Billy Mays of infomercial fame.
Over the weekend, an impressive list of celebrities passed away. First, there was Ed McMahon, famous sidekick of the King of Late Night Television, Johnny Carson. Then, Farrah Fawcett of Charlie’s Angels fame died after a long battle with cancer. On the same day we learned of Farrah’s death, word came of the sudden and unexpected death of entertainer Michael Jackson.
My son, Nathan, particularly noticed the attention paid to Michael Jackson, asking me at one point, “Who is he?” He was not familiar with McMahon or Fawcett either. But when I picked up yesterday’s newspaper and saw that the pitchman for Oxiclean, Orange Glo, and other As-Seen-On-TV products passed away (only 50-years-old), I had a feeling my infomercial baby would recognize him.
Just last week, I wrote about Nathan’s obsession with infomercials as a toddler and how we wound up with the Shark Professional Cordless Sweeper after he made an unauthorized purchase on eBay. I can’t tell you how many times Nathan “pitched” products to me back then–everything from Ronco’s Rotisserie (“Set it and forget it!”) to Smartware (“the revolutionary silicone bakeware set”).
Out of curiosity, I showed Nathan the photo in the newspaper and asked him if the man looked familiar. It’s been a while, after all, since infomercials dominated his television viewing. “That’s the OxiClean guy,” he said without missing a beat. He was disappointed to hear that Billy Mays had passed away.
So rest in peace, Billy Mays. In our household, your stardom reached epic proportions!
Tags: Billy Mays, infomercial, Nathan, OxiClean
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