Entry updated · Sources & corrections policy
Featured era: 2007
Keyboard Cat
“Play him off, Keyboard Cat.”
- Featured era
- 2007
- Peak era
- 2009
- Company
- Charlie Schmidt
- Category
- Viral Videos
0 people remember this
Log in to leave a flower
On Video
The original Keyboard Cat
Plays from YouTube when you press play. Views, length and date from YouTube, October 2026.
About This Video
- From:
- Keyboard Cat!
- Added:
- June 7, 2007
- Length:
- 0:55
More Videos4 videos
What Was It?
Keyboard Cat is a short video of a cat named Fatso in a blue shirt, apparently playing a cheerful tune on an electric keyboard. Charlie Schmidt filmed it in 1984, moving the cat's paws himself from off camera, and uploaded it to YouTube in 2007.
In 2009 Brad O'Farrell, with Schmidt's permission, added the clip to the end of a blooper video, as if the cat were playing the person off stage like a vaudeville act. "Play him off, Keyboard Cat" became a meme, tacked onto the end of every kind of online failure.
Fatso died around 1999, long before becoming famous, but Schmidt has since adopted other cats who carry on the role.
Things You Probably Forgot
- "Play him off, Keyboard Cat"
- The blue shirt
- Fail videos ending with the same jaunty tune
- That the footage was filmed in 1984
The Story
- 1984 Charlie Schmidt filmed his cat Fatso "playing" a keyboard.
- 2007 Schmidt uploaded the video to YouTube.
- 2009 "Play him off, Keyboard Cat" became a popular meme.
Its Legacy
The original video is still online. The meme lives on as the internet's way of ending an awkward moment, played off by a cat who never knew he was famous.
Memories
Log in to add a comment and share your memory.
Loading comments…