Every now and then I check out Conan O'Brien on Hulu to see some celebrities that he interviews. I try not to get too worked up over movie/tv/music personalities, but it's a good time waster I suppose. I flipped it on tonight and things just got weird.
I was moussing over the show for Tuesday, June 23 and noticed that the main interview was Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe from Friends) and the second (and very much more important this week) interview was Billy Mays. In case you don't know, Billy Mays is the infomercial guy who is always yelling - probably his most notable product is Oxyclean. It turns out that he invents most of the items he sells which makes him slightly more interesting besides the fact that he passed away a few days ago in the same bizzare week of celebrity deaths (Ed McMahon, Ferrah Fawcett, and Gale Storm).
Just the facts:
1. Ed McMahon was most famous for being Johnny Carson's side-kick (announcer) on the Tonight Show.
2. On the day that Ed McMahon died, the Tonight Show did a nice little tribute video to Ed.
3. On the day that Ed McMahon died, the Tonight Show featured and interview with Billy Mays.
4. 5 Days later, Billy Mays dies at the age of 50 (same age as MJ by the way).
My mind is digesting all of these facts as I'm watching Conan awkwardly interview these infomercial guys all while making fun of their products (though in a playful way). Then my weird-o-meter starts going off.
This is Just Weird:
1. Billy Mays comes out and not only mentions Ed McMahon, but also shares that he worked at the same company that Ed started with (National Kitchen Products?) and its where he learned to sell stuff that peels potatoes. No joke - that's weird.
2. Billy says while showing off his grabber gadget, "I had a weak back about a week back." Clearly he's aware of his failing health. spooky!
3. Right when Billy goes to take a sip of his water(?) from his tonight show mug the camera quickly cuts away.. poison? might be!
4. Aparently there was some bad blood between Billy Mays and the pitchman for the ShamWOW, Vince Shlomi. I think Billy feels like his original product (the Zorbee) was copied by the maker of the ShamWOW. He referred to it as the ShamPOW as if to say he'd like to sock his competator. Not sure that's a good idea since Vince Shlomi has a profession MMA fighting career record of 1-0 after punching a hooker - I can't make this stuff up. The point is, Billy had enemies.
The Conclusion?
I'm going to let you decide on your own if there is foul play here. It's really nothing, honestly, but in order to let my life seem interesting I must keep a vivid imagination. And perhaps its in poor taste to make light of an obvious tragic situation (nobody should be dying at age 50), but I mean no disrespect to Billy or his family. Vince Shlomi on the other hand seems like a real jerk.
Oh, you can watch the Tonight Show interview here. (or simply view the video below)
