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Ultimate Pitchman 'Loved to Sell'

Internationally known TV product pitchman Billy Mays, who rose to the top of his profession with a boisterous persona that touched consumers and helped create more than $1 billion in merchandise sales, was found dead in his South Tampa home Sunday morning.

His wife, Deborah, woke up and found Mays, 50, in bed and not breathing, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

He was dead when Tampa Fire Rescue arrived at the Mays house at 2853 Bowen Daniel Drive, where he was with his wife and 3-year-old daughter. The time of death was reported as 7:45 a.m.

Mays had no obvious injuries, and there were no signs of forced entry at the family’s home near Old Tampa Bay. No foul play is suspected, police said.

Family members told police Mays hadn’t been feeling well Saturday and that he went to bed early, shortly after 10 p.m., McElroy said.

Hours before, Mays was on board a US Airways flight from Philadelphia that landed safely at Tampa International Airport Saturday afternoon after its front tires blew out, resulting in bumps and bruises to some passengers.

Todd Schnitt, host of “The MJ Morning Show,” said he called his friend about 10 p.m. Saturday after seeing him interviewed on TV. Mays was getting ready for bed.

“He said he was tired; he had some stuff fall on him in the airplane,” Schnitt said. “He hit his head when the flight landed.”

Mays, who was active on the Twitter social networking site, posted his last update at 2:01 p.m. Saturday.

“Just had a close call landing in Tampa,” Mays wrote. “The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air.”

Any connection between Mays’ death and the rough landing would be speculation, McElroy said. More will be known after Mays’ autopsy, which could be performed as early as today, she said. If a toxicology examination is needed, those results could take an additional four to six weeks.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said no injuries were reported to the FAA after the plane landed.

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