Billy Mays
With a booming voice and boundless enthusiasm, he became the unforgettable pitchman who turned household cleaners into must-have television phenomena.
1958–2009 (age 51)·American salesperson·Birthday: July 20·Baby Boomers
Biography
Billy Mays didn't just sell products; he performed a loud, joyous, and utterly convincing theater of utility in 30-second bursts. The Pittsburgh native honed his craft on the Atlantic City boardwalk, learning that demonstration and decibel level were everything. His big break came with Orange Glo, a wood cleaner he pitched with such volcanic energy that it created the template for his career: a blue shirt, a beard, a problem, and a solution delivered at maximum volume. He turned mundane household staples like OxiClean and Kaboom into cultural touchstones, his signature "Hi, Billy Mays here!" a familiar and comforting declaration that something was about to get very clean. More than a caricature, he was a shrewd businessman who believed in his products, co-founding the company behind many of them. His sudden death in 2009 marked the end of an era in direct-response television, silencing one of its most charismatic and effective voices.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Billy was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Billy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Billy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2009Died at 51
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
Key Achievements
- Turned OxiClean from a niche product into a household name through relentless infomercial campaigns.
- Co-founded the company Orange Glo International, which later became part of Church & Dwight.
- Starred in the reality TV series 'PitchMen' with fellow infomercial star Anthony Sullivan, documenting the process of product development and marketing.
- His infomercial for Orange Glo is credited with revolutionizing the direct-response marketing of cleaning products.
Did You Know?
He began his sales career at age 14, selling shampoo and oranges on the beach in Atlantic City.
He was a licensed pilot and often flew himself to personal appearances.
He voiced a parody of himself in an episode of the animated series 'Family Guy.'
His famous beard was originally grown to cover up a case of adult acne.
““Hi, Billy Mays here with another fantastic product!””
