Billy Mays' Family In Denial

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Billy Mays' family: Never saw signs of cocaine use


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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090808/ap_en_tv/us_billy_mays
By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer Mitch Stacy, Associated Press Writer – Sat Aug 8, 6:59 am ET

TAMPA, Fla. – The family of TV pitchman Billy Mays said they were never aware that he used cocaine or other non-prescription drugs before his death and they were considering whether to have an independent review of an official autopsy.
The Hillsborough County medical examiner's office released the results of its autopsy on Friday, finding that cocaine use had contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed the 50-year-old in June. He was discovered by his wife in bed at their Tampa condo the morning of June 28.
Mays was a pop-culture fixture with his energetic commercials pitching gadgets and cleaning products like Orange Glo and OxiClean.
While heart disease was the primary cause of his death, the medical examiner listed cocaine as a "contributory cause of death."
The medical examiner "concluded that cocaine use caused or contributed to the development of his heart disease, and thereby contributed to his death," the office said in a press release.
The office said Mays last used cocaine in the few days before his death but was not under the influence of the drug when he died. Hillsborough County spokeswoman Lori Hudson said nothing in the toxicology report indicated the frequency of Mays' cocaine use.
Cocaine can raise the arterial blood pressure, directly cause thickening of the left wall of the ventricle and accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries, the release said.
The toxicology tests also showed therapeutic amounts of painkillers hydrocodone, oxycodone and tramadol, as well as anti-anxiety drugs alprazolam and diazepam. Mays had suffered hip problems and was scheduled for hip-replacement surgery the day after he was found dead.
Mays' family questioned the finding of cocaine and criticized the medical examiner's officer for issuing the report.
The math is very simple here... you got chronic pain, you're a huge "star" and have a nice salary, you're under a lot of pressure to sell products that most people probably wouldn't buy unless you push it in their faces and stake your name-reputation on it, you're working grueling hours to keep up with the demand on your time and personal energy as you "pitch" other people's wares, you're on the road much of the time and usually alone in hotel rooms, you take addictive pain killers for the hurts you're suffering already, you know how to hide your drug use (legal and illicit) well enough to not rouse any suspicion.

Any questions? Read the rest of the article.

I don't find myself a bit surprised...sadden yes, of course, because in spite of his sometimes obnoxious commercials he was likable... he made you not mind watching him... and with a grin on your face from time to time.
So now his family wants to keep the name/memory clean and thus obviously will challenge the coroner's findings.

The real criminal action here is the news media touting the information.
"Yep, he was a great salesman but upt! Lookit here folks, he used cocaine, which contributed to his COD."

And they say the dead rest in peace.
 
Stevie Wonder could see that was going on, wow!! what a surprise,
the way he was selling all that stuff,i did:nt know what to buy, i was dizzy watching him.
 
I'm about as surprised to learn that Mays was using coke as I am to learn today that Valerie Bertinelli was doing coke while on her sitcom or cheated on Eddie during their marriage.

i.e., NOT surprised
 
One of these days people will learn to accept the fact that nobody is perfect and everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet.

I guess everyone thought the guy just chug-a-lugged 5 hour energy drinks all day and that's why he was so off-the-chain. LOL

He provided well for his family apparently...

Never got all coked up and killed anyone apparently...(other than himself I guess...)

Never got the shakes and robbed a store to get a fix apparently...

What's the big deal? He's dead...let the guy rest in peace and let the family mourn.
 
One of these days people will learn to accept the fact that nobody is perfect and everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet.

Bah. They know it — but they DO love their dirty laundry ;) (er.. when it's OTHER peoples getting aired ;))
 
One of these days people will learn to accept the fact that nobody is perfect and everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet.

I guess everyone thought the guy just chug-a-lugged 5 hour energy drinks all day and that's why he was so off-the-chain. LOL

He provided well for his family apparently...

Never got all coked up and killed anyone apparently...(other than himself I guess...)

Never got the shakes and robbed a store to get a fix apparently...

What's the big deal? He's dead...let the guy rest in peace and let the family mourn.
Dirt sells. I'm sure the guy did some good, but it is always the crap that comes out. You said it all, above.
 
Unfortunately some friends of mine lost their son to drugs when he was away at university. He passed away 6 months before his graduation.

I do feel for the grieving family, but I don't think we should pussyfoot around the fact that drugs can kill. They can even kill downhome likeable guys.
 
It is of note that Mays' family is saying the same thing as the family of that woman who killed a lot of people in that recent wrong way driving accident. She was apparently incapacitated by large quantities of vodka and pot... but friends and relatives swear she wasn't the person the media (and lab tests) are painting.

It does appear that many are able to hide dangerous behavior not only from the outside world, but also from close family members.

Other than that point, I'd concur with those wishing the families be let alone to grieve and recover..... never will happen, though. Inquiring "minds" want to know....
 
Whatever...

I always think it is wrong if people suddenly start airing someone's dirty laundry in public if there is no reason to. Live and let live, and let the dead rest in peace.

Every one of us has skeletons in his closet. Some have bigger than others, but we should only be judged on the results of our actions. Unless this man's cocaine use was relevant in any important way, I don't see why it should receive undue attention.
 
Unless this man's cocaine use was relevant in any important way, I don't see why it should receive undue attention.

Exactly. How does dragging his name through the mud better the world in any way?

Let the family deny all they want, if it comforts them. The damage is long done.

R.I.P. Billy.
 
Well, the guy was a public figure, there was a lot of media attention to his sudden death; are the media really to blame for presenting the toxicology report? I mean, nobody was complaining when they covered so much of his death in June, but now that they're reporting a not-so-palatable fact about him, suddenly they're airing dirty laundry and intruding?

Yes, everyone has a skeleton or five in their closet, this much is true. But he is a public figure, and the media didn't exactly go digging through his closet drawers, the report was a public one released by the med ex. I don't really think reporting it is really uncalled for.
 
Well, the guy was a public figure, there was a lot of media attention to his sudden death; are the media really to blame for presenting the toxicology report? I mean, nobody was complaining when they covered so much of his death in June, but now that they're reporting a not-so-palatable fact about him, suddenly they're airing dirty laundry and intruding?

Yes, everyone has a skeleton or five in their closet, this much is true. But he is a public figure, and the media didn't exactly go digging through his closet drawers, the report was a public one released by the med ex. I don't really think reporting it is really uncalled for.

Well, uh, yeah: reporting his death is entirely different than "presenting" the toxicology report. The death of a public figure is a legitimate newsworthy event. His medical history is not.

Imagine you're reading the obituary of your family member printed in the newspaper. It says that Aunt Molly died at 62 and is survived by her children...then goes on to tell all about her problems with obesity and diabetes at her time of death, and reports that she went into rehab for drug addiction in the 80s. That kind of info just isn't the public's business.
 
Well, uh, yeah: reporting his death is entirely different than "presenting" the toxicology report. The death of a public figure is a legitimate newsworthy event. His medical history is not.

Imagine you're reading the obituary of your family member printed in the newspaper. It says that Aunt Molly died at 62 and is survived by her children...then goes on to tell all about her problems with obesity and diabetes at her time of death, and reports that she went into rehab for drug addiction in the 80s. That kind of info just isn't the public's business.
Yes true but Aunt Molly wasn't a public figure was she? That's the difference I think... Public figures tend to be who we look up to, movie stars and whomever. Without fully intending to they become role models for us. On a subconcious level we want to be as outgoing and gregarious as Billy Mays because we admire that lively active go get 'em attitude. We admire figures like Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris or even Steven Segal, Jean Claude Van Damme and dozens of other MA-stars/superstars because they have this fantasy idealistic world created for us to be in and we are inspired by it to study the actual art and etc.
Imagine how many guys (and gals) are out there across the U.S. and Britian that are quietly studying/practicing/training to be MMA-ists in their own homes because of the fights they've watched on TV/Net?
When one of them dies then naturally we want to know how/why. To know of their past personal history is a glimpse into our own lives and we can see paraelles of theirs and our own. Sometimes their deaths will prevent our own... sometimes.
So yeah it would be nice to keep such things private and many stars have managed to do that now-a-days but still the ever persistent press/media will dig until they find what they need to "enlighten us" and just like a horrific car-crash we can't stop staring when we pass by it on the highway.
 
Hello, Sad to see the truth about his "coke use" ....facts are facts...

Many times it is the family the last to learn...about drug use, etc..

Everyone must accept the facts...he was a user...NO excuses for himself...HE knew of the dangers...and effects...

Drug testing? ...is it getting to be more important?

Aloha, .....testing for belts...will a drug test be apart here?
 
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