An autopsy report issued August 7th lists cocaine as a contributing factor in the death of beloved TV pitchman Billy Mays. Mays, who died in June at age 50, was best known for his energetic infomercials for products like OxyClean, OrangeGlo, and the Awesome Auger. Mays’ popularity recent took off with the success of his Discovery Channel reality show Pitchmen, which chronicled how Mays’ and his business partner, Anthony Sullivan, chose which products they were going to make famous. The untimely death of the self-deprecating Mays shocked his fans, a reaction that was eye-opening itself. In a world were someone’s 50″ plasma is as much a part of the family as a 50-year-old uncle, crazy screaming Uncle Billy had been taken too soon.
The reaction to Mays’ cocaine use proves that while most who mourned Mays’ death had never met the pitchmen they all thought they knew him.
Toxicology results detected only breakdown products of cocaine, not the drug itself. This led the coroner to conclude that Mays had recently done cocaine, but this was in no way an overdose. When most think of cocaine related celebrity deaths images of coke filled orgies and Viper Room excess come to mind. Most do not take into mind the long-term beating cocaine dishes out on the body, specifically on the heart.
Looking back, Mays’ use of the cocaine should not have been a jaw-dropper. If Mays had worked in your office instead of inside your television, he would have been Bill the crazy screaming cokehead. But everyone chose to ignore the obvious signs. Mays’ reality program showed that his enthusiasm for OxyClean mirrored his fervor for all facets of his life. The energy required to be ON 24/7 requires a little extra juice. This is what society demanded of Mays. He needed to be the boisterous gregarious spokesman wherever he went.
However, cheating to stay up, also requires a little help to get down. In addition, the tests found evidence of two tranquilizers –alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium).
The story of Billy Mays’ drug use is one that has been told a thousand times before. The pressure Mays felt to always be in character led him down that same cocaine paved path that tempted so many others. Some people’s opinions of Mays will now alter with this cocaine disclosure, but really it shouldn’t. What made Mays lovable to so many was that he always delivered the high-energy intensity that was demanded. Yet in order to meet the public demand that Mays live his life turned up to 11, he needed a little boost. A boost that eventually took away a pitchman’s life, way before he was done pitching.