Farewell, Billy

My autographed Billy Mays photograph from the Big Apple BBQ Festival

Well, I had planned to be posting about our weekend today, which would essentially be another Michael Jackson tribute post, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. (Sorry, Michael.) Today, I have another celebrity death to address, unfortunately. This time, it is my dear friend Billy Mays.

Billy Mays tribute comic courtesy of Ctrl+Alt+Del Online

Can you believe it? The cause of death is still unknown (pending the autopsy), but he was found unresponsive in his home in Tampa yesterday morning. It is being speculated that his death may have been related to a rough airplane landing he experienced on Saturday, during which the plane's front tires blew out and he either hit his head, or luggage fell on his head. I follow(ed) Billy on Twitter, and he even Twittered about it: "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."

How sad. I feel especially bad for his wife. I can't imagine what it must feel like to not be able to wake your husband in the morning. I also can't believe that I just met him two weeks ago, and now he passed away. My picture with him is still my Facebook profile picture! He seemed like such a nice guy. Really funny, too. Have you seen this video of him ordering a McDonalds breakfast while being taped for the MJ Morning Show (in Tampa)? It's good stuff.

Farewell, Billy. You will be missed.

UPDATE 6/29, 3:00 p.m.: Initial coroner's report states that Billy likely died of heart disease, and there was no evidence of head trauma. So it looks like that rough plane landing was just a bit of bad luck, not the cause of death. Poor Billy Mays.