The final Medical Examiner’s report of the late television pitchman Billy Mays, who was laid to rest early last month after he passed away in late June due to in large part to heart disease, has been completed and released to the media. The report concludes that while Mays’s cause of death is officially “heart attack”, the use of cocaine played a factor in triggering the heart attack that killed Billy Mays. In response to the conclusions of this report, the Mays family has issued a statement attempting to respond to the findings of the final Medical Examiner’s Report, making clear that they consider the findings “speculative” at best. Here are the deets from the official autopsy report and the response statement, in full, from the Mays family:

Billy Mays’ cocaine use contributed to the cause of his death, according to an autopsy report released today. The TV pitchman had last used cocaine days prior to his death, the report states. He died from heart disease, but cocaine use was listed as a contributory cause of death because of the cumulative effect cocaine use had on his heart, the autopsy stated. Mays, 50, was found dead in Tampa on June 28. The autopsy was performed the next day. “From the presence of metabolites of cocaine and the absence of cocaine itself, it was concluded that Mr. Mays used cocaine in the few days prior to his death but not immediately prior to death,” a Hillsborough County press release states. “Cocaine can raise the arterial blood pressure, directly cause thickening of the wall of the left ventricle of the heart, and accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries.” The autopsy report doesn’t mention how much cocaine Mays used. “I don’t know that that necessarily is known,” county spokeswoman Lori Hudson said. “Clearly it was in his system. It had been used in the days prior to his death, but the exact amount over how much of a period of time, we wouldn’t have that.”

Wow!! Of all people, I am shocked to know that Billy liked blow (among other party favors listed in the Medical Examiner’s report). I mean, I always knew the guy was super hyper but I just figured that was part of his personality. After the jump, read the Mays family response to these findings by the Medical Examiner …

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Infomercial king and pitchman guru Billy Mays was honored at his funeral in McKees Rocks, PA yesterday just 5 days after he passed away in his Tampa, FL home last weekend. As you may recall, the autopsy report stated that Mays passed away due to an ailment of heart disease … he was 50 years old. Here are a few photos of Mays’s pallbearers all wearing blue OxiClean shirts in his honor at the memorial service yesterday:

References to television pitchman Bill Mays’ trademark image were everywhere at his funeral Friday near Pittsburgh. Most mourners wore stickers showing a cartoon image of his distinctive bearded face. The six pallbearers eschewed suits and instead wore bright blue button-down shirts like the ones Mays wore on TV. At the conclusion of the ceremony, they gave a “thumbs up,” just as Mays did at the end of one of his commercials. Mays, whose high-energy hawking turned products like OxiClean from infomercial curiosities into mainstream successes, was remembered as a pop culture icon who never forgot his hometown or spiritual roots. “He sold more OxiClean than Andy Warhol sold Campbell’s Soup,” cousin Dean Panizzi said in eulogizing Mays and comparing him to the Pittsburgh-born pop artist who turned soup cans into works of art. Panizzi’s 20-minute eulogy evoked everything from memories of their childhood together — complete with a Christmas Eve remembrance of their parents ringing sleigh bells outside — to Mays’ devout Christian faith. Panizzi recited various lines Mays made famous, including “Life’s a pitch, and then you buy” and drew a standing ovation parroting Mays’ signature introduction, “Hi, Billy Mays here.” Hundreds of mourners packed the black brick, gothic Catholic church in the suburb of McKees Rocks, where Mays was raised, to remember the popular pitchman … Outside the funeral, a company owned by fellow “Pitchmen” star Anthony Sullivan handed out the shiny stickers bearing a caricature of Mays’ face. Mays hawked everything from the Wash-matik, a device for pumping water from a bucket to wash cars, to Orange Glo, an environmentally friendly cleaner. Sporting a jet-black beard and coupling high-energy demonstrations with booming pitches, Mays always seemed ready to jump off the screen … Mays is believed to have died of a heart attack in his sleep June 28 at his home in Tampa, Fla., but further tests are needed to be sure of the cause of death.

It’s so sad that death has so dominated the world of pop culture in the last weeks … it’s a damn shame that the world itself has lost so many greats. Billy Mays is a testament of the American Dream … if you work hard and pay your dues, you can achieve any goal … any dream. It’s strange to say that I was a fan of an infomercial pitchman but … you know what, I was a fan. I admired Mays’s can do attitude and even admit that he talked me into purchasing some of his products. The man was a retail genius. He set a new benchmark for the entrepreneurial spirit. He will be missed. Again, my thoughts and prayers goes out to his entire family. May they heal quickly and may Billy Mays rest in eternal peace.

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The results of the autopsy of Billy Mays, who passed away in his Tampa, FL home early yesterday morning, have been released … according to the medical examiner Mays did NOT die as a result of a head injury as he suffered from heart disease. As you may recall, Mays himself revealed that he suffered a hard blow to the head when his US Air plane blew out two tires upon landing in Florida Saturday night. Because he was found in an unresponsive state early the next morning, some began to speculate that his head bump may have been the cause of his death. We now know that that was not the case:

The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner just announced the results of Billy Mays’ autopsy — and said there was no connection between Billy’s death and Saturday’s rough aircraft landing. Billy had admitted to suffering a blow to the head when the front tires of US Airways Flight 1421 blew upon landing — but the doc said he found “no signs of internal or external head trauma.” Dr. Chrostowski said Billy most likely died from complications due to heart disease. He said the autopsy showed “hypertensive and arteriosclerotic disease of the heart” — which is known to cause sudden death. The doc said Billy — who was scheduled to have his third hip replacement surgery today — had prescriptions for tramadol and hydrocodone, but said Mays had no history of drug abuse and “the counts of remaining medication are correct.” The doc will announce the official cause of death once all test results are in.

While I’m sure that these results may be very difficult for Mays’s family to hear, I can only hope that they take some comfort in knowing what caused Billy’s death. Billy’s son, Billy Mays, III, posted a message on Twitter yesterday asking that everyone wear blue today in honor of his late father … I think that would be a very nice way to honor his memory. Rest well, Billy!

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More sad news to pass along today … Billy Mays, perhaps the most successful infomercial pitchman of all time, has passed away today at the age of 50. According to police, Mays was found by his wife early this morning in their Tampa, FL home and was pronounced dead a short time after. Strangely enough, Mays was on board an airplane that suffered a tire blow-out last night before his death this morning but neither he nor any of the other passengers on board were seriously injured as a result (well, that we know of). His cause of death is not yet known:

Television pitchman Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday, FOX News confirms. Mays was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department. Police said there were no signs of forced entry to May’s residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon. Mays, 50, was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported. US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station. Authorities have not said whether Mays’ death was related to the incident. “Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times,” Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.

Wow! This would be the 4th death in the “celeb world” in under a week! Not that Billy Mays was a celeb but he was well-known here in the US for his infomercials for various products for sale on TV (among them OxiClean, Kaboom!, Mighty Putty, Orange Glo and more). In recent months, Mays faced small competition from pitchman Vince Offer (of ShamWow fame) who attempted to steal some of Mays’s thunder but his controversial private life ensured that Billy Mays’s title as King of Infomercials stayed intact. I even got to see Billy Mays in person when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno a couple of months ago. He was a guest on one of the eps that featured Prince as the musical guest. He looked happy and thrilled to be part of Jay Leno’s final shows as host of The Tonight Show. All life is precious and altho Billy Mays was not as famous as Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson or Ed McMahon, I’m sure his loss greatly affects many people — his family most especially. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends today … Rest well, Billy.

UPDATE: TMZ is reporting that Billy Mays was injured on that US Airways flight that suffered two blown tires upon landing last night (before he died). According to TMZ, Billy himself reported that he was struck in the head with something upon landing … he even mentioned the plane landing on his official Twitter account which, turns out, was his last tweet ever:

The FAA is already deflecting blame for the death of Billy Mays — claiming the legendary TV pitchman wasn’t wearing a seat belt when he took a shot to the head during a rough landing on a flight he was on yesterday. Here’s what we know — Billy Mays was aboard US Airways Flight 1241 flying from Philadelphia, which landed roughly when the front tire blew out as it touched down. After the flight, Billy told FOX 13 in Tampa that something struck him in the head — here’s Billy’s actual quote: “All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.” We called the FAA for comment, and a spokesperson told us, “The passenger needs to wear a seat belt during landing and he didn’t.” A spokesperson for US Airways did not want to comment until more information comes to light.

Here is the tweet that Billy Mays posted upon landing last night:

Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air.

The plot thickens. We won’t know the official cause of death until the autopsy is completed on Monday. Wow.

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