Billy Mays

As if this past week wasn't sad enough by the great great loss of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon, I got word this morning from my assistant Charlie that Billy Mays passed away at his house in Tampa Fl at age 50.

Back in September of 2008, I was fortunate enough to meet and photograph Billy Mays on a cover assignment for Orlando Weekly. Upon driving up to his 8,000 square foot mansion in Odessa, FL, I vividly remember being greeted by Billy. He was wearing his television blue button up shirt with Khaki pants, his facial beard was intact and a genuine smile accompanied a welcoming handshake..

Billy welcomed us in, and proceeded to show us around. He was a true car nut. In his 4-car garage, he was proud to show off his black 550hp Bentley Coupe, Mercedes GL450 and Escalade. When I asked if I could get a portrait of him with the Bentley, he was happy to oblige. He grabbed a spray bottle of Simoniz and posed for the camera. In the house, he had a game room that was dedicated to racing memorabilia and pictures of famous people he had met throughout his career. While walking through his laundry room, I decided it would be the ideal cover location. What could be better than a portrait of Billy a holding a few of his household cleaning products in his ACTUAL laundry room with crazy-patterned wallpaper behind him? It was perfect.

During the interview with Billy Manes (the writer and dear friend), I sat down to listen the real story behind the infamous infomercial star. I learned that Billy was a genuinely down-to-earth guy with a strong core of family and religious values. He came from humble beginnings that still radiated in who he was as a person, even as a millionare. He truly believed in all of those crazy products that he sold on TV. If you've ever tried Oxyclean, then you, too, know the stuff actually does work!! Billy openly admitted that he spends a lot of money, but also made a lot. I vividly remember him telling us that he needed to bring in $50,000 a month just to cover his overhead, and the mansion alone cost him $20,000 a month to live in!

From my one encounter with Billy, I was overwhelmed by his warmth and hospitality. In the few hours I spent at his home, it dawned on me that it was not his quirky infomercials that made his products sell, it was him. His larger than life personality that was there even when the cameras weren't rolling. It was his ability to make you feel like you were his friend from the moment he shook your hand. His passion was contagious in every aspect of who he was.

Here are some images from my assignment:

Please note all images are copyrighted©2009 Carlos Amoedo Photography