Convincing you to pick up your credit card and order junk that you absolutely don't need is an art mastered by TV pitchmen. That's why when scandals hit, these professional hucksters get thrown to the wolves faster than their products end up in Walmart bargain bins. Here's a list of some of TV's most recognizable salespeople whose limited-time careers have already expired.
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#1 TV Pitchmen Who Were Caught And Shamed In Scandals
They're charismatic, energetic, and, most importantly, trustworthy. Whether they're convincing you that their book can cure cancer, or that eating sandwiches is a fantastic diet, the company behind those smiling faces has a ton invested in the public perception of their spokespeople. But so many television spokespeople have gone totally off the rails. And when they do, their products or campaigns go Ka-Boom, and their limited-time careers have already expired.
#2 VINCE OFFER - THE SHAMWOW SALESMAN
He was pushing the Sham Wow as fast as possible. The commercials played on a continuous loop. This loud, tall, geeky man wearing headphones and telling us that we needed a cloth to soak up our spills and messes. America bought it big time! He then went on to produce other items and do infomercials for those as well, becoming king of the infomercial for over 4 years. Then he got into an altercation with a prostitute in Miami. The details of the incident were sketchy, and neither Vince or his lady friend ended up being prosecuted, but nobody was buying what he was selling after that. He tried making a comeback on TV selling a lint roller, but nobody was buying sticky tape on a roller. His reign was over.
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#3 BILLY MAYS - THE OXICLEAN OFFERER
This guy was so smooth he could sell oxiclean to the Amish. Billy Mays, the Sharpie-bearded king of all pitchmen, sold somewhere around 80 bajillion tons of the stuff. He didn't stop there, selling other cleaning supplies and plenty more infomercial-y products like "Engrave-it: A tool to engrave your name on any metal surface," because who hasn't needed one of those in a pinch? Mays was at at the height of his career when he unexpectedly died at the age of 50 from complications related to heart disease. The toxicology report suggested that cocaine played a role in his death. His position was filled by another spokesman from Australia, but Billy Mays was the original face of Oxy.
#4 JARED FOGLE - THE SUBWAY SLEEZEBALL
Child porn and allegations of pedophilia made Jared Fogle plead guilty to all charges, and cost him his gig as the Subway spokesperson. A position he held since 2003, when he dropped over 100 pounds eating just a sub for lunch. When the FBI investigation became public, starting with a raid on Jared's house, Subway started removing all photos and references to Jared from their stores weeks before his actual plea. That basically marked the beginning of the end for the guy who overcame obesity and became a beloved symbol of hope for many, and cause Subway's sales to drop drastically.
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#5 YOUREE DELL HARRIS - THE MISFORTUNATE MISS CLEO
Millions of believers called Miss Cleo for advice. Miss Cleo's accent was about as believable as her Tarot readings. By trade, Miss Cleo is an actress and spokeswoman who's real name is Youree Dell Harris, which admittedly doesn't have a very mystical ring to it. Then again, had she used it, we doubt it would have swayed any of her gullible callers as to the authenticity of her psychic abilities. Inexplicably, the Miss Cleo schtick lasted three years before an FTC lawsuit. She got hired by General Mills later on but they sued saying her portrayal of a psychic was an infringement. During her reign, the company, Access Resource Services, Inc. and Psychic Readers Network, Inc., collected a half billion dollars in charges they racked up on callers' phone bills. Access later tried to revive the practice with spokesperson Dionne Warwick, but once again was sued in Federal courts and was forced to shut down. If only Miss Cleo could have predicted this...
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#6 BEN CURTIS - THE DELL DUDE
After making over 20 commercials for Dell Computers, in which he uttered his famous, "Dude, you're getting a Dell" line, actor Ben Curtis was caught in Lower Manhattan, wearing a kilt, attempting to buy marijuana from a dealer who was being tailed by an undercover cop. It was a shock to absolutely no one, but Dell fired him immediately due to their zero tolerance drug-use policy for employees. His hiring was a fluke as he was spotted on the streets of NY when the ad agency was looking for a "slacker" type guy to be in one commercial. His popularity led to 19 more, and his popularity and fame made him feel 10 feet tall and bullet proof. Dell ditched him faster than Gateway put that cow out to pasture.
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#7 KEVIN TRUDEAU - THE MIRACLE SOLUTION MAN
You may remember his They Don't Want You To Know About books that covered everything from natural cures to weight loss to financial planning. Before becoming the answer to everyone's problems, Trudeau actually served time in federal prison for larceny and credit card fraud. With outlandish claims like his supposed body-pH-related cancer cure, and hormone treatments, it would seem Trudeau went right back to his scamming days. The SEC, FTC, and the New York Consumer Protection Board all agree with that characterization, as they've all successfully sued Trudeau, levying him with millions of dollars in fines and barred him from appearing in infomercials related to the weight-loss books. After not paying any of his fines and missing court dates, he was finally jailed in 2014, and the judge ordered he never appear in any TV ads again.
