OxiClean Guy’s Musician Son Is Sharing Outtakes From His Beloved Dad’s Commercials on TikTok
Billy Mays III, son of late infomercial king Billy Mays, went viral on TikTok after sharing an outtake from one of his beloved dad's commercials.
It's a safe bet you're probably familiar with Billy Mays if you grew up watching TV in the '00s, but you might remember him better as the OxiClean Guy.
Billy Mays, who passed away in 2009, was one of the reigning infomercial stars of the era. His work with the stain-fighting brand was among his most popular.
But it turns out that a knack for entertaining runs in the family.
Billy Mays is no longer with us, but his son Billy Mays III keeps his memory alive. While his father was a star on TV, the younger Mays III works as a musician.
He cleverly identifies as the "music-conjuring son of a pitchman" on Instagram — and yeah, he's the spitting image of his dad!
Although he hasn't directly followed in his dad's footsteps, Mays III told the Tampa Bay Times in 2017 that there were some parallels between their careers.
"I've been asked to pitch products in his way," he said. "Over the years, I was like, no, no, no, I'm a musician, I'm an artist. Now I'm finding more and more that I'm becoming a pitchman, but in art. For my art."
Billy Mays' son, now 35, also seems to take his status as one of his father's first fans quite seriously.
Mays III recently shared a sweet throwback to the heyday of his dad's time in the public eye. Taking to TikTok, he uploaded an outtake from an old commercial his dad shot.
In it, Billy Mays can be seen obliterating a stubborn ring in a bathtub with the help of a bottle of OxiClean before he loses his balances and falls forward. The consummate professional laughs off the flub before the camera cuts out. We're willing to bet that he nailed his next take.
"My father was a clumsy man," his son captioned the footage, which he said was found on an old hard drive.
Check it out below:
The nostalgia-inducing video clearly resonated with users on the app. At the time of publishing it has more than 2.1 million views and 374K likes.
Thousands of viewers rushed to the comments section to share fond memories of Billy Mays.
After the throwback went viral, Mays III uploaded a second video with a bit more information about his father.
"I didn't expect that post to blow up," he admitted, adding that he was 22 and working as a production assistant on set when his dad passed away.
Mays III also reflected on the legacy associated with his name: "Obviously my name is a big part of my life. I try to pay tribute to my dad as much as I can."
Today, the musician runs a website in his dad's memory and does some nonprofit work in his name.
Check out the post below:
Billy Mays III offered to share more info about his dad in future videos, and he certainly stayed true to his promise.
His latest TikTok update is a stitch with a video of another family cleaning his dad's grave.
Based on the response we've seen so far, it's amazing and heartwarming to see the tributes still pouring in for Billy Mays all these years later.