Keenan Cahill- The Fame Boy

Keenan Cahill is who is on everybody’s lips these days. The videos of the YouTube phenomenon Keenan Cahill, also known as “the strange kid” (on the first videos which was posted on YouTube), singing/lip-syncing everything from Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” which Katy Perry herself tweeted about as it reached her Cahill has Maroteaux–Lamy syndrome, which in his case and some other cases result in individuals developing an appearance much like that of people suffering from dwarfism (Cahill is 4' 2" tall), including thickening of the Dura (the membrane that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord), shortened trunk, crouched stance, and restricted joint movement, and enlarged hands. To many, he appears to be developmentally disabled, but this is not true. The misconception stems from the disproportion of his small body. Many with Maroteux-Lamy also have umbilical hernia or inguinal hernias. Diagnosed at the age of one, Cahill was treated with a bone marrow transplant in 1997 to slow down the progression of the disease, and he has had multiple surgeries, including surgery to relieve intracranial pressure. . "I started three years ago, when I got my Mac with a webcam in it," Cahill, who is a sophomore in high school, told ABCNews.com. "I did it to put myself out there and to see what would happen and where it would go."And where it has gone is viral. Cahill's YouTube channel boasts nearly 200,000 subscribers and has been viewed tens of millions of times. The teen has even appeared on E!'s program "Chelsea Lately" and his taping of 50 Cent's new song "Down on Me" featured a cameo of none other than the famed rapper himself. “It was a total surprise," said Cahill of 50 Cent's drop-in. "Now this is what I'm known for."

The latest video (posted on the 8^th of November 2010) was shown in parts (45 seconds) on E!'s late-night half-hour sensation Chelsea Lately, and after this appearance the YouTube video saw a spike in views, rising from 9000 to an incredible 3.2 million views within two days. Keenan Himself does a four minute interview with Chelsea, and he comes off as a charming, self-confident youngster, well worth all the attention which he is currently seeing. At one point he evens calls the programme host Chelsea Handler, a cougar and hands her his phone number; open season Keenan, open season! This disorder, which affects one in 25,000 people, has no known cure. Keenan suffered from a very rare disorder those with the disorder usually stop growing at about age 8 and are characterized by a shortened trunk and restricted movement. Still he never allowed his disease to dominate his life and hence he chose a path which few people ever think of getting into after suffering all this.He rose to fame with a series of hugely entertaining self-produced videos of himself lip-syncing the hottest top 40 hits.