I would have guessed that the most popular Halloween costumes this year would be Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, but I’m officially putting Billy Mays up there too. Why? His son is hosting a contest on his website encouraging fans to dress up like his desceased father for “prize packages”. How tacky.

Mays the 3rd defends his actions though, saying that this is just a another thing he’s doing to carry on his father’s memory. “All I’m trying to do is spread some positivity out there in the world. Couldn’t hurt, could it?”

Uhhh, no. But it’s kinda creepy.

Florida authorities released an autopsy report yesterday stating that repeated cocaine use most likely contributed to infomercial pitchman Billy Mays’ death.

And no one is surprised.

Well, except for  his wife.

Mays’ angry family called the announcement “speculative … and frankly unnecessary.”

His widow, Deborah, who found her husband dead in bed, said she may hire an independent expert to review the findings.

She said she was unaware of any drug use by her husband, beyond prescription pills for a hip problem.

“Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension,” she said in a statement.

“Given the hectic nature and pace of Billy’s life, especially during the past 10 months of his exhaustive travel across the country, it was not surprising to hear that hypertension was the cause of his death.”

I felt sure we would hear that Billy Mays died from a head trauma much the way Natasha Richardson had, especially after he admitted that he was bumped on the head while on a Philadelphia to Tampa flight.

An autopsy was performed today and the medical examiner saw no signs of either external or internal injury.  The coroner did find evidence of hardening of the arteries and believes that Mays probably died from heart failure.

No word yet on what will happen with the upcoming second season of TLC’s Pitchmen that Billy co-starred in with his best friend and fellow TV sales dude Anthony Sullivan.

Okay. I’ve had enough now.

Billy Mays, the TV pitchman whose trademark voice helped sell everything from cleaning supplies to baking soda, was found dead this morning by his wife at his Tampa home. No cause of death has been reported and no foul play is suspected, according to Tampa police.

Mays, 50, was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. at a Bowen Daniel Drive condo. His wife, Deborah Mays, found him unresponsive this morning. The Medical Examiner’s Office will complete Mays’ autopsy by tomorrow afternoon.

No other information is currently available.

Perhaps ironically, Mays escaped mortal peril yesterday afternoon when the U.S. Airways flight he was on blew out a tire on its landing gear. The plane managed to land safely, and Mays escaped harm, only to be found by his wife early this morning.

Mays was a TV staple, pitching products such as Oxiclean, Orange Clean, and Kaboom, and starring in a reality TV show on the Discovery Channel called Pitchmen, which followed Mays and another infomercial svengali, Anthony Sullivan. His booming voice and very manly beard will be missed. Thoughts and prayers for the family.