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Billy Mays Not Included in Emmys 2009 'In Memoriam' Tribute


It's always the saddest part of any awards ceremony -- the In Memoriam tribute, in which the actors and industry figures who have died since the previous year's telecast are showcased in a moving video montage.

At the 2009 Emmys, Sarah McLachlan sang a version of 'I Will Remember You' while familiar faces of this year's dearly departed flashed by: Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Walter Cronkite, Ed McMahon, Patrick Swayze. It wasn't until afterward that we realized ... wait, where was Billy Mays?

Whatever you thought of his excitable manner, Billy Mays, who died on June 28, was one of the most recognizable TV pitchmen of this generation -- and as such was an important part of the television landscape. Unlike some of the other people honored, he was on TV all the time. And even beyond those ubiquitous infomercials, he was also star of the Discovery Channel's reality/documentary series 'Pitchmen,' following the direct-marketing efforts of Mays and fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan.

As TV Squad points out, Billy Mays was famous not just on television, but because of television. One might think that would merit some kind of recognition from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, if not in the tribute video, then at least as a mention elsewhere in the show.

So why did the Emmys choose to exclude Billy Mays? Was the academy showing a bias against infomercials? A dislike of Mays and the way he achieved his fame? Would putting Mays in the tribute have been a violation of Emmy rules? Or was it simply an oversight?



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Emmys Red Carpet Photos
Check out celebs as they hit the red carpet for the 2009 Emmy Awards.
Mathew Imaging, WireImage
AOL is not responsible for caption content

Emmys 2009 Red Carpet

    Actress Blake Lively arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

    Mathew Imaging, WireImage

    LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jennifer Love Hewitt

    Jason Merritt, Getty Images

    LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: Actress Actress Sandra Oh arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

    Jeff Kravitz, FilmMagic

    LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: Recording artist Justin Timberlake arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

    Jeff Kravitz, FilmMagic

    LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

    Jason Merritt, Getty Images

    Actress Tina Fey arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

    Jeff Kravitz, FilmMagic

    LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: Actor Tony Shalhoub arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tony Shalhoub

    Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images

    Actor Michael J. Fox (R) and Wife Tracy Pollan arrive at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

    Jason Merritt, Getty Images

    Actor LL Cool J arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

    Getty Images

    Actress Leighton Meester arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

    Getty Images



USER COMMENTS (469)

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Notify! by mbmslp aim icon 68 days ago

he was on the emmy list here: http://cdn.emmys.tv/inmemoriam/inmemoriam_detail.php?id=286

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Notify! by CpleofCrazies aim icon 68 days ago

He had a prime time show on a crappy cable network (same one that has forced the likes of Jon and Kate into the spotlight). the prime time show basically was how he shot his commercials, so in essence it was just his commercials all over again. No he did not deserve at rememberance at the emmies, maybe the CLIO;s instead

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Notify! by SURFCA2 aim icon 69 days ago

by BRANDONKIMW 2 hours ago If Billy Mays died of a cocaine overdose HE DIDN'T DIE OF AN OVERDOSE MORON.

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Notify! by SURFCA2 aim icon 69 days ago

by Cowgirl page 1 1 hour ago HE wasn't an actor. He wasn't a producer writer or entertainment figure. He did not entertain HEY COWFLOP, LEARN TO READ THE ARTICLE BEFORE YOU POST ERRONEOUS STUPIDITY.

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Notify! by SURFCA2 aim icon 69 days ago

by Heliapple 42 minutes ago No offense to anyone but if it were not for this article, would anyone really have noticed the late Billy Mays was not included? I wouldn't......How about you? THE MINUTE THE SEGMENT WAS FINISHED I MADE MENTION TO THE GROUP OF US WATCHING IT>>THAT BILLY MAYS WAS MISSED.

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Notify! by SURFCA2 aim icon 69 days ago

by CappyLillsKid3 1 hour ago His only contribution to TV - was being salesmen who just happened to do it on TV. geez he ain't worth the mention ANOTHER IDIOT WITHOUT A CLUE.

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Notify! by SURFCA2 aim icon 69 days ago

ALL POSTERS: Will you stupid posters STOP posting that he was just in commercials. The guy had his own PRIME TIME SHOW ON DISCOVERY CHANNEL.

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Notify! by SURFCA2 aim icon 69 days ago

by Cswxet 23 minutes ago Billy Mays was an ad person, or sales pitch man not an entertainer. HEY NUMBNUTS HE HAD HIS OWN SHOW ON PRIME TIME ON DISCOVERY CHANNEL.

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Notify! by Umpsasuout aim icon 69 days ago

********** i lay wounded in a rice paddy in viet nam,after trying to reach my buddy who was worst off than i was,another marine i didnt know at the time kept dragging me back.he put me on a med evac chopper,i never knew his name,until i came home after my third tour in nam.he was my city alderman here in rockford illinois,we became good friends un til his death of colon cancer.this are the people we should pay tribute to. semper fi

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Notify! by Cswxet aim icon 69 days ago

Billy Mays was an ad person, or sales pitch man not an entertainer!!!!

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Notify! by WindsorWinkler aim icon 69 days ago

Michael Jackson donated more then any other celebrity ever. If we don't celebrate drug abusers then that should include most drinkers and all cigarette smokers.

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Notify! by Heliapple aim icon 69 days ago

No offense to anyone but if it were not for this article, would anyone really have noticed the late Billy Mays was not included? I wouldn't......How about you?

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Notify! by monieinvestment aim icon 69 days ago

This was person just like me maybe u idiots who feel this is a good vehicle by which to spit that bull cause u have no life He changed the game in sales just like mike with his music just like Jerry Lee Lewis stickin dick n his under age 1st cousin.....

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Notify! by MthrRbt aim icon 69 days ago

Dude did commercials, REALLY annoying commercials! How is he a star? Not trying to be mean or anything but honestly, you show up two seconds on TV and suddenly you are a star-Hepburn, Grant, Tracy, Bacall, Wayne- THOSE are stars

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Notify! by N teacher aim icon 69 days ago

Billy Mays--ah, yes, he was the guy who made the TV mute button make sense.

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Notify! by gecko85213 aim icon 69 days ago

Alright, but does anyone realize Les Paul wasn't in there either? He made a pretty big impact on entertainment as a whole, being, ya know, the pioneer of modern recording and the electric guitar... god forbid you mention him, right?

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Notify! by tinkerbelle53214 aim icon 69 days ago

I heard they left out Kim Manners too, who should have been included. More so than Billy Mays anyway.

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Notify! by Phillytorpex aim icon 69 days ago

Entertaining? Do you people live in an alternate universe? The tasmanian devil was entertaining; getting tricked by Bugs Bunny all the time. There was a story there. -Just for entertainment. But Billy the Screamer was not entertaining; sort of like watching someone who thought he lived in a thick glass box with a bunch of junk I wouldn't use. Was he always just getting over laryngitis when he filmed himself? Did he practice his lines wearing a motorcycle helmet? I do like OxyClean. But I forgot he pitched it until I read this silly blog.

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Notify! by RWSVR aim icon 69 days ago

Where was anything about Paul Burke??

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Notify! by Crownedpegasus aim icon 69 days ago

Of course he entertained! He would not have been so successful in his field had he not been entertaining - even commercials can be entertaining - ever seen the super bowl? Hell, one of their current highlights for that stupid sports event are the commercials! Billy Mays was entertaining!

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Why was TV pitchman Billy Mays not included in the 2009 Emmys In Memoriam video tribute?
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