Fred Figglehorn
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Template:Infobox Internet celebrity
Fred Figglehorn (stylized on his page and on t-shirts as FЯED) is a fictional character who is the primary subject of a channel on the video-sharing website YouTube. The videos are centered around a fictional 6-year-old, Fred Figglehorn, who has a dysfunctional home life and "anger management issues".[1]
The character of Fred is portrayed by Lucas Cruikshank (born August 29, 1993), a teenager from Columbus, Nebraska.[2]
Cruikshank introduced the Fred Figglehorn character in videos on the JKL Productions channel he started on YouTube with his cousins, Jon and Katie. He set up the Fred channel in October 2005. By April 2009, the channel had over 1,000,000 subscribers, making it the first YouTube channel to hit one million subscribers and the most subscribed channel at the time.[3] However, on August 20, 2009, YouTube celebrities Ryan Higa and Sean Fujiyoshi and their channel, Nigahiga, overtook the Fred channel as the most subscribed channel of all time.[4]
The Fred channel has received over 59 million channel views and over 380 million video views since its launch. Cruishank has made numerous television appearances as both himself and Fred. Although Cruikshank voices Fred, the audio is digitally edited to sound higher pitched than Cruikshank's true voice.
Content
Lucas Cruikshank has described the channel as "programming for kids by kids".[2] The Fred channel was established on October 1, 2005 but was launched officially May 1, 2008 and is the fastest-growing channel in YouTube's history. It now has over one million subscribers, with the millionth on April 7, 2009 at around 3:45 pm.
The series is intended as a parody of people who, in Cruikshank's words, "think that everyone is so interested in them." Cruikshank believes that viewers either "automatically love Fred or automatically hate Fred, there is no in between".[5] The character posts his videos to his YouTube channel, even though he is not supposed to be using his mother's video camera, or posting videos, or even having a YouTube account. Fred has a high-pitched "chipmunk" voice — making him sound more like a 6 year old and less like a 16 year old. According to Cruikshank, this effect and the hyperactive appearance of the character are achieved by speeding up the video.[6] The song "Watch How I Do This" by Kev Blaze can often be heard in the videos.
The character lives with his recovering drug-addicted and alcoholic mother, whose voice is heard often in episodes. (Fred usually communicates with all characters off-screen unless it is an animal). But Fred's Mum has been seen in one episode, called "Fred on Halloween". It is implied that Fred has been the victim of child abuse (like being locked in a dog cage for three days), but he frequently speaks of his love for his mother, particularly after she was at rehab. He also has a crush on a girl in his Kindergarten class, named Judy. Judy has a very mean attitude, and is "so mean... yet so attractive." According to "Fred Gets Babysat," Fred's birthday is sometime around late October because in the video at one point he says "My birthday is in like a month" and this video was originally uploaded on September 29. Fred's grandmother is mentioned as briefly caring for Fred while his mother was in rehab, on account of alcoholism and drugs. In almost every episode, Fred sings a song he makes up. When his mother returns, in "Fred's Mom Returns", his grandmother leaves and his mother begins making him do chores such as picking up sticks. It is known that Fred has anger issues. In one episode, however, "Fred: A Star in his own Mind", other characters are seen such as people that work for him and fan girls (although this occurs in a dream sequence). Fred's favorite meal is a TV dinner. However, in one episode Fred's mum takes away his TV dinner privileges. Fred's father was mentioned in the episode "Fred on Father's Day", where we find out that Fred's father, who is supposedly a rock star, is on death row in the state penitentiary. In "Fred Goes Swimming", he thinks he has a letter from his dad, but it turns out to be from the original YouTube channel owner. He also mentions being threatened by the supposed former owner of the original Fred YouTube channel.
Characters
Episodes
"It's Hackin' Christmas With Fred"
It's Hackin' Christmas with Fred is a four track EP released on November 10, 2009. It was co-produced with omovies.[citation needed] The music video for the single "Christmas Cash" was released on YouTube on the same day the EP was released.[1] The album is available online via iTunes.[7]
Sponsorship and appearances
Cruikshank's "Fred" has been sponsored since its inception by the Zipit Wireless Messenger (Z2), which has several cameos in various videos posted to the Fred Channel. Although the collaboration had originally been kept low-key, Fred now has a separate website promoting the Zipit and has starred in television ads for the device on Nickelodeon. Cruikshank has generated in excess of $100,000 from ad revenue and sponsorship, and has hired a licensing firm to market Fred merchandise. He made a cameo appearance as both "Fred" and himself on Nickelodeon's iCarly:"iMeet Fred", which originally aired on Monday, February 16, 2009.[8] Walden Media also hired Cruikshank to promote the film City of Ember, along with the sci-fi novel it was based on, and cameos from the film's star Tim Robbins in Fred episodes and a mock movie trailer.[9] Cruikshank recently launched a website to promote the Fred series and sells Fred t-shirts and other merchandise, the merchandise is also available at Hot Topic, Justice and Five Below stores. Cruikshank also recently appeared on The Tyra Banks Show. In June 2009, Cruikshank confirmed, via his Twitter account, that he is guest starring on an episode of the hit Disney series, Hannah Montana. He mentioned that they have filmed the episode, and that it airs December 6th.[10]
Fred has also appeared on CNN and KTTV in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Category | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Favorite User Generated Video | People's Choice Awards | Nominated[11] |
| 2009 | Other Stuff Web Star | Teen Choice Award | Won |
Other channels
Lucas Cruikshank was originally a part of JKL Productions,[12] a group made by the twins Jon and Katie as well as Lucas. Although Lucas formally left the group, JKL prefers to keep Lucas's "L" in their name. Lucas also deleted all his individual videos when he left JKL Productions, but he can still be seen in a few videos. In January 2009 he set up his own channel, called Lucas, in which he appears as himself.
References
- ^ Stephen Hutcheon, with Tom Burton (2008-06-20). "Fast-talking Fred is the toast of YouTube". Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ a b Andrew Keen. "Andrew Keen on New Media: Kids with cameras lead the way in giving web users their daily Fred". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Text "date-2008-07-28" ignored (help) - ^ Editorial Team (2008-11-13). "BB Suggests: The Best of Web TV". Retrieved 2009-11-16.
- ^ 1,356,784 subscribers for nigahiga vs. 1,356,423 for Fred shortly after 6pm EST, August 20, 2009 And, as of October 27, 2009, Fred was not on the top 100, bumping everyone from 3rd and beyond up a spot. And as of October 30, 2009 he came back.
- ^ Brook, Anderson. "The Teen Behind Fred". CNN. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ Sioux City Journal: Nebraska teen making 'Fred' an Internet star
- ^ "YouTube Sensation Fred Releases Christmas Album and Premieres Music Video - Pynk Celebrity". Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- ^ Albrecht, Chris (November 18, 2008). "'Fred' Cranks Up the YouTube Views and Ad Dollars". Business Week. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ Sanders, Pete (September 18, 2008). "Studios Hope YouTube Tie Sells Movie". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ http://twitter.com/LucasCruikshank/status/5958993843
- ^ http://www.pcavote.com/pca/awards/nominees/index.jsp?year=2009
- ^ YouTube - jklproduction's Channel