The Best World’s Grumpiest Cat Tardar Sauce Funny Commercials Ever and Never Any More
Tardar Sauce (April 4, 2012 – May 14, 2019), nicknamed Grumpy Cat, was an American Internet celebrity cat. She was known for her permanently “grumpy” facial appearance, which was caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism. She came to prominence when a photograph of her was posted on September 22, 2012, on social news website Reddit by Bryan Bundesen, the brother of her owner Tabatha Bundesen. Lolcats and parodies created from the photograph by Reddit users became viral. She was the subject of a popular Internet meme in which negative, cynical images are made from photographs of her.
Tardar Sauce was one of a litter of four kittens born to a calico mother and a blue-and-white tabby putative father at the home of her owner, Tabatha Bundesen of Morristown, Arizona. The Bundesens said that Tardar Sauce’s face appeared grumpy because the feline had a form of dwarfism. Though the mother and father were described as “normal sized domestic short hair cats”, Tardar Sauce was undersized and had hind legs that are “a bit different”. Both she and her brother, Pokey, were born with “a flat face, bubble eyes, and a short tail”. Although she had a “grumpy” appearance and was called “Grumpy Cat”, according to the Bundesens, “Ninety-nine percent of the time she is just a regular cat.”
“Meme manager” Ben Lashes represented Grumpy Cat, in addition to Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat. In 2013, Tabatha Bundesen took a leave of absence from her job at Red Lobster to manage Grumpy Cat’s schedule, while her brother Bryan Bundesen manages the Grumpy Cat website, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts.
As of March 25, 2019, Grumpy Cat had 8.3 million total followers on Facebook, 2.4 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million followers on Twitter.
After her debut in 2012, Grumpy Cat made many media appearances, typically accompanied by her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, Tabatha’s brother, Bryan Bundesen, and occasionally Tabatha’s daughter, Chrystal, who is interviewed by the respective hosts of each program. She was also featured in advertising campaigns for Friskies and General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios and made public appearances to promote her own brand.
Grumpy Cat appeared in episodes of the Friskies YouTube game show “Will Kitty Play With It?” In September 2013, it was announced that Grumpy Cat would become the Official Spokescat of Friskies. TMZ reported that for Grumpy Cat’s SXSW Interactive appearance in Austin, Texas, Friskies paid for first-class flights, a private hotel room with a king-sized bed, a personal assistant, a chauffeur, and unlimited Friskies food and bottled water. On March 22, 2013, Grumpy Cat traveled to New York City promoting the show and appeared on Good Morning America and Anderson Live and visited Time for a photoshoot.
On June 11, 2014, it was announced that Lifetime would produce a film starring Grumpy Cat, entitled Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever – https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/gru… film debuted on November 29, 2014. Tim Hill, the film’s director, and Jeff Morris wrote the script, and principal photography took place over the summer. Aubrey Plaza voiced the Grumpy Cat character and was also a producer on the film. On November 6, 2014, Lifetime released a tongue-in-cheek video about the casting and Plaza’s “process” for becoming the voice of Grumpy Cat.
In March 2013, Bryan Bundesen indicated that Grumpy Cat earned them income in the “mid-five figures”, which increased to “low-six-figures” by May 2013. As of August 2018, the Bundesens have not disclosed the Grumpy Cat brand’s net worth, though online speculation estimated it between $1 million and $100 million.
Tardar Sauce died at home in the arms of her “mommy” Tabatha following complications from a urinary tract infection on May 14, 2019. Her death was announced on May 17, 2019, on social media.
