Dr. Drew Pinsky, the celebrity doctor who talks sex on Loveline and helps the Z-list get sober on VH1 Celebrity Rehab, wants you to keep your prescription drugs locked up safely. Not in a locked cabinet, drawer or safe, but in the Rx Locker, a small plastic box with room for four bottles of pills, secured by a combination lock. If you have reason to worry that your kids will access and abuse your medications, is this the product you would choose to secure them? Dr. Drew hopes so. Maybe you’ll be convinced when you see the Rx Locker featured on Pitchmen (September 2).
Pitchmen returns with new episodes this Thursday August 19 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel. Anthony “Sully” Sullivan is still on board, but the looming question is if this reality series can retain its audience without the star power of Billy Mays. At the time of his death in June 2009, Billy was the most famous pitchman in America, and maybe the world. But Sully is a formidable talent in his own right, and has a great supporting cast to back him up (not to mention the inventors and their products – the real stars). So we want to know: Will you be watching?
The press release we’ve been waiting for. August 19 is the date for PitchMen season 2 premiere!
Season two of PITCHMEN, which returns Thursdays at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel beginning August 19, follows Anthony “Sully” Sullivan as he attempts to pick up the pieces and continue making inventors’ dreams come true after the sudden death of his longtime friend and pitch partner, Billy Mays.
Through 10 all-new episodes, Sully scours the country holding “pitch-a-thons” to give everyday inventors a shot at catching his eye with their simple solutions to common problems. Each episode will feature the good, bad and hilarious ideas that Sully comes across and will showcase the inventions from first pitch to final commercial to see if the risk pays off for the dare-to-dream inventors. From razors to wrenches, the products featured this season are more revolutionary – and, at times, outlandish – than ever before. But will they have what it takes to hit it big?
PITCHMEN, which first premiered in April 2009, is produced for Discovery Channel by Original Productions. Thom Beers, Philip D. Segal, Chris Wilson and Anthony Sullivan are executive producers for Original Productions and Chris Rantamaki is executive producer for Discovery Channel.
We celebrated with angel food cake with blue butter-cream flowers just the shade of Billy’s famous shirt. And missed him. Even though we are really looking forward to PitchMen Season 2 and can’t wait to see Sully, Billy Mays III and Arwen, it’s bitter-sweet that Billy had just hit it big when he died. All those pitches and commercials led up to a very successful show on the Discovery Channel and appearances with Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. He had just signed a deal with Taco Bell to film commercials for the chain. I can’t help but wonder what other successes would have been his – he was a big believer in the American Dream, and not even the sky was his limit.
It’s hard to believe it’s been an entire year, but today is the first anniversary of Billy Mays’ death. Are you rocking that blue shirt? ‘Cause you gotta – it’s how we honor the greatest pitchman who ever pitched a product. A year ago today he passed away at the age of 50, leaving us to eulogize him on YouTube and mop our tears with Zorbeez (the power to absorb up to 27 times greater than paper towels or any cotton cloth!).
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! According to urbandictionary.com, it’s officially Billy Mays Day: “It’s Traditional to wear a blue collared shirt with a white under shirt. Must also wear khakis. You must use CAPS LOCK the whole day. Even when talking to family or friends. If you can grow a beard by then, you are the man.”
SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE’S SOME LINKS TO HELP YOU CELEBRATE BILLY MAYS REMEMBRANCE DAY:
Aaron Shedlock was hired by Sullivan Productions to search through their vast library of infomercials and put together this demo reel featuring some of the best short and long-form infomercials produced by Anthony Sullivan and his talented crew, many featuring the late, great Billy Mays. Watching this gets us super excited for the premiere of the new season of Discovery Channel’s Pitchmen.
TBO.com reports on a new informercial filmed yesterday for Mighty Thirsty, the newest product from Mighty Brands. Anthony Sullivan inherited the role of Mighty spokesperson from the late Billy Mays. In this new spot, Sully is covered with Mighty Thirsty sponges, hooked to a parasail, then towed by a boat and dunked into the Gulf of Mexico to determine how absorbent the Mighty Thirsty sponges really are. We’re looking forward to seeing the footage, especially the behind the scenes action sure to show up in the new season of Pitchmen.
On June 29, 2009, Billy Mays died suddenly from cardiac arrest. Six months after his passing, Billy’s pitchman career is finally nearing its inevitable end. If you surf late night TV or dedicated infomercial channels, you might see him alongside his Pitchmen partner Anthony “Sully” Sullivan as they cut up everything in sight with the Dual Saw. But his short-form spots are running less and less. Some products that Billy used to pitch, like the Jupiter Jack, are now pitched by Sully in re-shot and re-edited spots.
The last infomercial shot by Billy Mays was for Mighty Tape, a flexible non-adhesive tape that seals leaks. He completed shooting this spot the day before he died. The product has now been renamed Mighty Fixit, with Sully again replacing Billy as pitchman. This new lower-budget spot omits the dramatic underwater scene where Billy repairs a scuba diver’s hose with Mighty Tape. I’ve always wondered if underwater filming somehow contributed to Billy’s death. Is it possible an air bubble got into his bloodstream and stopped his heart? I’m not a doctor, but just sayin’. It’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.
Nothing wrong with Sully taking over from his old friend and partner. That’s business, and Mr. Sullivan is very good at what he does both in front of and behind the camera. Just noting with sadness the end of an era. Direct response TV will never be the same without the booming voice, blue shirt, khaki slacks and jet-black beard of Billy Mays, Jr. While some advertisements remain in the public consciousness for decades, most are forgotten and don’t outlive their usefulness as tools to generate sales. Future generations aren’t likely to know or appreciate the greatest pitchman who ever pitched a product.
Here’s the complete text of a press release issued today by Deborah Mays, widow of pitchman Billy Mays:
TAMPA, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Billy’s family and I have never agreed with the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s conclusion that cocaine use contributed to Billy’s death. We found this to be so upsetting that we asked for review by an independent medical examiner.
This review, conducted by Dr. William L. Manion, states that the autopsy results do not support the conclusion that cocaine was a contributory cause of Billy’s death. In fact, one of the few areas of agreement between the two reports is that it was a “natural” death. Dr. Manion goes on to say that if cocaine had been considered a significant contributing factor, the manner of death would be classified as “accidental” and not “natural.”
Dr. Manion’s report also says:
“…chronic cocaine use was not demonstrated by the autopsy findings of Mr. William Mays. In addition, there is nothing in his medical, social or professional history to suggest chronic cocaine use. Therefore, I do not believe cocaine played a significant contributing factor in the death of Mr. Mays as the autopsy specimens and findings are not consistent with the cardiac conditions normally observed in a person chronically using cocaine.”
Dr. Manion, M.D., Ph.D, J.D., is consultant medical examiner for Burlington and Ocean Counties, New Jersey and Chief of Pathology for Virtua Health in New Jersey. He is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in both Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and Forensic Pathology, and is a nationally recognized and respected expert in the field of pathology.
We believed at the time — and believe even more now based on Dr. Manion’s report — that the conclusions drawn by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner were not supported by the findings of the autopsy, nor by Billy’s medical history. And, although we cannot undo the damage that has already been done to Billy’s reputation, we are hopeful that this information will assist in clearing the name of a good husband, father and friend.
This has been a very difficult period for our family and we appreciate the continued support that Billy’s many fans have extended. We again thank these fans and the members of the media who have respected our family’s privacy. We are also grateful to Dr. Manion for his thoughtful and objective review of Billy’s autopsy information and the medical literature to make sense of Billy’s untimely death.
It should be noted that this press release does not refute the the original autopsy finding that Mr. Mays used cocaine in the days prior to his death. It only states there was no evidence of chronic use. Not that it matters to us or affects our high opinion of Billy Mays, Jr., the greatest pitchman of our time.
Dr. Drew Pinsky, the celebrity doctor who talks sex on Loveline and helps the Z-list get sober on VH1 Celebrity Rehab, wants you to keep your prescription drugs locked up safely. Not in a locked cabinet, drawer or safe, but in the Rx Locker, a small plastic box with room for four bottles of pills, secured by a combination lock. If you have reason to worry that your kids will access and abuse your medications, is this the product you would choose to secure them? Dr. Drew hopes so. Maybe you’ll be convinced when you see the Rx Locker featured on Pitchmen (September 2).
We celebrated with angel food cake with blue butter-cream flowers just the shade of Billy’s famous shirt. And missed him. Even though we are really looking forward to 
