Comparisons between Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon are inevitable: they were major celebrities for decades and all died with a few days of each other.

Comparing the above to Billy Mays, the king of infomercials with a booming voice and the boundless energy to hawk everything from OxiClean to energy pills, is more of a stretch. Still, you know people are going to do it. Why? Because he was famous too, in a way. And because, like Michael Jackson, he was 50 years old and died before his time.

But the big difference is how the deaths will be treated. When Mays was found dead Sunday at his home in Tampa, Florida, the cause was not apparent -- and the family is justifiably keeping any details fairly quiet.

How ironic is it that Mays, whose unabashed hucksterism was developed during his years pitching products on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, would be the one treated with the most dignity upon his passing?

Or maybe it's not ironic at all -- it's just a reflection of what Americans care about: scandal, sadness, tragedy and suffering. Either way, let's take a moment to commemorate the well-honed skills of another American legend: