Billy Mays Cocaine Use

An autopsy for TV pitchman Billy Mays finds that cocaine use contributed to his sudden death.

The Hillsborough County medical examiner's office says Mays had last used cocaine days before his death and that although Mays died from heart disease, cocaine use was a contributing cause of death.  The medical examiner initially thought Mays likely died of a heart attack but ordered further tests.

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The bearded 50-year-old suffered from hypertensive heart disease. He was found dead by his wife in his Tampa home. A day earlier he bumped his head during a rough landing on a commercial airliner, but there there was no evidence of head trauma.

Mays was also taking the prescription painkillers Tramadol and hydrocodone for hip pain.  Three narcotics were found in Mays' system.

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "as seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network. Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays showing how it's done while tossing out kitschy phrases like, "Long live your laundry!"

Recently he was seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel.