Talk:Billy Mays

Advertising

Wikipedia is not for advertising! This article contains numerous external links to promotional websites, only a couple of the products mentioned have their own articles (I haven't looked at them) but the rest are direct external links to promotional websites, e.g. http://www.mightyputty.com/

I've marked the site with the spam tag until somebody can look further into this. --204.116.124.68 (talk) 08:14, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

NPOV

There is an unsourced statement that is debatable whether it represents a NPOV. It references his "demeaning tone," yet there is no source that says this is the reason he has appeared in less commercials, so I'm led to believe it's an opinionated statement. 69.117.70.39 02:18, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Deleted and recreated

I have deleted this article and recreated it as a stub. The bulk of the biographical content was a copyright violation of this article. Additionally, the article contained startling WP:BLP violations. From this point forward, the addition of any unsourced material will be reverted without comment. --Jeffrey O. Gustafson - Shazaam! - <*> 23:21, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Ref 3

Is broken. Trevor GH5 23:49, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

POV

"...has gained Mays a substantial amount of recognition and a rapidly growing legion of channel changers whenever his fingernails on a blackboard voice eminates from the television screen." How un-biased.65.6.213.12 (talk) 01:20, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

Has this page been vandalized? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.33.182.117 (talk) 21:42, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

Un-biased? No. Hilarious? Yes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.66.137.7 (talk) 06:10, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Deleted salary information

According to one of the external newspaper articles linked to from this article, $330 million was the revenue of his employer, not his personal salary. 96.233.103.109 (talk) 12:24, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Stalkerish info on his home?

Does anybody else think that tracking down, and subsequently posting a link to the appraisal of his house is a little, stalkerish? Just because its public info doesnt mean we should necessarily post it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.225.123.235 (talk) 02:11, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Well here is his phone number too ***-***-****. He posted that online himself as he is selling his home now for 3.8 million. http://www.homes.com PropId=54480547 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.202.33.20 (talk) 05:06, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

I removed the number just incase. I won't say why per WP:BEANS. Parker1297 (talk) 01:41, 25 November 2009 (UTC) ;)

Ghost hunter?

I remember seeing Billy Mays on a Sci-Fi channel production about ghost hunters, where he (using his name Billy Mays) still claimed to have been a ghost hunter. I always wanted to find more info online about that, because it was hilarious, but never can. It could be an interesting foot note to the article if someone can find it somehow.

The show focused around a lady being haunted by "real" ghosts in her house, with them sitting on her kids bed, blood dripping from the walls (in droplets), and when they went into the attic Billy Mays somehow ended up getting hung by a rope hanging in there. Then it went on with Billy and the other ghost hunters at their house with things turning on and off and windows breaking and finding scissors under their pillows and stuff.

I remember thinking it was real when I was younger, then I saw him on informercials. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.113.60.50 (talk) 20:43, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Bear

Wrestled a black bear? Citation please. Ulgar (talk) 19:05, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm going to remove that. It is unsourced and just has the feel of something someone stuck in as a joke/vandalism to see how long it would last before someone removed it. Mantisia (talk) 01:29, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Polar Bear Club

I suspect the mention of membership in the Lake Robinson Polar Bear club is a piece of vandalism that has flown under the radar. I can't find any reference to this on Google that doesn't seem connected to this Wikipedia article. Just in case I'm wrong, I'll leave it up for another day or so to give someone a chance to provide a citation. Mantisia (talk) 01:45, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

New source

The Washington Post did an extensive article about Mays. There could be some useful information here for this article. --Oakshade (talk) 15:27, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Dont be mean hes just making a living. -Eskin

How about criticism?

Standard on Wikipedia to show independent criticism, especially since all of May's awards are listed here. He is well known to sell products for scams and downright fraudulent companies.

The new product he is peddling is the Simoniz Fix-It which is supposed to fix small scratches on automobile paint. It often comes with an applicator pen which doesn't include any product inside, a different vacuum than what is shown, compound which does nothing, a weak buffer, and no return if the package is opened. They are also not upfront with the $13 shipping for this "free" vacuum.

This seems to be common with everything he gives a pitch for. I am sure all of us here know that if something needs a sales pitch, it's likely to be crap. But the level of fraud that he puts his name on is astounding.

There a good way of going about this while keeping the article as objective as possible? I find that it is relevant for the sake of completeness rather than "awareness". 69.59.119.234 (talk) 23:19, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Proper criticism is certainly something that can be put into this article, but only if done correctly. Objectivity is paramount, especially here since the vandalism rate of this article is quite high.

My concern based upon what you wrote is that a flaw with a product is not necessarily a flaw with the spokesperson. First of all you will need to provide evidence that the products are faulty without using original research (i.e. you receiving a defective product) or anecdotal reports (e.g. internet forum rants). Secondly, you will need to provide evidence showing that Billy Mays is aware the products are defective. I bet this will be pretty tough to do. On top of that the Wikipedia rules relating to biographies of living persons are extremely strict about including potentially libelous statements in the article.

Billy Mays may well be deserving of criticism, but finding a way to do it without running afoul of Wikipedia policies will be quite a challenge. Mantisia (talk) 00:50, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

Very good points, thanks. I am a new Wikipedia editor, so this information helps me a lot in writing proper articles. My expectation of a spokesperson is probably more demanding than other standards, and most likely much stricter than Wikipedia's standards. The likelihood of finding substance that demonstrates he knows of the experience of these consumers is slim to none. The only realistic option is to demonstrate negligence on his part to look into his own statements about a product. But as you said, this may go outside of Wikipedia standards due to being a living person.

Maybe a dialog here can help in brainstorming some ideas. Clearly there will be nothing libelous because the statement should quote independent consumer research groups, not be specific on products, and not make accusations. Place emphasis on the companies he represents rather than on his direct involvement. 69.59.119.234 (talk) 01:23, 24 November 2008 (UTC)

What if cricism is not about crap he peddles, but his extremely annoying and obnoxious self himself? I dislike some 90% of all commercials, but there are few that truly makes me want to go out and beat the snot out of everyone who is involved in creating such scum. I am sure I am not the only person who thinks the same way about this guy. So why be so stuck-up about not including criticism for this well-deserving a$$hole?

Criticism is fine. You just need to find a newspaper or magazine article or a major website that criticizes him. Tgpaul58 (talk) 20:04, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Billy Mays' official YouTube page

Found it at [1]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ScratchMan.EXE (talk • contribs) 22:10, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Evidence that it's official and that the video clips aren't copyright violations? DMacks (talk) 22:17, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

"This account is suspended." is what that URL gave me. That suggests it's not official/authorized, and no evidence that it is has been supplied. Third-party/user-uploaded fansite/tribute material is not encyclopedic. DMacks (talk) 03:53, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

I got that it was suspended too. Just looking out for everyone. I thought I'd chime in. Yesitsnot (talk) 19:02, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Tribute/fansites and parodies/remixes

Are they encyclopediac and free of copyright violations? Are they within WP:EL guidelines with regards to relevance? DMacks (talk) 03:56, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

POV, again...

Opening paragraph was clearly written by an obsessed fan--there's no way in hell it qualifies as NPOV. -70.251.131.28 (talk) 19:34, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

I agree as far as the last sentence goes. I bet it hung around as long as it did because it had references, but when I saw they were just YouTube videos I decided it was time for that to go. I've edited it to something more neutral (I probably should dig up a reference though to do it the proper way). Mantisia (talk) 00:01, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Request semi-protection to prevent IP vandals

 Done Ok, many things are wrong about Billy Mays. First, someone changed the Biography for no reason and made it irrelevant. Second, someone changed my uploaded image into something redundant. Please protect this page via request. This is to prevent any IP address users from vandalizing this article again. I would also like to know how to post up warnings for vandalistic users. if so, then feel free to send me a message. JMBZ-12 (talk) 18:47, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

I've semi-protected it for a while. Not sure what you mean by the last sentence...warnings on their talk-pages, warnings on the article itself (that say what?), etc?DMacks (talk) 19:16, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

Take a good look at the history page from the main article. This explains why (e.g. Biography changed by anonymous IP users in a bad way, below there, right after the page has been reverted, IP users made irrelevant edits which are less constructive, image changed as an act of vandalism by another IP user). JMBZ-12 (talk) 19:35, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

I'm well aware of the problem with anon-IPs, I just have no clue what your idea was about solving it other than protecting it. DMacks (talk) 19:52, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

Popular on 4chan

Billy Mays is a very popular figure on 4chan at the moment. We should put this in the article.--Paperbagsandfluids (talk) 14:34, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Also, the various Shamwows discovered at the crime scene. 99.20.134.188 (talk) 05:17, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

"Youtube Poops"?

Is that a worthy synonym to list? Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Youtube Poop (craze) recently concluded that the term itself wasn't notable. The given cite is from a wiki/blog, which is generally not a reliable source. The given one actually describes itself as "We are not Wikipedia. We're a buttload more informal. There Is No Such Thing As Notability, and no citations are needed." And it's one of the ones that was explicitly mentioned in the AfD. Adding this term here does nothing to clarify or further explain the idea of video remix in general (if it did, it would be appropriate on that page) here, and it's just a generic term (per cited wiki) not relevant to Mays specifically except that the wiki uses his video-remixes as an example. DMacks (talk) 19:52, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Speedy deletion?

What's the deal with the pic? Why is it a candidate for speedy deletion? What's the supposed "problem" (in their eyes) with it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.186.134.103 (talk)

By clicking on an image, you can jump to the information about that image. There, you will see the problem: insufficient information to verify that Wikipedia is allowed to use the file (copyright policy problems). Reading the users' discussions, I see that the uploader is unable/unwilling to provide the required information, so I expect that that it will be deleted in a few days. If anyone has personally taken a picture of Mays and feels like donating it, that would be great! I think WP would also allow a screen-shot of him in one of his key infomercials, as this would be an iconic representation of him (if detailed info about the image origin were provided, that might satisfy copyright policy). DMacks (talk) 05:57, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Im not sure about the speedy deletion but the article is written pretty much as an advertisement and probably does need either re-written or removed to comply with wikipedia standards. It contains links to current events such as television shows that won't be relevant for long.Woods01 (talk) 06:15, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

DMacks is an Admin. or Something?

So just who are you, DMacks, some sort of admin here, or something like that, or...?

Now that the image is set for deletion, all we can do is witness the article being dwindled, thus making it look WORSE than before. I tried improving the article by adding a Billy Mays image, but it seems to me that I keep getting pressed by someone who demands a copyright site for Billy Mays, which I, myself, can't seem to find. Way to make the Billy Mays article look like crap, now that we won't have an image of Billy. JMBZ-12 (talk) 15:36, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia isn't in the business of violating copyright law. Just because something is visible on the internet somewhere doesn't mean you're totally allowed to copy it for any use you desire, even if that image is critical for what you're doing. I agree that a picture of Mays contributes a lot to this article, since his image is one of the things that he's known for. As I said before, all someone needs to do is find an image we're actually allowed to use. DMacks (talk) 15:51, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Dead

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529328,00.html

Also, his son tweeted about it this morning: http://twitter.com/youngbillymays 24.159.254.71 (talk) 15:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Billy's wife is not dead

On his page, next to Spouse it says ?-2009. This is incorrect. FoxNews quoted his wife's statement in the article on his death. It was also she that found him dead in their home. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.37.158.127 (talk) 16:24, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Can you be a dead person's spouse? Peter Napkin Dance Party (talk) 16:29, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Spouses, whether current or past, should be in infoboxes. The years next to the spouse's name in the infobox are the years of the marriage, not the spouse's life. That the marriage ended (in his death) in 2009 remains true regardless of how long his widow lives. Information yes (talk) 17:27, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Hence the "till death us do part." Overthinkingly (talk) 18:12, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

I did not understand the ex-wife, new wife divorce, survived by section . Can someone please clean it up. Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.249.196.74 (talk) 02:25, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Free image

There seems to be some free images at Flickr.[2] (CC BY) I don't feel like uploading them to commons, but it could fix the speedy image deletion problem. There seems to be at least two images. I haven't looked into it very far. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 17:10, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Death similar to Natasha Richardson's?

Could it be that Mays' death is similar to actress Natasha Richardson's a few months ago, who also was struck on the head, and thought she was fine? --Fleckerl (talk) 17:56, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Maybe, but it's mere speculation and original research to include it until more details become known.--Bored of the world (talk) 18:12, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Death

death pronounced at 7:45am on june 28th, 2009-- as per cnn (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/28/mays.death/index.html) Skiendog (talk) 18:24, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

You he died from internal bleeding in his head during the overnight? He got hit in the head hard in the plane ride.--24.36.113.128 (talk) 21:22, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Children?

According to Billy Mays' official twitter, he spent Father's Day with his *daughter.*: —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.8.181.178 (talk) 19:25, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Yes, he's got a daughter and a son. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 03:59, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

His daughter's name is elizabeth (source http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/pitchmen/billy-mays/sympathy.html. look under what Sullivan said) Why does the article just say "daughter" instead of listing her name? Someone should update it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.185.254.153 (talk) 17:50, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Fleshlight?

I readily admit I'm not a Billy Mays expert, but I'm fairly certain he was not a pitchman for the fleshlight as the caption under his picture indicates (in the list of products his pitched). Can someone please look into this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.119.174.204 (talk) 19:38, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Already been done. You may need to purge the page to see the change. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 19:42, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

I know that he did not pitch the fleshlight. Yesitsnot (talk) 20:12, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Lock?

When MJ passed, his article was locked. Why not lock this one as well? Someone already vandalized the OxiClean page, and more than likely they'll come for this one soon. Will (talk) 21:40, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

High School

Billy Mays, actually graduated in 1976 from Sto-Rox High School. He lived in Stowe Township not McKees Rocks Borough. I should know as he was my friend, classmate and neighbor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alfredenuemann (talk • contribs) 21:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Cause of death?

How did Billy Mays die? If it seemed tragic, then the cause of death is highly needed. JMBZ-12 (talk) 22:45, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

The cause of death is not known. The autopsy isn't until tomorrow, then we will wait the 4 to 6 weeks for toxicology results to come back. Patience. ElphabaKathryn (talk) 22:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Boardwalk timeline conflict

according to this video interview: http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/28/news/companies/bily_mays_dead/?postversion=2009062816

sounds like he didn't start in atlantic city until his late 20s, as opposed to the text here claiming straight out of high school. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.163.238.118 (talk) 23:36, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Shamwow

Shamwow is not in the list under his picture. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lunixer (talk • contribs) 23:47, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

ShamWow is Vince Offer, not Billy Mays. 68.112.243.159 (talk) 00:39, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Could someone please check the 'Known as TV pitchman for' field in the infobox?

The page has been vandalized many times today and some of the entries listed appear rather suspect to my eye (e.g. 'Gopher', 'Samurai Shark'). Could someone more familiar with Billy Mays' work have a look through the list and remove any joke additions that've been missed? Thanks. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 01:06, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

I took all the products out of the infobox. They don't seem very encylopedic either, although may just have been how they were organized. If someone want to bring them back, I won't edit war, but that person should provide a reference for each product. Earlier we had him as the pitchman for the "fleshlight", which is pocket pu**y! - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 01:11, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't know about the "Gopher", but the Samari Shark is indeed a real product. 71.57.223.223 (talk) 06:06, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

These all look OK to me. Tomorrow I think I'll add the box back in, if that's OK. I'll gladly gather up some references then, too. (Gopher is apparently a real thing, too, by the way: http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2009/02/11) --Friendship hurricane (talk) 08:44, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Oh right, that sounds fair enough then. I'm not familiar with most of these products. Some vandal earlier in the day had added Fleshlights and a brand of defibrillator to the list, so it was probably best to remove the list until it could be verified... --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 18:59, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

The list wasn't "vandalized," Kurt. Many products have been recently known about by the nation since PitchMen started airing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.186.134.105 (talk)

Football

I've heard from multiple sources that he walked on at West Virginia University and played linebacker. Is there any evidence to support this claim. If so, it needs included in the article. Nothing more than a sentence, just a mention of it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.80.197.152 (talk) 01:47, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Nope, the only Mays' found on the website WVUStats.com, the official stats site for the West Virginia Mountaineers, are Alvoid Mays who played football from 1987-1988 and Chad Mayse whom played football in 2005. Crash Underride 06:34, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

However, he did attend WVU. [3] Crash Underride 18:21, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Removed uncited info, find sources if you can

In this edit[4] I removed a bit of uncited info. It's probably true, so if someone wants to look for sources, go for it. Here's what I removed. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 02:03, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Following the success of the Home Shopping Network campaign, a line of successful television commercials and infomercials for the products was produced, featuring Mays demonstrating the effectiveness of the products to viewers hands-on. He typically began such commercials with: "Hi! Billy Mays here for [advertised product]." Their success led to OrangeGlo International being named among the top ten privately growing companies from 1999 to 2001 by Inc. magazine, and its eventual buyout by Church and Dwight. Appel credited Mays' brilliant salesmanship for much of the company's success.

On the June 10, 2009 episode it was revealed that Mays' trademark blue shirt was the idea of fellow pitchman Sullivan before the OxiClean commercial shoot in 1999.

Death

The local news station in Tampa was Fox 13 News, here in Tampa. I know this, as I am from Tampa. and earlier tonight they showed a clip from his last interview (here in Tampa) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.169.214.174 (talk) 04:25, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Heart attack?

Did he die of a heart attack? The article suggests this. There's no other information on cause of death, just died in sleep. Are you ready for IPv6? (talk) 05:17, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Just read the part about a "subdermal hematoma". I'll change it so "subdural hematoma", dermal would be to indicate skin and most likely the author who wrote that meant subDURAL as to pertain to the dura membrane surrounding the brain. Peace out peeps---Ryan —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.13.129.172 (talk) 07:03, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

It's been changed already. -T'Shael,The Vulcan Overlord 16:01, 24 June 2009 (UTC 07:06, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Spouses of Billy Mays

AP cited a Dolores "Dee Dee" Mays as Billy's first wife.Dr Dave (talk) 05:43, 29 June 2009 (UTC)DrDHMenke

Falling objects

The final paragraph states without verification "The heavy impact of the landing caused objects from the overhead storage compartments to fall and strike some passengers." There is no evidence that Billy Mays was hit by objects which came out of the overhead bins. His own words were that the "ceiling came down". Given that it has been reported that he was not wearing his seatbelt at time of impact, is is more likely (but still not proven) that he hit his head of the underside of the overhead bin. The unverified statement that objects fell from the overhead bins should be removed. G1ant405 (talk) 14:38, 29 June 2009 (UTC)g1ant405

According to the MSNBC source, Mays's words were "...all the things from the ceiling started dropping," which could certainly be interpreted to mean that things were falling out of overhead bins. The paragraph is little vague, though - I'll see if I can improve it. Dawn Bard (talk) 14:52, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

My interpretation is that he was referring to the oxygen masks and couldn't recall what their names were (those things that fall from the ceiling). Obviously it's not clear from what he said, however. Thesilence (talk) 16:41, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

We should probably just use the quote and let the reader decide if we don't know what happened. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 16:45, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Oxygen masks wouldn't be needed while on the ground. How it's worded now seems fine to me. Timmeh 16:52, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Is this news report on Mays' plane ride at all relevant? If his death was determined to be coronary, why even mention this? It suggest that it is related to his death and the autopsy seems to indicate that this is false. —Preceding unsigned comment added by AntonioD (talk • contribs) 16:57, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

I think we should wait until results of other tests and more detailed autopsy results are released until we remove the information about the plane landing. We want to be sure it didn't play any part in his death. Timmeh 17:01, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

I removed the information as irrelevant before I noticed this discussion. Feel free to revert, but at this point, I think it should stay out. Wanting "to be sure it didn't play any part in his death" seems to be working backwards, to me... --Elliskev 19:56, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Wouldn't it be presumed that an impact hard enough to cause anything to fall, especially following the explosive noise and movement of the tire exploding would put additional stress on his heart? Especially if any of the following were true:

1. The subject wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

2. The subject required air travel for work and was familiar with normal landings.

3. The subject had any previous coronary conditions.

Am I the only one that thinks that would be a tense situation, that could cause a heart suffering from hypertension to fail? Just imagine reliving the situation over and over in your nightmares.--MahaPanta (talk) 02:11, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

That very well might be the case - but I don't know if it's something that they'll be able to prove conclusively (i.e. that X definitely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, caused him to have a heart attack). Anyway, adding it to the article at present, before the final autopsy results are in would be considered original research. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 16:52, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't see why deleting is a solution. That he was on the plane and such and such things occurred are facts that happened on the day he died. You could easily add "though it is not conclusive that it is directly related to his subsequent death". Instead you are deleting info that were widely reported in news articles. Angry bee (talk) 17:12, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

House value, is it from a reliable source?

It's a CFA's website, or something. No opinion myself, but it's a little odd. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 02:11, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Even if it were reliably sourced, it is of no encyclopedic value, except to indicate that he was successful at what he did. I am going to delete it. – ukexpat (talk) 19:55, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Catchphrase

Billy was commonly known for his catchphrase "Hi, Billy Mays here." I think that the catchphrase should at least be mentioned in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.241.27.81 (talk) 11:20, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Jackson fact

Is this needed?

"Michael Jackson died days earlier at the same age, 50, also from heart problems." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.230.80.115 (talk) 13:24, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

No, it isn't needed. --Onorem♠Dil 13:27, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Has there been some suggestion made somewhere that the deaths are related? --81.77.240.252 (talk) 15:52, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

No, there been a bit of news on the fact that a lot famous people have died recently (MJ, Ed McMahon, David Carradine, Mays), but that's it. Nothing that needs to go in this article, at least not yet. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 16:08, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

We still don't know all the relevant details of Jackson's death; it appears that their deaths were significantly different. In any case, it is common for middle-aged men to die of heart disease. Being three days, and 2,500 miles apart, coverage of Mays' death was not significantly affected by Jackson's in the way that Farrah Fawcett's was. Information yes (talk) 13:23, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Billy Mays' photo

I do not like the photo you people have up for Billy Mays.

I recommend this one:

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090628/capt.856cd44b928c42aa8ad30bdbcbe2b5aa.obit_billy_mays_ny113.jpg?x=359&y=345&q=85&sig=xZlZtY7QgxkcNb5EgY6.uw--

How do I upload that one instead and replace it with the one up right now?

Someone please let me know. -Hightek669 (talk) 19:02, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Files - photos, images, videos, etc. - have to be in the public domain and freely available to use. Please read Wikipedia:Non-free content. The photo you have linked to isn't and can't be used on Wikipedia. If you upload it, it will be deleted. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 19:11, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

Shouting vs. projecting

I think a sentance after "He was very well known for shouting in an abrasive manner during infomercials" should be added that states how Billy liked to refer to his style as projecting. He has stated this numerous times on Pitchmen and in several interviews. 209.242.9.130 (talk) 06:26, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

I would add that, if you have a source. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 06:32, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

AKA "yell and sell". – ukexpat (talk) 14:31, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Interview on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien from the NBC website - This interview has him say it. I'd give you the excerpt, but I don't have an audio card on this computer.

KDKA News - Excerpt: "No, I'm not shouting. I am projecting. That's what I am doing. If I stood here and I said 'Hi, Billy Mays for the amazing,' ...it just wouldn't be the same," he said. "It just doesn't come through, so I cut through the clutter and never veer."

Examiner.com - Excerpt: Maybe Oxi Clean made him famous, but his character was as big as any product he could ever "pitch." I love the episode where he says, "I'm not yelling, I'm projecting and I use my hands!"

Project: "1. cause to be heard; 2. communicate vividly." Shout: "1. a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition; 2. utter a sudden loud cry; 3. utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice." Yell: "1. a loud utterance of emotion; 2. a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition; 3. utter or declare in a very loud voice." I see why he chooses the word project... Quilokos (talk) 18:07, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

I wasn't being completely serious, but I believe that his style of patter and delivery is referred to in the business as "yell and sell". – ukexpat (talk) 18:58, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it could be called a lot of things, thanks to the wonders of our language. I was only posting to verify that Mays called it "projecting;" as requested by Peregrine Fisher. This is an article on Billy Mays after all. A combination of the current business term and Billy May's personal belief would be best. Quilokos (talk) 22:54, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Is there a source for describing it as abrasive? --Onorem♠Dil 23:29, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

ShamWow and Slapchop stuff

Why is any of this stuff relevant to a biographical article? IMHO it doesn't belong here, and certainly not in this much detail. – ukexpat (talk) 14:24, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. Removed. --Elliskev 14:56, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Thank you and for replying within 30 minutes (close enough anyway) you get not one, but two, Thank you. – ukexpat (talk) 15:02, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

New info

Since it seems I can't touch this article without someone else removing everything I add, (WP:OWN indeed) here's some new info. Do with it what you will. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 20:01, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

A summary of the info I took out would be fine, but the amount that I took out was making this article into the the Shamwow and Slapchop controversy article, instead of an article about Mays' life in general. I recommend a sentence on each of the things, and then put the rest in the products articles. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 22:09, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Considering that the product articles are making their way through Article for deletion discussions, that's pointless. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 01:11, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Well, I won't revert again. If you really think that stuff is important, you can try and put it back. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 23:12, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Regarding the 2009 article...

I'm unsure of what to think. There has been a large debate over wether Mays should be included in the "Deaths" section in 2009, with most arguments against stating that Mays doesn't meet the WP:RY guidelines, however, they are somewhat vague in how this situation should be handled, aside from the fact that they must have at least 9 non-English articles. I am probably leaning towards including him, but either way has good points. Should anything be done? MobileSnail 21:34, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

He is not on 2009 because: a) he has far too few articles; b) he is virtually unknown outside the US. Correct & improve (talk) 01:56, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

I beleive he should be in the death list of 2009. IMO he was a very well known for his infomercials in North America. He also participated in noumerous tv ads for different companies ex:OxiClean, mighty putty, wonderhooks etc... What harm will it do to add a single person to the list, the note that was left when editing "go to Billy Mays discussion[...]" is way longer than adding two dates, a name and job title. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.203.182.78 (talk) 04:47, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

I also believe he should be in the list EvilHom3r (talk) 21:05, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

There is no reasonable justification Mays to be included on the Deaths list of the 2009 article. He fails due to having an insufficient number of foreign language Wikipedia articles, being virtually unknown in the rest of the world and there not being consensus for him to be there. For a death to be included there, a person has to have significant notability to many countries. Try going to Japan, China, India, the UK, France, Germany, Russia, Nigeria etc and see if you can find anyone who has even heard of him. Making him an exception just for him is ridiculous, there are many people whom have died this year who are more internationally notable and are not in the Deaths section of 2009. Loads of people want someone to be on that list who doesn't qualify for inclusion, typically because of one or more of the following: a) they have an inflated view of that person's importance; b) he was one of their favorite people; c) he is famous in their country (not realizing or accepting that in most of the world he is unknown). Many people's inclusion on 2009 have been disputed. Information yes (talk) 13:23, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Products

You have all the products he pitched plus his TV show PitchMen. BTW, why was the list of products he piched removed?--MahaPanta (talk) 17:18, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

These are a few items missing from products page: Six Shooter: cordless electric screwdriver; Salsa Maker: A hand powered Salsa Maker; Grabits: Stripped screw removal tools; EZ Crunch Bowl: Cereal Bowl (Supported, But unknown Infomercial status). He also did a commercial for his brother's (or brother inlaw) Italian resturant, but was unable to catch the name or location. Will post information as I find out more.

Discovery Channel Documentry "Pitchmen": "A tribute to Billy Mays" (First Aired 7/09/2009); "Revenge of the Pitchmen" (First Aired 7/01/2009)--Solitaire605 (talk) 00:44, 30 July 2009 (UTC)Solitaire605

Why do all Mays' products pitched need to be listed here? The list is getting excessively long, and I don't believe it's notable. Do we list all the songs Michael Jackson recorded in his article? No, they have their own articles if they assert independent notability. The same should apply here with the products pitched. Does anyone have any objections to the removal of the table? Timmeh (review me) 22:00, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I do. Why shouldn't a list of at least all the products that made it out to air in several states (at least a wide test run) be shown, especially if the more newly tested products are the successful ones that showed up on PitchMen?

By the way, if you take Billy's list away (for some dumb unknown reason), then you should also strip Anthony Sullivan of the encyclopedic fame of his list of products, and Forbes Riley of hers, and Offer Vince's of his. Leave the list in place, please. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.186.134.105 (talk)

The trending topic in Tweeter

Should we note that people are Tweeting:

#BillyMaysTribute tonight at 9pmEST on Discovery Channel. - EVERYONE retweet please! - Let's make it trend! Tell all your friends!

to keep it in Trending Topics for tonights Pitchmen tribute to Billy Mays?--MahaPanta (talk) 21:20, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

IMHO no, that's unencyclopedic trivia. – ukexpat (talk) 21:47, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

IMHO the article is looking great, maybe even a featured article soon, but I didn't find any mention of tonight's special Billy Mays tribute episode of "Pitchmen".--MahaPanta (talk) 21:52, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

I suggest you read WP:FA? - a long way to go before it's Featured Article quality. – ukexpat (talk) 00:12, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

I've read it before. You should reread my post. I didn't say it was ready, I said it was getting there. --MahaPanta (talk) 00:36, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Jewish

NNDB lists him as Jewish[5], and apparently he was buried in a Jewish cemetery. Is this worth mentioning in the article? 76.230.74.57 (talk) 00:23, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

oy vey, i vote no. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Danielmcandrew (talk • contribs) 07:19, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

On several episodes of the TV show "PitchMen" Mays can be clearly seen wearing a cross around his neck, which seems to suggest that the chances of him being Jewish aren't very likely. 68.146.193.243 (talk) 17:38, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

He is buried in a Jewish cemetery, as stated in the Death section. Information yes (talk) 13:23, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

According to this, he was a devout Christian. The cemetery thing would be odd if true, however, I can't find a citation to verify it. All Hallow's (talk) 16:09, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Cocaine is said to be behind his death

Recently news reports say that Mays used cocaine days before his death could the admins please add this to the Billy Mays article if not then I understand since the media has mentioned this. RedPolarBearRanger (talk) 03:23, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

It's already in the article in the Death section. Says about the toxicology report, cocaine and his family's response to it. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 03:33, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

I believe it should be mentioned that he was taking many prescription drugs, one of which was Oxycodone. Oxycodone, I believe, has been found to release cocaine-like substances or something like that. Source for Oxycodone usage: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1025765.ece —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.44.151.121 (talk) 01:02, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

Interesting. The chemical formula for Oxycodone is C₁₈H₂₁NO₄ and C₁₇H₂₁NO₄ for Cocaine. I'm no scientist, though, so I don't know if similarity can lead to a mix up. It'd be nice if it was a mix up; Billy Mays was a good guy. --Quilokos (talk) 22:47, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Mix ups are unlikely; the molecules are shaped very differently. In other words...that's not how it works. Remember though, even if he was addicted to drugs, that doesn't make him a bad guy. One would be more likely to confuse cocaine with Ritalin or amphetamine, since Ritalin is sort of an abridged cocaine molecule and is strikingly similar to the shape of dexedrine/d-methamphetamine.74.101.59.15 (talk) 10:28, 29 September 2009 (UTC)

List of products pitched addition

{{editsemiprotected}}

Subject: Edit Request of semi protected page.
Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mays
section: List of products pitched
Product: Neverscrub
Description: Revolutionary Toilet Cleaning System.
Proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnzzvGbDmZU
Website: http://neverscrub.com/

The page needs an item added to the list of products he pitched.

Mrchibai (talk) 08:26, 11 August 2009 (UTC)mrchibai

 Not done: Welcome. There are several problems with adding this content. Primarily, Wikipedia is not a venue for advertising products. Since Billy Mays is notable as a pitchman, it is important to mention some of the products he pitched, but it isn't necessary to list all of them. The list was merged in from List_of_products_that_Billy_Mays_pitched per this discussion. Even some of the keep or merge !votes had a "some, but not all" tone. Other problems include the link back to the product website and the use of youtube as a source. (I thought I remembered a simple ban on using youtube as a a source, but it may just be a combination of it being a primary source and a potential link to copyright infringement.) Thanks, Celestra (talk) 14:56, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

The list of products is too big

The list of products is longer than the rest of the article. Would it be reasonable to limit ourselves to the products that Billy Mays is known for having pitched, based on reliable secondary sources? The ones with links number 32 of the 55 or so entries in the list. Assuming a few of those links are not reliable secondary sources, this should halve the list, which might be a more reasonable size. Celestra (talk) 15:07, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

And no, Timmeh (talk · contribs) and I are not socks; that was merely an amazing coincidence. Celestra (talk) 15:14, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I removed all the products listed without sources. I haven't checked the reliability of the sources though. That might shrink the list even more. Timmeh (review me) 15:16, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

I find even the current list excessive, and tried to replace the claim

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

with a more appropriate tag, e.g. fancruft. Unfortunately, the article is locked at the moment. I very strongly suggest that this list is shrunk to the bare minimum---preferably even removed, with the few truly notable products mentioned in the text. 94.220.255.246 (talk) 14:38, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

I agree in general and I removed the template. I also added a comment capturing the criteria discussed above. I passed on adding the other template, though, since this seems like an area in which reasonable people might disagree and I'd hate to start the conversaton by being dismissive. Celestra (talk) 18:01, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

If it's too big then I suggest we put the redirected article: List of products Billy Mays pitched back on.- User: Seannix

Verify pass

I went throught the table to prune back the entries that weren't supported bu their cites and to reduce the advertisement-like descriptions. Where the only mention of the product in the cite was its name, I left simple descriptions. Removed the "product" that is a bundle containing three other products (and supported by a press release from the company that sells the product). Can everybody please remember that this is an article about Billy Mays? Celestra (talk) 00:56, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

"They Both Survived him" Change Wording

In the Personal Life, there is an area where it says this

Mays' mother is Joyce Palm[17] and his father is Billy Mays, Sr.; they both survived him.

Can a mod change the "They both survived him" to "They both raised him" or to nothing at all, because there is no reference. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.255.170.822:11, 9 October 2009 (UTC) (talk)

If neither are dead, then they both survived, or out-lived, him. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.237.153.1 (talk) 08:06, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

If neither are dead is the key...need a ref that they were still alive at the time he died. DMacks (talk) 13:44, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

Ican

To the editor that keeps changing Ican to Ican benefit. Although Ican may be calling their health insurance "Ican benefit" now, they didn't when Billy Mays was advertising the product. I just watched the entire 2 minute ad on YouTube and he consistently calls it Ican, with at least one reference to Ican Group the parent company. The website listed was icanhealth.com, not the current one icanbenefit.com. Therefore he should be listed as having advertised Ican, not Ican Benefit. Mantisia (talk) 20:35, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

The first reference for that entry refers to icanbenefit.com. The second one refers to iCan. (Where did you find a YouTube video about his entry?) I'm certainly not a fan of advertising through this list, but I don't see any harm in the iCan Benefit wikilink. Celestra (talk) 21:25, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

The guy who keeps changing it from Ican to Ican benefit first made a red link. After I first reverted it he went and created the articles for Ican and Ican benefit. So now it is a blue link. But there are two problems. First, as I said before, Billy never once says "Ican Benefit", so while he advertised the Ican health insurance, it wasn't called Ican Benefit at the time he was doing so. Therefore it is improper to attribute that specific name to him. Second, Ican Benefit shouldn't even be a wikipedia article and I may move to have it either submerged into the Ican article, or have it and the Ican article deleted outright due to quite possibly failing the notability requirement. As for the commercial, just search YouTube for Billy Mays and Ican. Mantisia (talk) 22:57, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

I'm with you all the way to viewing the commercial; that sort of thing smacks of primary sources and original research. I understand your point, but I just don't see the harm in using either name since each of the cited sources use one of the two. Is the name or the wikilink more objectionable to you? Would you be OK with a compromise where we left the name as iCan Benefit, but dropped the wikilink, or the other way around, with a wikilink that reads iCan and links to ICan Group or ICan Benefit or whatever is left after the dust settles? Celestra (talk) 00:49, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

I think the visible text should be "iCan health insurance" not "iCan Benefit", since that's what he called it and that's what the product is. The table in the article is a list of products, not companies--according to the Business Week and NYTimes refs in the ican article, "iCan Benefit Group" is the company-name and their product is health-insurance; he's not pitching the company itself. DMacks (talk) 13:37, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

I'm sorry - I didn't realize there was discussion on this page regarding the changes I had made. The editor kept referencing a talk page, and I assumed they were pointing to my talk page - and nothing regarding this had been posted there. I actually agree with DMacks; the list is a list of products, not companies. Technically, it should say "iCan health insurance." I kept changing it to iCan Benefit because that is technically the name of the company, regardless of how Billy referred to them in the ad. They are simply called "iCan" for short, and it was apparently easier for him to truncate it this way during the infomercials. Regardless of what the link says, it should point to iCan Benefit's wiki page; several times the link itself has been removed, and there does not appear to be any justification for that.Sethdillon (talk) 18:11, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

(outdent) It sounds like everyone is OK with "iCan health insurance" for the visible text. I agree that the 'iCan Benefit' article may not last, but until then I don't see anything wrong with linking to it. I'll implement it and we can correct the details as needed. Regards, Celestra (talk) 02:04, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Sons age

He said on twitter he just turned 24 so he was 22 when his father died...I don't know why it says he was 24 in the video?

Chris Bulgin (talk) 01:55, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Twitter is not a reliable source. You could try looking for a newspaper article about Mays' death which mentions this detail, or an older one which mentions his son's age. Celestra (talk) 15:18, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Or we just don't mention it at all - it's only of tangential relevance, IMHO. – ukexpat (talk) 15:54, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree somewhat. It is tangential how old the son was at the time of the father's death. It may be reasonable, though, to mention when the son was born when he is discussed in the Personal section. Having had an adult son and a preschool-aged daughter is an interesting biographical fact, IMO. This Biography.com article says the son was born in 1985, which makes him 24 or 25 today and 23 or 24 last June. Celestra (talk) 19:50, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 76.240.175.47, 9 June 2010

{{editsemiprotected}} Died age 51

76.240.175.47 (talk) 01:31, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. —fetch·comms 02:25, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

Photos of Impersonators + Lip dub mention

The video of Billy Mays comes from a notable lip dub with over a 100,000 views. The article should mention the popularity of imitating Billy Mays, especially after his death. If there is a notable imitator, then that photo can be selected, but this is the most notable imitator of Billy Mays I can find, and is of a good quality showing his attribute and application of his image in general popular culture. Please respond if there are issues with it--the external link to the lipdub was removed as per an earlier request. Spudst3r (talk) 02:11, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

The cited source does not state the text that was added. Claiming that impersonating him became popular is original research and personal synthesis. Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought, so the text should be removed. Also, the image does not illustrate the subject (Billy Mays), it illustrates a third-party immitator. This does not help in understanding the subject, instead it only illustrates the impersonator which is only tangentally related to this article.

Please note also that repeatedly re-adding content that has been removed by multiple other editors is considered edit warring. Please establish consensus for adding the image before attempting to add it in again. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 03:25, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

(ec) I see no notability of this particular lip-dub as relates to Mays. It can be notable in its own genre, and possibly appropriate for pages about that topic (subject to usual WP:EL and WP:V there. That doesn't make it notable for the subject though. It's quite possible that there is no notable example of Mays imitator...wikipedia isn't a collection of what we think should exist, but what others say is worthy. What I see here is someone working hard to spread the word about lip-dub and/or this particular example of it (and by attribution of the images, may have WP:COI related to it), without finding independent sources that this particular example is iconic or a notable example of Mays imitations. DMacks (talk) 03:32, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Specific Descriptions

I'm wondering if someone can please make some specific descriptions to the products that he advertised, it would clear a lot of things up. Thank you--**Najezeko**:) 06:24, 17 November 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Najzeko (talk • contribs)

Facebook Event in Honor of Billys Mays

The entry should probably be changed since it has an incorrect number of attendees stated. Wingler (talk) 05:14, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Also, it should be updated to mention the second event for 2012. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Griffin Jones (talk • contribs) 16:12, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Are there any reliable sources that discuss the event(s)? I'd lean towards the section being removed entirely rather than expanded if not. --Onorem♠Dil 16:17, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

International Caps lock Day

Jun 28th is also International Caps Lock Day dedicated after Billy Mays — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.167.80.240 (talk) 14:21, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 10 May 2013

71.184.197.210 (talk) 12:36, 10 May 2013 (UTC)

Party like its $19.99

 Not done:. This isn't a constructive request. Sarahj2107 (talk) 12:46, 10 May 2013 (UTC)

Billy Mays worked at US Jesco for 10 years

Billy Mays was at the Wisconsin State Fair for over ten years selling a quick chopper before he hit the big time with the cleaning products according Jay Spalding of US Jesco in an article on the Wisconsin State Fair in the Journal Sentinal, http://www.jsonline.com/business/29283879.html.

His employment is also referenced on the US Jesco website at: http://www.jescojobs.com/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mowenllc (talk • contribs) 16:34, 24 May 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 4 July 2013

In many grammatical conventions, possessives of Proper Nouns are often formed by just adding an apostrophe to the end of the word. For that reason, I would hope that you may change "Mays's" to "Mays'". That way it conforms to most common conventions of making possessions of Proper Nouns. Callyalater1989 (talk) 04:47, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Both ways are "standard" in various English usage, so the wikipedia style guide for this specific issue blesses them both in general. According to that, we'd need some strong evidence about how the possessive form is most commonly pronounced in order to decide to switch. DMacks (talk) 08:01, 4 July 2013 (UTC)