Former Holmdel resident Tina Gonzalez will be back in town with her social media-famous Oriental Shorthair cat Dexter, known online as “Evil Larry,” at the Catsbury Park Cat Convention at Bell Works in a sold-out meet-and-greet. COURTESY BRIAN O’BRIEN
By Mary Ann Bourbeau
HOLMDEL – Something evil is coming, and it’s in the form of a black cat named Dexter. Or, as his legions of fans around the world know him, “Evil Larry.”
Nine-year-old Dexter, who has prominent fangs and an unintentionally (hopefully) menacing expression, is one of several Oriental Shorthair cats owned by former Holmdel resident Tina Gonzalez. Over the past few years, as a 2018 article in The Two River Times noted, her cats have been propelled to celebrity status. Teddy made an unusual honking noise; Stache, whose mustache and supposed resemblance to actor Adam Driver turned him into a popular meme. Now Dexter has reached superstar status as his alter ego, Evil Larry, has gone global.
The whole thing started in 2013 when Gonzalez, now of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, shared a few photos of her Oriental Shorthair cats online. She had maybe 100 followers at the time, but the posts slowly gained traction, especially when Stache was featured on Reddit’s front page. Her felines eventually garnered millions of views on social media and became internet sensations, rivaling celebrity felines Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub.
“I did not name him Evil Larry, and I had nothing to do with the creation of Evil Larry,” Gonzalez said. “Someone took a blurry photo of Dexter from my Instagram page in 2020 and gave him that name. Now he’s off the charts in terms of his recognition. Evil Larry was created by the people, for the people. His fans took the character and created stories, jokes and even music about him. Evil Larry is his stage name, but at home, he’s still Dexter.”
Gonzalez went all in with the idea, helping propel Evil Larry to 3.3 million followers. His most famous picture – a blurry one at that – is the one that started it all and now has 2.5 billion hits, according to Gonzalez. Evil Larry can be seen in photos and videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, and has a worldwide fan following, especially in India and South America. He even has celebrity followers such as Sean Lennon, Valerie Bertinelli and Drea DeMatteo, according to Gonzalez.
“What’s so hilarious is that in the first photo, he looks like a lunatic,” Gonzalez said. “Dexter has crazy expressions. He’s got a great personality and he’s very funny in front of the camera. He has an ebony coat and extreme features. At night his pupils look even crazier.”
Evil Larry’s star is expected to rise even further this month when the pop culture store Hot Topic begins to sell clothing, charms and a plushie bearing his image. And a mobile video game, Evil Larry Escape, will be released Sept. 24. Gonzalez spent months working with developers on the game in which players try to outrun Larry and his evil ways, collecting coins and scoring points along the way. The game will be available for free in the App Store and on Google Play.
There are lots of surprises in the game,” said Gonzalez. “Larry is always lurking.”
Evil Larry has also been “adopted” as a mascot of sorts by the hard rock/ alternative metal band Violent Vira, with a limited edition set of charms featuring both Vira and Larry. Violent Vira will be opening for Babymetal and Halestorm at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel Sept. 9, and lots of Evil Larry fans will surely be in attendance.
“Vira absolutely loves Larry,” Gonzalez said. “People at her concerts love him, too. They even bring signs with his image.”
The real Evil Larry, aka Dexter, will host his first meet-and-greet at the Catsbury Park Cat Convention, which takes place Oct. 10 and 11 at Bell Works in Holmdel. Tickets to meet Larry and get a personal photo with him quickly sold out, according to Gonzalez, but Evil Larry merchandise will be available for sale.
“Catsbury Park is the equivalent of Comic-Con for cats,” she said. “Larry has a cult following. It’s like meeting a famous person. It’s fun seeing how people react to him. They send me funny videos and artwork that they create with his image. That’s the most satisfying part. I can share my cat with the world since he was crowned Evil Larry.”
Evil Larry merchandise, including shirts, stickers, hats, pins, posters, mugs,charms and magnets, is available for sale at tufcat. com. For more information about Gonzalez’s cats, which also include Rikki, Bindi and Duncan, follow @hobbikats on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
This article originally appeared in the September 3-10, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
