Dudes this is getting freakin nuts.

[Quirinus_Obsidian]

Billy Mays (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_billy_mays) found dead at home.

[averagejoe]

:smalleek: Oh dear... No one is safe, it would seem.

I mean, who's next, Bruce Campbell? Seriously.

Ah, well. RIP Billy Mays. Truly you were the best of us.

[Trog]

Dang. It's celebrity death week. :smalleek:

May he rest in peace and in a fresh orange scent.

[Rutskarn]

Oh what the hell.

It...it'd be wrong to say that this guy was one of my inspirations, of course. But he was one of Rutskarn's inspirations.

I probably feel more emotion over his death than over Jackson's, to be honest.

[RabbitHoleLost]

I...give up.
I just give up

[Emperor Ing]

:smalleek: *shock and awe* :smallfrown:

[SilverSheriff]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!

Why?! WHY?!

Rest in Peace Billy Mays.

Tribute. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tyct9l-fD8)


I probably feel more emotion over his death than over Jackson's, to be honest.
As do we all my friend...as do we all...

[fetfet]

This Sham-Wowed me.
I know that was Vince Shlomi, but so what?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I probably feel more emotion over his death than over Jackson's, to be honest.
Was gonna post that exact same thing... dang.

[J.B. Ganning]

Oh what the hell.

Yeah, I mean first the King of Pop, and then the King of "As Seen on TV!"

:smallannoyed:

SWH Mays.
(Sell Well in Heaven)

[North]

I have no idea who this person was.

[Keld Denar]

I ask you to all observe a moment of silence when you are doing your laundry this week. If it wasn't for the great Billy Mays, you might still have those red wine stains on your nice white shirt.

If you are right and Bruce Campbell is next, I swear, America will truely have lost one of its greatest chins. Long live low-budget movies!

[Pharaoh's Fist]

I have no idea who this person was.

OXYCLEAN!!!

[strawberryman]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Raitoindeepthought.PNG

I'm a horrible person. :smallfrown:

[Phase]

No! I'll miss Billy Mays more than Jackson, to be sure. Mays had just gained true fame with his show on the discovery channel and all...

I swear, there'd better be the same amount of fanfare. :smallfrown:

[BRC]

Quickly, what other celebreties are 50 years old, as both Jackson and Mays died at 50.

Maybe somthing was released 50 years ago that caused children born that year to be charismatic and talented, but have a shortened lifespan.

[Dirk Kris]

RIP, Mr. Mays. May your next re-roll be epic.

[RabbitHoleLost]

I swear, there'd better be the same amount of fanfare. :smallfrown:

I really don't think there will be, to be honest.

[J.B. Ganning]

This is the worst year of the new millennium. Yes, it's even worse than all those other ones that kinda sucked; even that one that really sucked.

I suspect we're going to see a good--or rather, bad number of other mentoring celebrities to die this year. I better be wrong!

[The Dark Fiddler]

Farewell to Mr. Mays, you were a great pitchman, and the butt of many jokes, not all of them bad, and you were very respected in many places. May you rest in peace in whatever afterlife you believed in.

[averagejoe]

Yeah, I mean first the King of Pop, and then the King of "As Seen on TV!"

He was the King of Pop (ular items sold on TV.)

[MCerberus]

On Sunday morning, a salesman died in Tampa. :smallfrown:

RIP BIlly.

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

It is unfortunate that celebrity losses tend to come in threes. In reverse order:

Billy Mays - While there were moments when I wanted to reach into my television and strangle him, if only to quiet him down "just a bit," what I liked about him was that he joined in on the ribbing that involved his boisterous info-mercials. Here...I'll whip up a script that he would probably have gotten a kick out of.


INT. MANSION, DINING HALL - NIGHT

A small gathering of friends - approximately 20 - are milling about. Even as a casual affair, these social elite are dressed spectacularly, giving off a scent of money that practically comes through the screen.

BRAD and TAD, sipping brandy, stand off to the side.

BRAD: I wonder where our host has run off to?

TAD: Knowing Edward, he's either upstairs with Melanie or the maid...or both.

BRAD: Oh, how droll! And do keep your voice down. Sound carries in this place like a museum.


CUT TO:


INT. MANSION, MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

EDWARD stands over the bodies of his wife, Melanie, and the maid. A bloody POLO TROPHY is in his right hand. Some of the blood has obviously splattered onto his shirt, and a lot of it is actually forming a pool on the carpet.

EDWARD: (softly, paranoid, panicked) Dear Lord...what have I done? I have to...I have to clean this mess up and hide the bodies...at least until everyone leaves. But...all this blood. I'll never...I'll never be able to hide all of it.

BILLY MAYS seems to come out of nowhere, holding a bottle of OXYCLEAN.

BILLY MAYS: (boisterous as ever) Looking to hide your murderous activities? Think there's too much blood soaked into the carpet and your clothes? Then use Oxyclean!

DOWNSTAIRS:

The gathering has become completely silent, as they can't help but hear Billy's voice ringing through the entire mansion.

BILLY MAYS: (O.S.) Watch how fast Oxyclean removes your wife's blood from your shirt! Oxyclean's oxygen-powered cleaning action lifts hard-to-remove stains from even the most delicate materials!

IN THE BEDROOM:

EDWARD: (terrified whisper) Keep your voice down! Do you have any idea how disasterous this could be?

BILLY MAYS: Yes! But with Oxyclean, this disasater is only an inconvenience. Look how fast it removes blood from the carpet!

EDWARD: You fool! Everyone downstairs is probably calling the police because you can't speak in a normal tone of voice.

DOWNSTAIRS:

Everyone has a cell phone out, with each person giving their own version of, "Hello? Police? I need to report a murder."

UPSTAIRS:

BILLY MAYS: No problem! Oxyclean works fast and efficiently! By the time the police show up, there'll be no blood stains from your homicidal rage!

Okay...Getting a little too into my "example." The thing is, he had fun with what he did, and the world needs more fun people. For this reason alone, he is a loss.


Micheal Jackson - Since I have very little that's nice to say about him, I will show at least enough respect for the deceased to say nothing at all.


Farrah Fawcett - This was the major loss for me. She was the "It Girl" when I was growing up. Her career as an actress may not have been the most prolific, but she was positively gorgeous, and the fantasy woman of many a teenaged boy, like myself. Ultimately, I'm upset that her passing has been overshadowed by Micheal Jackson's death. Then again, it's probably for the best. Her memory should move on with dignity, and not the media circus that that other person's death is becoming.


Regardless of my personal opinion, these people affected various lives. For those who mourn, I hope they find solace. For those who have passed, may they rest in peace.

[reorith]

whenever i see something written in allcaps, i like to imagine how it would sound if it were being read by billy mays :/

[averagejoe]

It is unfortunate that celebrity losses tend to come in threes. In reverse order:

What, no love for Ed McMahon?

(Don't get me wrong, I have no opinion of the guy, but I'm pretty sure you're a bit older than I am, and thus would know who the heck he is.)

[MCerberus]

I think the best way to describe what's going on is that we aren't losing celebrities, we're losing icons. They're part of the social landscape, a thing we would have never guessed would pass away.

One was a picture of buty, now at peace. She would not give up the fight with terminal cancer. She suffered horribly to give others hope.

Another was a musician whose music touched several generations. All of his life he was trying to recapture the childhood his fame prevented him from having. This tragic figure died on the verge of a comeback that may just have resulted in a happy ending for his story.

Another was decades of joy. For years he made millions of lives happier. His laughter is now a memory.

Just this morning another died. To say nothing else, he had the power to make a person smile just from selling cleaning products.

[Linkavitch]

So, if MJ died 'cuz of too much drugs, then BM died 'cuz of bending over too many cleaning products and inhaling!

[Xyk]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Raitoindeepthought.PNG

I'm a horrible person. :smallfrown:

I saw that at first too.

[Berserk Monk]

Wow. That sucks. I wonder whose next? :smalleek:

[reorith]

I saw that at first too.

i don't get it. is this a reference to that anime thing about notes that cause death?

[strawberryman]

i don't get it. is this a reference to that anime thing about notes that cause death?

Death Note, to be exact, and yes.
I mean, that has to be the only explanation.

[Xyk]

Death Note, to be exact, and yes.
I mean, that has to be the only explanation.

Correct. In the anime, he kills many people with various causes like heart attacks. This time it's icons rather than criminals.

[MCerberus]

Death Note, to be exact, and yes.
I mean, that has to be the only explanation.

Well, this theory has been elaborated on by someone

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3183/1246224265656.jpg

[strawberryman]

Well, this theory has been elaborated on by someone

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3183/1246224265656.jpg

I feel like a slightly less horrible person now.

[SDF]

I feel like a slightly less horrible person now.

I probably would have named the topic, "But wait, there's more," so I have absolutely no moral footing here.

I'm decidedly more upset over MJ, but on his show Mays seemed like a nice dude.

[Quirinus_Obsidian]

yeah, Billy Mays was the man. If you needed to be wide awake at 3:00 am, just turn on one of his infomercials and BAM! wide awake. Dude was vocal coffee mixed with an energy drink and a dash of awesome powder +5.

I actually liked the Pitchman show that he had on the Discovery Channel. That was a cool show.

To the person that photoshopped the Death Note into that dude's hand.... that was epic.

RIP Pitchman.

[Recaiden]

Well, this theory has been elaborated on by someone

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3183/1246224265656.jpg

Who is that holding it?

[KjeldorMage]

NOOOOOOO!

If Bruce Campbell goes I will have to start throwing stuff around and acting like a gorilla and throwing feces.


And if they take Fred Willard, oh IT'S ON!

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Who is that holding it?

It's the Sham-WOW! guy. Can't remember his name right now.

[Jalor]

whenever i see something written in allcaps, i like to imagine how it would sound if it were being read by billy mays :/

Let us begin a movement to rename Caps Lock to "The Billy Mays Key".

[Flickerdart]

It's the Sham-WOW! guy. Can't remember his name right now.
It's Vince!

[reorith]

It's Vince!

http://i42.tinypic.com/xof602.jpg

[RTGoodman]

It's Vince!

Who, as it turns out, was recently arrested (http://www.tmz.com/2009/03/27/shamwow-pitchman-beats-hooker-to-the-punch/) for "slappin' his troubles away (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUbWjIKxrrs)."

[Jalor]

http://i42.tinypic.com/xof602.jpg

I would give him a medal for that last one.

[Em Blackleaf]

But, Hannah Montana will still be alive, right? :smalleek: :smalltongue:

Yeah, this is really weird. Too many celebrity deaths to handle.

R.I.P. Bill Mays.

[Ted The Bug]

When MJ died and everyone flipped, I told them that millions of people in third-world countries die a year from poverty and disease, and it's stupid to just mourn a rich celebrity and ignore their plight.

However, this shattered me to the core. Imma lie down now.

[Pyrian]

Who, as it turns out, was recently arrested (http://www.tmz.com/2009/03/27/shamwow-pitchman-beats-hooker-to-the-punch/) for "slappin' his troubles away (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUbWjIKxrrs)."Cat got his tongue, eh? :smallamused:

[Tar Palantir]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Raitoindeepthought.PNG

I'm a horrible person. :smallfrown:

Read my mind, dude. Read my mind.

[ghost_warlock]

It is unfortunate that celebrity losses tend to come in threes.

They don't really come in threes, that's just a sampling error/confirmation bias.


Notable Deaths in 2009
June

28th
A. K. Lohithadas, 54, Indian screenwriter and film director, heart attack.
Billy Mays, 50, American pitchman and television host (Pitchmen).
Lucia Lauria Vigna, 113, Italian supercentenarian, oldest person in Europe. (French)
Yu Hyun-mok, 83, South Korean film director, complications from stroke.

27th
Levent Akın, 50, Turkish journalist, car accident. (Turkish)
Victoriano Crémer, 102, Spanish poet and journalist, natural causes.
Mary Lou Forbes, 83, American journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner (1959), cancer.
Spiros Kalogirou, 87, Greek actor, encephalitis. (Greek)
Willy Kyrklund, 88, Finnish-born Swedish author. (Swedish)
Gale Storm, 87, American actress (My Little Margie, The Gale Storm Show), after long illness.

26th
Jo Amar, 79, Moroccan-born Israeli singer.
Neera Desai, 84, Indian academic, professor of women's studies, cancer.
Maj-Len Grönholm, 57, Finnish politician and beauty queen, councilwoman, Miss Finland (1972), cancer. (Finnish)
Amnon Kapeliouk, 78, Israeli journalist and author.

25th
Andres Cascioli, 72, Argentine cartoonist, cancer.
Don Coldsmith, 83, American author, stroke.
Farrah Fawcett, 62, American actress, anal cancer.
Morton Gottlieb, 88, American Broadway theatre producer, Tony Award winner (1971), natural causes.
James Baker Hall, 74, American poet and academic, Kentucky Poet Laureate (2001-2003), natural causes.
Michael Jackson, 50, American singer–songwriter, cardiac arrest.
Clifton Johnson, 67, American jurist, North Carolina Superior Court (1978-1982) and Court of Appeals (1982-1996).
Shiv Charan Mathur, 83, Indian politician, Governor of Assam since 2008, Chief Minister of Rajasthan (1988–1989), cardiac arrest.
Mian Tufail Mohammad, 95, Pakistani politician, cerebral hemorrhage.
Bela Mukherjee, 89, Indian singer, widow of singer and composer Hemanta Mukherjee, natural causes.
Kaleem Omar, 72, Pakistani poet and journalist, heart failure.
Sky Saxon, 71, American rock musician (The Seeds), heart failure.
Zinaida Stagurskaya, 38, Belarusian cyclist, road accident.
Anil Wilson, 62, Indian educator, Principal of St. Stephen's College, Delhi (1991–2007), pancreatic cancer.
Yasmine, 37, Belgian singer and television presenter, suicide by hanging.

24th
Irv Homer, 85, American talk show host, heart attack.
Olja Ivanjicki, 78, Serbian painter.
Tim Krekel, 58, American guitarist and songwriter, cancer.
Robèrt Lafont, 87, French academic. (French)
Roméo LeBlanc, 81, Canadian politician (1973–1994) and Governor General (1995–1999), Alzheimer's disease.
Robert B. Pamplin, 97, American executive, President of Georgia-Pacific (1957–1976).
Ed Thomas, 58, American football coach, NFL High School Football Coach of the Year (2005), shot.
Steven Wells, 49, British journalist and author, cancer.
And so on... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_deaths)

[SilverSheriff]

it really is the Death Note, isn't it guys?:smallannoyed:

[Trizap]

it really is the Death Note, isn't it guys?:smallannoyed:

yea, and I'm getting the suspicion that since Gygax and David Arenson has also died recently they might have been early victims

[Verruckt]

Oh what the HELL man! This is like some sort of slow horrible celebrity rapture...

bu bye billy.

[Eon]

:smallfrown:

[WalkingTarget]

They don't really come in threes, that's just a sampling error/confirmation bias.

My favorite (as in, I find it interesting trivia) one of these is that C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley, and John F. Kennedy all died on the same day.

Anyway, yeah, it's been a rough week. I never caught Mr. Mays' show, but I've always... admired is the wrong word, but it's the best I'm able to think of... his style of sales pitch. I always liked watching people give their spiels at the state fair when I was a kid and he always reminded me of them (and I watched people selling these Sham-Wow things under a different name 15 years ago who were better than this recent TV huckster).

[Eon]

Fred Travalena died too. I just say that on the news... (he was a comedian)

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/29/fred.travalena.dies/index.html

[Guru]

Some guy on 4chan is said to have predicted all these (and indeed, Miley Cyrus is next)

[alegollama]

This is like some sort of slow horrible celebrity rapture...

Or, you know, a sorta "Smiting of the evil" :smallsmile:

[Eon]

It would have to be smite good for Billy Mays

[onasuma]

This Sham-Wowed me.
I know that was Vince Shlomi, but so what?

actually, Billy sold it first under a different name, the zorbee.

Anyhow yeah, this matters more to me than Jackson. Sad to see him go without shouting at me (in person) to buy something that clearly isnt as good as he claims it to be.

[WalkingTarget]

And today Karl Malden died.

At 97 years he at least had a pretty good run.

[Cryssandra]

He's in the Cloud's sayin...


"HI GODS! BILLY MAYES HERE WITH ANOTHER FANTASTIC PRODUCT!"

Sigh....
I loved that salesman....
I felt compelled to buy that fantastic product everytime i saw those commercials....

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

And now, for those who missed the news of his passing...Jeff Goldblum (http://www.hulu.com/watch/80429/the-colbert-report-jeff-goldblum-will-be-missed?c=Comedy) has also died...kinda. The eulogy was very touching...kinda. Sorry, but amidst all the madness, I almost believed it, too.

[Faulty]

I mean, who's next, Bruce Campbell? Seriously.

He better not. He has to go act in Burn Notice.

[Faceist]

If Bruce Campbell dies, I'm going on a tri-state killing spree wielding my own intestines as a crude lasso.

[Faulty]

If Bruce Campbell dies, I'm going on a tri-state killing spree wielding my own intestines as a crude lasso.

On a scale of 1 to 10, that is wildly disturbing.

[Faceist]

I'm working on the Evil Dead scale. On that 'un, it's barely a 4.

[RabbitHoleLost]

And now, for those who missed the news of his passing...Jeff Goldblum (http://www.hulu.com/watch/80429/the-colbert-report-jeff-goldblum-will-be-missed?c=Comedy) has also died...kinda. The eulogy was very touching...kinda. Sorry, but amidst all the madness, I almost believed it, too.

v.v and I never even got to express my mind fangirlism....

:smalltongue: