For those of you who may not know, I'm an independent musician.

I recently released a full-length album under the name Soft Words Traverse:

It's called "Gently."

This entire musical project was funded and produced completely independently by me, Billy Mays III.

Two of the songs from "Gently" were featured in Discovery Channel's tribute to my dad.

As of right now, the album is available to purchase on my other website:

http://softwordstraverse.com/gently

If you're more comfortable getting it through iTunes, here's the link to it on there:

Soft Words Traverse on iTunes

Thanks for all your support.

He's been to Times Square:

Vegas:

Looks like he also took a little trip to New Orleans, Louisiana:

Is your location not represented?

Send me pics of the stickers in your favorite city for Part 2.

And in case we don't speak again, everyone enjoy your preferred holiday.
I'm a Christmas guy, myself:

Peace on Earth.

All is One.

~B3

Check out that beard!  A masterpiece of manliness.  (Also, I think I own that same shirt.)

That's one of the FINAL truly-autographed photos of my dad, a PitchMen Season 1 DVD, a stack of WBM stickers, Might Putty, Mighty Mendit, and a tub of Oxi-Clean - Nectar of the infomercial gods.

Looking at this picture, it's clear that I chose the right man to win this contest.

A huge thank you goes out to Frank and everyone else who participated.

~B3

Thank you to everyone who has ever stopped by this page in support of me.

Thank you to everyone who has ever sent even a small amount of positive thoughts my way.

Thank you to everyone who has ever supported my dad and, thus, my family.

Thank you to everyone who has ever looked at the plight of another human being and felt sympathy.

Thank you to everyone.

~B3

But here is my honest attempt at conducting a decent little contest.

Trust me when I say this: it wasn't easy...

I wish I could have picked about 100 more winners, at least..

But here they are, the 3 winners who will receive the prizes:

In 1st place, winning one of the final autographed pictures, Pitchmen Season 1 DVD, Oxi-Clean, Mighty Putty, and stickers...

In 2nd place, winning Pitchmen Season 1 on DVD, Mighty Putty, and stickers...

Robert -

And in 3rd place, winning a Pitchmen Season 1 DVD and stickers...

Barry Palmer -

The best of the rest (Runners-up) -

Now, some bonus categories -

"Young Billy Mays" (or cutest kids dressed as BM)

Lookalikes - (People who really happen to look like my dad)

Most Unique Entries:

Billy Mays actually IN the TV! -

Out of 1,500 entries, only 2 decided to create a Billy Mays mask, here's one of them..

It was just funny to me in a sea of dedicated, bearded, and costumed fans.

Also... Billy "Maize" -

Let it sink in...  Yeah, you get it.

Panda Billy Mays (?):

Mini-Billy!:

There were SOOOOO many more GREAT ones.....

I want to thank EVERYONE who participated, it's been fun and quite an honor.

~B3

There ended up being over 1,500 entries!

Also, from my calculations, many more than that dressed up as I've heard and read countless stories about running into multiple Billy Mays costumes during the Halloween festivities.

So many of you put a lot of thought and time into it and I appreciate that.
I wish I could post every entry but it's just not practical.

So, I've narrowed it down to around 500 of the best and most unique..

Click here for the official gallery:

http://www.wheresbillymays.com/hallowclean/

Some websites and news outlets thought the idea of a costume contest was strange or in poor taste...

To them I say: Really?
I'm honored that people would want to dress up as my dad for Halloween.
And judging by most of the notes that came along with the pictures, everyone who entered enjoyed paying tribute to him as well.

ANYWAY -

Thank you to everyone who participated and if you're in the gallery, it means that you have a chance at winning. 

I'm taking these pictures to the Sullivan Productions crew and we're gonna pick our 3 favorites.

I'll announce winners by Monday, November 9th.

~B3

Here is the original Oxi-Clean spot..

You can see how much his on-air style had evolved between then and his latest commercials.

In his earlier days on TV, the Home-Show/Boardwalk/Traveling-Pitchman essence to his approach was more apparent. 

Mostly because, well, he spent a good portion of his life behind a booth, hawking various products on a daily basis to passers-by.  (I know, because a lot of that time I was the kid sitting under the booth playing with my Ninja Turtle toys.)

In this setting, a pitchman must first gain a potential buyer's attention by first selling himself.  Even if the people weren't going to buy the product, at least he entertained them.

He seemed to maintain that mentality throughout his entire career.  A Pitchman until the end.

Not that there's ever been any doubt, but:

My dad definitely knew how to pitch.

~B3

There will no doubt be a multitude of people dressed as Billy Mays (or zombie Billy Mays).. it is one of the easiest costumes of all time to put together. (Beard, blue button-down, khakis, prop product, etc..)

So, I've decided to hold a little contest for best costume. 

To Enter:

1. Simply send a photo of your costume to wheresbillymays@gmail.com along with your contact info (email and/or twitter will do)
2. Be tasteful.  (Zombies are permitted)
3. Project your voice.
4. Have fun.

Deadline for entry is Wednesday, November 4.

An experienced panel of judges (the Sullivan Productions crew and myself) will select 3 winners.

Prizes ~

First Place: One of the final autographed Billy Mays pictures, Pitchmen Season 1 DVD, tub of Oxi-Clean, pack of Mighty Putty, and a whole bunch of stickers.

Second Place: Pitchmen Season 1 DVD, pack of Mighty Putty, and a whole bunch of stickers

Third Place: Pitchmen Season 1 DVD and a whole bunch of stickers.

Winners will be announced Monday November 9.

Good luck and may the beard be with you.

~B3

PS - Sully is running the NYC Marathon in support of Ethan Zohn's GrassRootSoccer.org

To sponsor Sully for as much or as little as you'd like, you may do so by clicking here: http://www.grassrootsoccer.org/join-the-team/marathon/anthonysullivan/

Even if you donate $1 you'll be helping a great cause.

New styles emerge:

AMAZING Caricature:

Um...?:

Sweet, polished:

Heh:

Awesome, unique:

Hahaha!:

Hahaha (again):

Lego BM!:

BM BDay Cake:

WWBMD?:

Yes, this is someone's BM tattoo: (Look out for B3's version.. coming soon)

Sketch from a prison inmate:

This is a mandala utilizing a photo of my dad:

Cute:

Yes, that is a Billy Mays pumpkin (EPIC):

Thank you to all the talented artists who have contributed..
It's a true honor.

Round 3 coming soon,
Please keep creating and sending...

~B3

I had heard about the episode almost a day prior to it airing but I didn't hear any details. 
Then, about 2 hours before the premiere I heard that it was definitely going to heavily involve Billy Mays and Michael Jackson.

As a long-time South Park fan, I knew that this could really go either way. 
So I decided not to tell anyone about the episode in fear that Trey Parker and Matt Stone were going to completely disrespect my dad.

The episode begins and BM makes his first appearance very early on.  The relieving part was that they seemed to just flat-out parody him by having him pitch all these different products as a ghost, haunting Kyle's younger brother Ike.

Now, I've always sort of understood that the offensiveness of South Park isn't the main goal..
The Creators' objective seems to be blunt social satire.
They notice the glaring absurdities of popular culture, and human affairs in general, then put a magnifying glass to them in an attempt to expose the underlying irony.

In this case, it was the obvious obsession with celebrity death in the media this summer that needed a bit of harmless ridicule.

Besides one tasteless shot of David Carradine, I thought the episode also doubled as a tribute (in a twisted, SP kind of way) to all the fallen public figures recently.

I know that a lot of the families of the other celebrites may have been quite offended by the use of their loved one's image in such an mature-themed show, but I believe that most of the characters parodied in the episode would've been proud to be included in such a star-studded lineup.

My stance is that it goes to show what success my dad, and other lesser-known celebs, accomplished from more humble beginnings to be mentioned in the same sentence as Ed McMahon, Walter Cronkite, and even Michael Jackson.

Besides, it was clear that someone over at South Park Studios had some respect for Billy Mays judging by most of Cartman's dialogue.

Many people ask me about the very end in which all of the celebrities are taken to 'Hell.' (or South Park's version of it)  Honestly, that's South Park.  Giving that one final, offensive twist on the theme for good measure.

Anyway, everyone knows that 'Hell' in the South Park Universe is not exactly as serious as eternal damnation-
It's run by a flamboyantly gay and whiny Satan whose lover at one point was a very domineering Saddam Hussein....
Can you really take something like that seriously?

I speak for myself only when I say that South Park warmed my heart with a tasteful parody of my dad's image.  I can tell you from experience that he would've been flattered and humbled by being featured in such a historic show.  (Even if he didn't quite 'get it')

What we can all learn from this is not to take EVERYTHING so seriously... including ourselves.

If South Park is not your thing, don't even watch the episode.
But if you want to witness the hilarity, parody, and satire first-hand...
Click the link below at your own risk:
(Viewer discretion is advised)

http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/251632

~B3