Fan Pays Tribute to the Late Billy Mays With OxiClean Bottle at His Gravestone
Billy Mays died in June 2009 from heart disease.
Published July 24 2024, 9:43 a.m. ET
It's been over 15 years since we bid farewell to the legendary television pitchman Billy Mays, but the "King of the Pitch" still leaves a lasting impact on our world.
In July 2024, Billy Mays went viral on social media once again when a bottle of OxiClean — symbolic of his iconic legacy in the 2000s — was left at his gravestone. Before we delve into that, let's explore what happened to Billy Mays and the cause of his unexpected death.
What happened to Billy Mays?
On June 28, 2009, Billy Mays died in his home in Florida. He was 50 years old. His sudden death came as a shock to his thousands of fans and the advertising industry.
What was Billy Mays' cause of death?
After conducting an initial autopsy on June 29, 2009, Dr. Vernard Adams, the Hillsborough County, Fla., medical examiner, concluded that Billy Mays had hypertensive heart disease, ultimately resulting in a fatal heart attack.
Another autopsy report released on Aug. 7, 2009, by the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office revealed that cocaine use had contributed to the heart disease that led to Billy Mays' death. While heart disease was identified as the primary cause of death, the toxicology report indicated that cocaine use played a role as a contributing factor.
Fifteen years later, a fan left an OxiClean bottle at Billy's grave in tribute.
On July 22, 2024, a little over 15 years after Billy's passing, Billy's son Billy Mays III shared that a fan paid tribute to his late father not with flowers but with a bottle of OxiClean. OK, we're not crying, you are!
"Lol just got to Pittsburgh and someone left OxiClean at my dad's grave," Billy Mays III shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside a photo showing the OxiClean bottle resting on the gravestone.
