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Outrage at inaccuracy

Billy Mays is buried at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in McKees Rocks, PA, not in Beth Hamedrash Hagadol. 98.239.252.10 (talk) 03:23, 13 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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)[reply]

I would add that, if you have a source. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) (contribs) 06:32, 1 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
AKA "yell and sell". – ukexpat (talk) 14:31, 1 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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."
[http://www.examiner.com/x-5265-Albuquerque-Green-Business-Examiner~y2009m7d2-Billy-Mays-left-us-with-a-green-thought 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)[reply]
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)[reply]
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)[reply]
Is there a source for describing it as abrasive? --Onorem♠Dil 23:29, 2 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Jewish

NNDB lists him as Jewish[1], 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)[reply]

oy vey, i vote no. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Danielmcandrew (talk • contribs) 07:19, 8 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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)[reply]
He is buried in a Jewish cemetery, as stated in the Death section. Information yes (talk) 13:23, 13 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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)[reply]

Billy Mays is NOT buried in a Jewish cemetery, that is an error. He is buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, located in McKees Rocks, PA. The Jewish cemetery mentioned is about a mile from where he is buried. I heard there was a problem with people putting cartons of OxyClean on his grave, so maybe that is why someone changed his burial site. Beth Hamedrash is a VERY difficult cemetery to navigate and most people would not bother trying to find a grave there. It is wall-to-wall graves and you almost have to be a billy goat to climb around on the stones. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.239.252.10 (talk) 02:30, 19 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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[reply]

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)[reply]

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)[reply]

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

Edit request on 10 May 2013

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

Party like its $19.99

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

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)[reply]

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)[reply]

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Billy Mays/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

The following three statements are ridiculously biased and contrary to evidence. BM appears to continue to be successful and in demand:


Customer response to Mays' sales pitches were negative, with a sharp decrease in sales after his first day on the network

The failure of these commercials led to Orange Glo International being named among the top ten privately hemmoraghing companies from 1999 to 2001 by Inc. magazine, and its eventual buyout by Church and Dwight. Appel credited Mays' lack of salesmanship for much of the company's success.

His services as a pitchman became highly avoided, and he has appeared in commercials for many diverse Snake-Oil "as seen on TV" products.[4]

Last edited at 05:31, 3 December 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 09:40, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

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