I was surfing YouTube vlogs today (video-blogs) and I stumbled across Geriatric1927, the pseudonym for an English gentleman named Peter Oakley. The number in his screen name isn’t his area code, it’s actually his birth year. Peter Oakley is 79 years old, proving that not all elderly are unable to keep up with the times. Not only is Mr. Oakley one of YouTube’s oldest users, he is also one of the most popular. His first video, in which he introduces himself and states his intention to join the YouTube community, has gotten more than 2.5 million views in less than a year.
What makes Geriatric1927 so… worth watching? He doesn’t have flashy special effects or outrageous antics. Quite the opposite; his videos are grainy and plain. Content-wise, there’s not much to say: Mr. Oakley talks. During his early videos he discusses growing up during World War Two, his conscription and work on radar repair along the British coastline, meeting his wife, and just generally telling his life story. I skipped ahead to some of his later videos and it seems at some point they become increasingly topical and less interconnected. But for me, it’s just exciting to know that among all the other YouTube hype with the smut, the music videos, the homemade soap operas, the Family Guy clips, and world news there is still room for a grandfatherly figure to become famous. Even though it wasn’t his original goal, thousands of people have been positively touched by his life story.
In addition to all the YouTube attention Mr. Oakley has received, he now has his own official website, as well as numerous unofficial fan sites, has been discussed by the BBC, and has even been involved in the making of an exclusive cover for The Who song “My Generation.” The singers are all elderly (part of the generation that The Who referred actually referred to in their song) and the profits are all donated to Age Concern. Pretty wild stuff! It’s things like this that actually gets me excited to be living in the age we do.
While I encourage you to actually look up Geriatric1927 on YouTube, here’s an interview with Mr. Oakley that was broadcast by the BBC:
3 responses so far ↓
1 Carolyn Dower // May 29, 2007 at 7:12 pm
omygosh, as a youth who listened to The Who and considered them my g.. g.. g.. generation, it took me aback to see them described as elderly! Regarding the actual subject of your post; Mr. Oakley seems like a true gentle man. Thanks for introducing me!
2 Colleen // May 29, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Awesome, this makes me feel better about technology today. If people born in 1927 are able to be a part of it without trying to be cool and young, I don’t feel so much like this computer business is just a younger generation thing.
3 George // Jun 10, 2007 at 4:15 am
Wow, that’s something.
I caught a brief glimpse of him in a pseudo-parody video of the YouTube culture, but I didn’t realize he was that popular.
It’s really kindof a cool thing. Someone in my family recorded my great grandmother telling some of her old stories, and I’ve still got a copy of the tape somewhere. How cool is it that some old stories could survive forever (well, on the internet, anyway)? Plus, the annoying stories will get weeded out and you’ll never have to hear about them…
Also, did the link the the BBC vanish?
(George, temporarily from New Zealand!)
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