TV Pitchman Billy Mays Found Dead in His Tampa Home

Even as infomercials he hosted aired on local stations across the country this morning, the cable news channels were reporting on the death of pitchman Billy Mays.

50-year-old Mays was found unresponsive by his wife in his Tampa home this morning. Mays was on board a US Airways flight yesterday that made an emergency landing in Tampa after its front tires blew out. It is unsure whether Mays’ death was related to the incident.

MSNBC and Fox News reported Mays’ death at 11:43amET. At the same time, on stations including WTKR in Norfolk and WPIX in New York, a paid advertisement hosted by Mays for the Omni Dual Saw was airing. CNN first reported the news at 2:12pmET.

Mays also co-hosted the program “Pitchmen” which debuted just two months ago on Discovery Channel.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.