you nearly as well as we thought we did…

Billy was always so happy and exuberant, he just radiated a positive image. He was always SO fired up! He was a GREAT pitch-man!

Now I guess we know why…

Rest in Peace Billy…

TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead at Florida home

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean made him a pop-culture icon, has died. He was 50.

Tampa police said Mays’ wife found him unresponsive Sunday morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m. It was not immediately clear how he died. He said he was hit on the head when an airplane he was on made a rough landing Saturday, and his wife, Deborah Mays, told investigators he didn’t feel well before he went to bed about 10 p.m. that night.

There were no signs of a break-in at the home, and investigators do not suspect foul play, said Lt. Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police Department, who wouldn’t answer questions about how Mays’ body was found because of the ongoing investigation. The coroner’s office expects to have an autopsy done by Monday afternoon.

“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days,” Deborah Mays said in a statement Sunday. “Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times.”

U.S. Airways confirmed that Mays was among the passengers on a flight that made a rough landing on Saturday afternoon at Tampa International Airport, leaving debris on the runway after apparently blowing its front tires.

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TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead at Florida home

He was loud. He was annoying. I liked him. A lot. He was the ultimate *pitch man*. This guy could sell ice makers to Eskimos.

BUT WAIT! IF YOU CALL IN THE NEXT 10 MINUTES, WE’LL DOUBLE YOUR ORDER. THAT’S RIGHT, 2 BOTTLES OF OXICLEAN. AND I’M NOT DONE YET.

I’M BILLY MAYS, AND I AM PLAYING ON A MUCH BIGGER STAGE NOW!

Rest in Peace Billy!