Jean Lacroix, Inventor Of The Viral Video Has Died

THE much loved inventor of the viral video has died.

85-year-old french man Jean Lacroix died in his sleep in New York yesterday evening surrounded by friends and family are living a most singular creative life.

Born in Marseille in 1930, Lacroix will be forever remembered for his gift of the viral video which has gone on to inspire countless millions of people.

Now a mainstay in the daily lives of people, the viral video wasn’t always so loved or so ubiquitous, it took years of effort and hard work on the part of Lacroix to popularise the artistic endeavour.

Before the advent of the video cassette, Lacroix made a name for himself on the streets of Paris filming on a Super 8 camera, constantly capturing brief moments in time that resonated with people all over the world.

He then took some of his most popular door to door through Paris insisting people, their friends and family ‘had to watch’ his short seven second films, funny sketches or hilariously moments of people embarrassing themselves in public.

Soon the work become so popular he no longer needed to spread it door to door himself as the public insisted on sharing it themselves. People would project Lacroix’s films onto their walls using a projector before then passing it on the house next door or other friends.

Lacroix first massively popular viral video was of a kitten attempting to play a piano before slipping off its seat in an adorably comical fashion.

“I do not know why it is compelling, but alas it is,” Lacroix said of his early work in an interview with the New Yorker in the early 90s.

Lacroix cemented the status of the viral video when VHS technology made the sharing of his work easier, coupled with the creation of his most arresting work which of course included classics such as ‘man walks straight into lamp post’, ‘man gets knocked the fuck out after calling woman fat’ and ‘horrible racist woman on London Tube’.

In later life Lacroix took up a position in New York at Buzzfeed’s head offices, although it was a relatively secretive role it is believed he was hired as a ‘viral consultant’. Much of the late 2000s were spent in court battling Youtube for royalty payments owed to him, with the rumoured legal bill leaving him close to bankruptcy.

Lacroix is survived by his wife Vivian, two children Jacques and Amelia and by countless videos of cats being cats.