# Keyboard Cat > Keyboard Cat is a viral video meme featuring orange tabby Fatso appearing to play keyboard in a blue shirt, filmed in 1984 and popularized in 2009 as Brad O'Farrell's mashup format pairing clips with fail videos as comedic send-offs. Keyboard Cat is a viral video meme featuring an orange tabby cat named Fatso, filmed in 1984 by performance artist Charlie Schmidt, appearing to play an electronic keyboard while wearing a blue shirt. The clip sat dormant for over two decades before being uploaded to YouTube in 2007 and exploding into one of the internet's most recognizable memes in 2009, when Brad O'Farrell created the "Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat" mashup format that paired the footage with fail videos as a comedic send-off. ## Origin Charlie Schmidt, a performance artist based in Spokane, Washington, recorded the original footage in 1984 on VHS[4]. He dressed his cat Fatso in an infant's blue T-shirt belonging to his son Cody, then moved the cat's paws to simulate keyboard playing while staying hidden beneath the shirt[3]. Schmidt later told The Washington Post he "wasn't aiming for anything except relieving my boredom" during a period when he had "no work, or money, or anything"[7]. He composed the backing track himself "in about 2 minutes to have a track for fatty to play out"[6]. Fatso died in 1987, and the VHS tape sat in storage for twenty years[4]. In June 2007, Schmidt digitized the footage and uploaded it to YouTube under the title "charlie schmidt's 'cool cat'"[3]. The video attracted modest attention, collecting around 325,000 views over the next two years[10]. The meme was born on February 2, 2009, when Brad O'Farrell, the syndication manager at My Damn Channel, created a mashup video pairing the Keyboard Cat footage with a clip of a person in a wheelchair falling off an escalator[4]. O'Farrell had gotten Schmidt's permission to use the footage and titled his creation "Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat"[10]. He also convinced Schmidt to let anyone use the footage freely, a decision that proved crucial for the meme's spread[4]. Using his connections with YouTube editors, O'Farrell got the video featured on YouTube's front page[10]. - **Platform:** YouTube (upload), YouTube (viral mashup format) - **Creator:** Charlie Schmidt (filmmaker, cat owner), Brad O'Farrell (meme format creator) - **Date:** 1984 (filmed), 2007 (uploaded), 2009 (viral) ## Overview The Keyboard Cat meme centers on footage of an orange tabby cat dressed in a small blue shirt, sitting upright at an electronic keyboard and appearing to play a cheerful, upbeat tune. The illusion was created by Schmidt manipulating the cat's paws from off-camera, with the shirt concealing his hands[4]. The catchy melody was an original composition Schmidt put together quickly on an Ensoniq Mirage sampling keyboard[6]. The meme's defining format, "Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat," involves appending the Keyboard Cat clip to the end of a fail video or embarrassing moment, as if the cat is musically escorting the person offstage after their blunder. The concept draws directly from the vaudeville tradition of "giving someone the hook" to remove a bad performer from the stage[3]. ## How It Spread The response was immediate. "Within three days, my YouTube channel went absolutely bonkers," O'Farrell told Mashable. "It was doing 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 hits a day. I was counting on not getting that many in my whole life"[7]. Viewers quickly created their own mashups, attaching the Keyboard Cat footage to the best fail videos on YouTube[3]. On April 6, 2009, Schmidt launched PlayHimOffKeyboardCat.com as a hub for the growing collection of videos[3]. BuzzFeed and Urlesque featured the meme on April 10, 2009, with Urlesque being the first outlet to explicitly call it a meme[1]. The meme hit mainstream velocity in May 2009. On May 5, Ashton Kutcher tweeted a link to a mashup to his one million followers, calling it his favorite video[3]. CNN ran a segment on Keyboard Cat, and coverage followed in The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, and MSNBC[10]. On May 18, 2009, the Keyboard Cat song was featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart during a toss with Stephen Colbert[4]. By that point, at least 200 mashup videos had been created[4]. ## How to Use The classic Keyboard Cat format follows a simple structure: 1. Find or create a video of someone failing, making a mistake, or doing something embarrassing 2. Append the Keyboard Cat footage to the end, so it appears the cat is "playing them off" after their blunder 3. Title it some variation of "Play Him/Her Off, Keyboard Cat" ## Cultural Impact Keyboard Cat ranked No. 2 on Current TV's list of 50 Greatest Viral Videos[4]. The meme crossed into mainstream media through segments on CNN, The Daily Show, and coverage in the Associated Press, The Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times[10]. The commercial crossover was significant. Bento's Wonderful Pistachios ad during the 2010 World Series brought Keyboard Cat to a television audience of millions[2]. Video games incorporated the meme as well. An Easter egg in the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm announcement featured the game's villain Deathwing at a keyboard with the text "Keyboard Cataclysm: Play 'em Off, Deathwing," and Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Conviction teaser parodied the format with "Play Him Off, Keyboard Sam"[4]. The Earthworm Jim Xbox Live Arcade remake included Keyboard Cat-related bonus content[4]. Merchandise expanded the brand beyond digital media, with paintings, T-shirts, Halloween costumes, and the battery-operated toy doll[3]. O'Farrell himself dressed as Keyboard Cat for Halloween in 2009[3]. A wide range of fan art also emerged across the internet[3]. ## Fun Facts - Schmidt composed the original keyboard track in roughly two minutes, never expecting anyone else to hear it[6]. - The blue shirt Fatso wore was actually a baby's T-shirt belonging to Schmidt's son Cody[3]. - O'Farrell's first Keyboard Cat mashup earned about $500 in ad revenue, his highest-grossing video at the time[10]. - The keyboard in the original 1984 footage was an Ensoniq Mirage, a sampling keyboard that was cutting-edge technology at the time[4]. - There have been four cats associated with the Keyboard Cat legacy: Fatso (1978-1987), Bento (2008-2018), Skinny (adopted 2009, debuted 2019), and Arlo (introduced 2023)[7]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Keyboard Cat? Keyboard Cat is a viral video meme featuring an orange tabby cat named Fatso appearing to play an electronic keyboard while wearing a blue shirt, filmed by Charlie Schmidt in 1984 and uploaded to YouTube in 2007[4]. ### Where did Keyboard Cat come from? The footage was recorded in Spokane, Washington in 1984 by performance artist Charlie Schmidt, uploaded to YouTube in June 2007, and turned into a meme format by Brad O'Farrell in February 2009[3]. ### What does Keyboard Cat mean? In its meme format, Keyboard Cat is used to "play someone off" after a failure or embarrassing moment, borrowing from the vaudeville tradition of removing bad performers from the stage[4]. ### How do you use Keyboard Cat? The classic usage involves appending the Keyboard Cat clip to the end of a fail video, as if the cat is musically escorting the person offstage. It's also widely used as a reaction GIF in response to blunders[10]. ### Is Keyboard Cat still popular? The meme peaked in 2009-2010 but the original video had amassed over 81 million views by September 2025[4]. New Keyboard Cat content was still being produced as of 2023 with the introduction of Arlo[7]. ### Who was the original Keyboard Cat? The original cat was named Fatso, an orange tabby who lived from 1978 to 1987. He was filmed in 1984 but didn't achieve fame until decades after his death[4]. ### Who created the "Play Him Off" format? Brad O'Farrell, the syndication manager of My Damn Channel, created the mashup format in February 2009 with Schmidt's permission[10]. ### How many Keyboard Cats have there been? Four cats have been associated with the brand: Fatso (the original), Bento (2010-2018), Skinny (debuted 2019), and Arlo (introduced 2023)[7]. ### What happened to Bento the Keyboard Cat? Bento died on March 8, 2018, at the age of nine. His death was covered by multiple media outlets and received tributes across social media[8]. ### Did Keyboard Cat make money? Yes. Bento starred in a Wonderful Pistachios commercial during the 2010 World Series, and the team earned around $145,000 from that deal alone. Schmidt also pursued legal action when Keyboard Cat appeared in Scribblenauts without authorization[7]. ### What keyboard was in the original video? Fatso "played" an Ensoniq Mirage sampling keyboard, and the backing track was an original composition by Schmidt[4]. ### Did Ashton Kutcher help make Keyboard Cat famous? On May 5, 2009, Kutcher tweeted a Keyboard Cat mashup to his one million followers, calling it his favorite video, which brought major attention to the meme during its peak growth period[3]. ## References 1. [Play Him Off Keyboard Cat]() 2. [Latest Videos | CNN]() 3. [Bento, Keyboard Cat and internet hero, has died aged 9 | Mashable]() 4. [Keyboard Cat - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Keyboard Cat]() 6. [Keyboard Cat - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Vaudeville]() 8. [The 10 best cats on the internet | Internet | The Guardian]() 9. [Keyboard Cat | Meme Reference]() 10. [The Enduring Legacy of Keyboard Cat: A Cultural Phenomenon - thedigitalweekly.com]() 11. [How Did Keyboard Cat Become Famous (And What Happened To Him)?]() 12. [How Keyboard Cat Died: Meme History & Verification]() 13. [The Origin Story of the Famous Keyboard Cat Meme]() 14. [Keyboard Cat, an internet sensation and local celebrity, dies]() 15. [Vaudeville Hook - TV Tropes]() 16. [R.I.P. Bento, the Keyboard Cat]() 17. [Social Status: The guy who spread Keyboard Cat fever - Los Angeles Times]() 18. [Internet review: Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat | Internet | The Guardian]() 19. [Bento, Keyboard Cat and internet hero, has died aged 9 | Mashable]() 20. [Latest Videos | CNN]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/keyboard-cat Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library