 When this time of year rolls around, our thoughts
naturally turn to Tiny Tim. No, not the Dickens character; the singer
of the 1960s. Born in 1932 as Herbert Khaury,
he was five when his father brought home a gramophone and records featuring
such artists as Billy Murray,
Irving Kaufman, and Nick Lucas
-- superstars in the first quarter of the 20th century, but who are all
but forgotten today.
Young Herbert was instantly taken with them and their vaudeville songs and performance styles.
He began a long trial of learning the ukulele,
becoming a walking encyclopedia about Tin Pan Alley,
training his voice (which ranged from a high falsetto to a deep
baritone), busking,
and struggling for recognition. He performed under a
number of names (Darry Dover, Larry Love, Judas K. Foxglove) before settling
on "Tiny Tim" (after being booked into a nightclub that specialized
in acts featuring little people).
His big break came when he was featured in the 1968 documentary You Are What You Eat, which focused on such "far out"
locations as L.A.'s Sunset Strip,
San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury,
and New York's East Village.
His unique presence -- the large nose, the long
stringy hair
-- and performance style earned him a slot on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In,
the hottest show on television. He performed his signature tune, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips,"
and became a national sensation as albums and further TV shows
followed.
He reached the peak of his fame on December 17, 1969, when he married Victoria Budinger, (aka
"Miss Vicki") on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show;
a wedding that attracted 40 million viewers. It was all downhill from there,
though. While he was never out of work -- he played Vegas
and circuses,
appeared in movies and on TV, and kept recording (even country and punk songs) -- he became a D-list
celebrity.
In 1996, he suffered a massive heart attack and was warned that performing
could kill him, but trouper that he was, he continued on -- and in one of
those twists of fate, was onstage singing "Tiptoe Through the
Tulips" when he suffered a second fatal heart attack. As his third wife
helped him off stage, she asked if he was all right. Tim replied with his last words,
"No, I'm not," and collapsed.
Tiny Tim is now probably as obscure as his own idols were, but on the
anniversary of the day he was the most-watched man in America, we salute him.
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