Gosh, there have just been so many deaths this week. I am having a hard time with it all.

Trin

I'm sorry to hear this news. I years back met Billy Mays and enjoyed his personable demeanor. A really nice guy with boisterous joy and love for his friends and family, along with a concern for his community. What a shame. My sympathies and condolences go out to his wife and children.

CT

Wow, news said he was 50 years young.

What a horrible week this has been!

I like him and I liked the way he sold things RIP

Oh man, what a week. My son LOVED him and wanted me to buy just about everything he sold.
I hear "Mom we really need to get some Mighty Putty, or Kaboom", or any number of thing.

What a shame, R.I.P.

Good grief. Every time you hear from home it's bad news.

He had so much energy it's hard to picture him anything but healthy.

My condolences goes to his family. He can take credit for making lives easier.

Too many deaths. So very sad!

Sheryl

Wow...what a shock.So sorry for his family.RIP Billy.

Shelley

Another icon gone. This has been a bizarre couple of weeks.

I always thought of his commercials as a train wreck; I just couldn't pull myself away if I didn't turn the channel fast enough!

I use to think "He's really having fun with his chosen career." And that's a very good thing.

Seems he got a knock to the head yesterday.
From TMZ:

The FAA is already deflecting blame for the death of Billy Mays -- claiming the legendary TV pitchman wasn't wearing a seat belt when he took a shot to the head during a rough landing on a flight he was on yesterday.

Here's what we know -- Billy Mays was aboard U.S. Airways Flight 1241 flying from Philadelphia, which landed roughly when the front tire blew out as it touched down. After the flight, Billy told FOX 13 in Tampa that something struck him in the head -- here's Billy's actual quote:

"All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."

We called the FAA for comment, and a spokesperson told us, "The passenger needs to wear a seat belt during landing and he didn't."

A spokesperson for US Airways did not want to comment until more information comes to light.

I liked Billy Mays...blue shirt, loud voice and all. I really enjoyed his show "Pitchmen", where he and Sully helped alot of people's dreams come true. Yes, I know he did profit from it, but his passion for what he did was undeniable. He loved being a pitchman.

I will never forget when I first remember Billy Mays. I saw my first Oxiclean commercial, and he was doing his pitch. He had me in such a tissy that I felt like I needed to go out and get some of that stuff immediately!! I still use Oxiclean, and it is all because of him. LOL.

I am truly sorry for his family. RIP, Billy Mays.

Gotta give the guy credit for a shtick that worked. I wasn't repulsed by him like many, but never really was thrilled with it. But I will say I did watch some of his commercials. I could tune out the near-yelling and he hyped some interesting things.

Be interesting to see what caused his death. Gotta think it was related to the whap on the head. Not wearing seat belts in a car is one thing. But you'd think that on a plane it would be common sense. But it just shows how complacent we can get.

Good grief - I JUST posted on the "tired of" thread about people not wearing their seatbelts.

Cynic - interesting view on seatbelts. I always thought the opposite. So many people are saved in car accidents because they are wearing belts. Yet, on airplanes the seatbelt doesn't seem to be the determining factor for survival rates.

I wear my seatbelt 100% of the time in the car, and fasten when told on an airplane, but I'm not overly upset without a seatbelt on a plane.

I liked him sortof, couldn't take a lot of him but didn't really bother me either. I thought you HAD to wear your seat belt on the plane. They always walk by and check when taking off and landing. I guess you could always undo it after they checked, but why would you? And since he is dead, how will anyone know if he had it on or didn't?
Clare

FAA spokeswoman takes back what she said.....
This, the latest, from TMZ:

Laura Brown, the FAA spokesperson who gave TMZ this quote about Billy Mays -- "The passenger needs to wear a seat belt during landing and he didn't" -- now says she didn't say it.

She now tells TMZ, "At this point in time, we cannot have any idea who was or wasn't wearing their seat belt on the plane."

Mays was one of the passengers aboard a plane that landed roughly at Tampa Airport yesterday. He told a local FOX affiliate he was hit on the head by falling items.

Here is a link that might be useful: TMZ

Aptosca, maybe someone saw him flying through the air.

Thought they checked seatbelts also.

If he got hit by something that fell from the above compartment it wouldn't have made a difference if had been wearing a seatbelt. My brother once got clobbered by a bottle of booze that fell from an overhead compartment. You think people would know better than stow heavy objects above someone's heads.

I just saw him being interviewed somewhere on tv the other day.

Anne

I fail to see how wearing a seat belt will stop something falling on your head from the overhead compartment. Many of us have walloped our heads and thought nothing of the injury. Unfortunately even a slight bang to the cranium can cause a deadly injury. Not necessarily is the blow to his head the cause of death and speculation is not going to be of any help or bring him back.
I don't believe the F.A.A. has any culpability in the matter. Nor would US Airways if Billy walked away without reporting his incident and seeking treatment. Some ambulance chasers will try to find any reason to be able to push a lawsuit.

CT

I am sorry to hear of yet another unfortunate death - I just saw him being interviewed last week - he said he loved his 'job' and was booked for 2 years in advance - yes, he agreed that his 'yelling' was annoying to people, but that's what made the public take notice of the products he sold. In everyday life, he said he talked in a 'normal' volumn and led a normally quiet life. I am sad to hear that another icon is gone.

I think what the airline people were implying was that if he didn't have his seatbelt on, he may have been bounced out of his seat and hit his head on the overhead compartment. This is a different scenario than having something dropped on his head.

I wonder if he caught a brain hemorrhage from being hit in the head, like Natasha Richardson did due to a relatively minor fall.

Petra, I'm wondering the same thing, perhaps a head injury went untreated?..........

Will see if the bumpy landing with US Air had anything to do with his death.
I'm flying US Air in August.

I was looking at Billy Mays Tweets from the last few days. He reports a rough landing but doesn't mention any injuries on himself. Maybe he had his mind on his upcoming hip surgery tomorrow.

{{!gwi}}

Jodi-

Geesh, another celeb passing on. What is going on lately. I also just heard of the passing of actress/singer Gale Storm from the "My Little Margy" television series from the 50's. She was a bit before my time so I don't remember her all that much but the name is familiar. RIP all. NancyLouise

Huh, now they are saying he died due to "Hypertensive Heart Disease". I thought anyone in his age group has to undergo medical tests prior to surgery, strange a heart problem that bad apparently wasn't found when he was screened.

Another one has died: the man of many faces, Fred Travalena died Sunday. I have seen him on a number of shows, too.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/2009/06/29/2009-06-29_fred_trave.html