From the ArcaMax Publishing, Entertainment News Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/entertainmenttoday/s-575220-466173
PITTSBURGH (UPI) -- Co-workers Friday praised infomercial pitchman
Billy Mays as he was buried in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pa.
Jerry Spanola, who worked as a pitchman with Mays, said the
infomercial star's death Sunday at the age of 50 sent a shockwave
through the industry, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Friday.
"He totally shut down the business when it happened," Spanola said.
"Pitchmen are always talking. The morning Billy died, he rendered that
business speechless."
Pitchman Jeremy Parker, who worked with Mays five years earlier, used
Friday's burial to reiterate Mays' impact on the field of
infomercials.
"If there was a Jimi Hendrix of the guitar, there was a Billy Mays of
the pitchmen," Parker said at St. John of God Catholic Church in
McKees Rocks.
"He made everyone feel important," former Home Shopping Network host
John Cremeans said.
The bearded pitchman earned a name in the industry thanks to his
energetic efforts selling various products on the Home Shopping
Network and for Mays Promotions Inc.