Who was Keenan Cahill, YouTube star dead at 27?

Popular YouTube star Keenan Cahill died Thursday at the age of 27, according to a spokesperson for the family. The news of his death came just days after he posted on social media about having open heart surgery.

Cahill, who had Maroteaux–Lamy syndrome, told his fans about the surgery in a post on December 15. Maroteaux–Lamy syndrome is caused by a recessive gene that results in many tissues and organs to enlarge, become inflamed or scarred, and eventually waste away, according to MedlinePlus. In Cahill’s case, it resulted in developing an appearance much like that of people with dwarfism.

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His manager, David Graham, told TMZ that there were some complications from the procedure and he was put on life support.

On Thursday afternoon, he was taken off life support while at a Chicago hospital. 

Who was Keenan Cahill?

Internet celebrity Keenan Cahill was best known for his lip-synched videos with celebrities on YouTube. He started uploading these videos in 2010 and soon garnered over 500 million views on his channel.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, his first lipsynced YouTube video was on the Katy Perry song Teenage Dream. Guest artists on his channel have included Jennifer Aniston, 50 Cent, Flo Rida, Katy Perry, Tinie Tempah, Maroon 5, Cody Simpson, Jason Derulo, Big Time Rush, Glee, The Wanted, LMFAO, Drake Bell, Justin Bieber, Gym Class Heroes, Xuso Jones, WWE wrestler The Miz, and Pauly D. 

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Cahill released three singles through iTunes: Hands Up featuring ElectroVamp (2012), Closer featuring SHY & DRS (2013), and Back to Us featuring Lovey James (2014).

In March 2011, Cahill performed at a Danish award show, TV 2 Zulu Awards 2011, where he was lip-synching the songs which were nominated for the Hit of the Year award.