Ryan McHenry, creator of Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal meme, dies at 27
Sunnie Huang | CBC News | Posted: May 5, 2015 2:41 PM | Last Updated: May 5, 2015
Canadian actor pays tribute to Glasgow filmmaker who died of cancer
Canadian heartthrob and internet darling Ryan Gosling paid tribute this week to the creator of the viral Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal videos, who died of cancer.
Ryan McHenry, a filmmaker from Glasgow, kicked off the ingenious meme by juxtaposing a spoonful of cereal with a video clip of Gosling, who appears to reject the breakfast staple.
McHenry then went on to make dozens of similar six-second videos on Vine, growing a loyal fanbase on the social media site that now boasts more than 240,000 followers.
In July 2013, shortly after he shot to internet fame, McHenry announced on Twitter that he was diagnosed with cancer. He died on Sunday at the age of 27.
The Canadian actor who inadvertently participated in McHenry's creative project sent out his condolences on Monday.
Gosling, who previously stated that he actually loves cereal, also posted a Vine clip of him eating a bowl of cereal as a tribute to McHenry. The six-second clip has since received more than 12 million "loops" as of Tuesday morning.
Hundreds of McHenry's fans had contributed to a crowdfunding campaign that tried to help with his medical bills and his first feature film, Zombie Musical. They also started a #WeLoveRyan hashtag campaign to show their support.
Meanwhile, McHenry had been publicly documenting the ups and downs in his life since his cancer diagnosis — on the same Vine account that's the home to one of the first viral Vine memes on the internet.
A tweet posted to McHenry's Twitter page Monday asks fans to keep his memory alive by raising money for cancer research.