| Cory Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 5, 1981 Merced, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Mister Safety, Mr. Safety, SMP |
| Known for | Mr. Safety |
| Notable works | "The Mean Kitty Song" |
| Internet information | |
| Web alias(es) | Mr. Safety of SMP Films, smpfilms, Simple Minded People Films |
| Web hosting service(s) | YouTube |
| Signature phrase | "My videos are a parody of my real life." |
| Website | |
| http://www.youtube.com/user/smpfilms | |
Cory Williams (born August 5, 1981), also known as "Mr. Safety" from SMP Films, is an actor and YouTube personality who lives in Thousand Oaks, California.
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In early October 2007, Williams starred in his first feature film role as the character "Hunter" in the movie Faded Memories, which opened in theaters on November 14, 2008.[1] The first trailer to the movie was released on YouTube, August 3, 2008. This marked the first known instance in which a YouTube user, without an agent, made a direct transition to film acting. Naathan Phan (aka SungHero), who was cast for a featured role in Superbad, was the first known YouTube user to transition with the aid of an agent. Brandon Hardesty was the third YouTube user to transition into feature films for his role in the film Bart Got A Room. Williams also has a cameo in the music video "Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss" by Bloodhound Gang as well as "White People For Peace" by Against Me!.
Williams started streaming online video in March 2005 on Newgrounds. He then developed a following by posting original music tracks to his MySpace profile, leading MySpace to sponsor him on a cross-country tour.[2] In September 2005, Golden Palace Casino sponsored Williams, making him the first video blogger to receive corporate sponsorship.[3] Williams is the creator of SMP Films, which was named after his friends in his home town of Turlock, California. The "SMP" stands for "Simple Minded People".
As of January 1, 2012 Cory Williams is in a relationship with fellow YouTuber, Kathleen (Kate) Elliott, known as Katers17 and Katersoneseven.
Williams has made all of his newer videos available to view and download in 720p HD on Vimeo, another video-sharing website that obtained high-definition capabilities before YouTube added "high quality" and "HD" features.
Williams' video output includes music, sketch comedy and community building. As of January 2, 2012, Williams' YouTube channel, "smpfilms" had acquired over 570,000 subscribers and over 209 million video views. [4] He is also one of the first 30 users to be chosen to for YouTube's revenue sharing "partner" program.[5]
"The Mean Kitty Song" (or "Hey Little Sparta"), based on his cat with the same name, is Williams' most popular video to date. As of January 2, 2012, it has attracted over 60 million views.[6] In one year, it became the top 21 of YouTube's list of all-time favorite videos, top 39 of YouTube's list of all-time most discussed videos, number 1 all-time most discussed Pets & Animals video, and number 4 all-time most viewed Pets & Animals video, and is the No. 1 all-time favorite video in the Pets & Animals section. The video was also aired by CBS' The Early Show and a few other television shows as well.[7]
Cory is regularly on Kate Elliott's daily vlogs. The Cats, Loki and Sparta (often referred to as Pokie and Moo respectively) also make appearances.
On October 9, 2008, he announced that he will no longer be focusing on himself as the only main character of his videos. Instead he will be focusing on directing and promoting lesser known YouTube users with talent.[8] On December 10, 2008, Williams was mentioned on the front page of The New York Times as being one of YouTube's top earners. "Half of the profits come from YouTube’s advertisements, and the other half come from sponsorships and product placements within his videos".[9]
On June 18, 2008, Cory Williams opened a second YouTube channel which concentrated on his cats Sparta and Loki due to popular demand.[10] As of January 2, 2012, Sparta's new YouTube channel obtained over 361,000 subscribers and 209,298,700 video views.
On May 19, 2011, Williams opened a third channel called "DudeLikeHELLA", which features a series of daily vlogs that documents his day to day life, similar to Internet Killed Television, but with added quirks and recurring gags that include car warps and the dropping of the camera. Many of his videos feature his close friend and now girlfriend Kate Elliott, a vlogger and business partner from England who vlogs with the username Katersoneseven on YouTube. It was after appearing on her vlogs that Cory decided to start his own vlogging channel. Other guests who have appeared in his vlogs include his ex-wife Stephanie, his mother, a variety of his friends, and the occasional passer-by.[11] As of January 2, 2012, the channel has over 63,500 subscribers and over 5,030,000 video views.
On June 13, 2011, Cory opened a fourth channel which he called "3DGameReviews". The first (and so far the only) video he released motioned that he would concentrate on 3D videogames which would be different because no "real" reviews on 3D videogames existed at the time. [12] As of January 2, 2012 the channel has obtained over 11,900 subscribers despite having only one video.
In November 2006, Williams became the host of the first national TV show to spawn from video bloggers, called The FIZZ[13] on DirecTV channel 101 in the United States.[3] The show features other popular video bloggers such as thewinekone, boh3m3, TheHill88, Kevin Nalty, Kassem G and many other notable YouTube users. It aired daily on DirecTV channel 101 until the show was canceled in June 2008. This marks the first time in which a YouTube user has transitioned into a television role without the aid of an agent. Williams was also named as one of the "Who's Who on YouTube" by G4TV's Attack of the Show on July 31, 2008 and also made a guest appearance on Tom Green's House Tonight on The Comedy Network in Canada.
Williams has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and MTV Scarred.[2]
Outside of YouTube, Williams works for a viral video project called "I Got Shotgun" (which was created by General Motors) in which he interviews celebrities on the red carpet about their personal opinions on the future of new media.
On September 18, 2008, Williams was featured on The Tyra Show for his music video "The Mean Kitty Song". In the episode titled "YouTube Made Me Famous", Tyra Banks announced that Williams makes a monthly income of $20,000 (US). Williams' response to Tyra's comment about his income was, "The money I make each month isn't from YouTube alone but through sponsorship, consulting, and acting gigs."
On September 17, 2009, Williams was a guest on The Bonnie Hunt Show. This was also the first time his cats Sparta and Loki had been taped for television in front of a live studio audience. The topic focused on Cory's ability to comfort animals in extreme situations which led him to performing "comfort tricks" with Sparta.
Williams is the founder and West Coast American Event Coordinator of the international gathering of YouTube users dubbed "As One".[14] The first "As One" gathering was held in January 2007 in Hollywood, California; Williams's associated video went on to receive over 1.3 million views. The second gathering, held at Pier 39 in San Francisco, California,[15] managed to attract many of YouTube's highest viewed users, YouTube employees,[16] and attention in the mainstream press.[17] Notable YouTubers who attended include Caitlin Hill, Ben Going, Smosh, and Paul Robinett, Yousef Abu-Taleb and Jackson Davis, the actors who play DanielBeast and jonastko in the YouTube series lonelygirl15.[18] Another "As One" gathering was held on July 7, 2007 in New York City and one other gathering also took place on December 1, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.[19]