Often known as “king for a day”, Tiny Tim–in my personal opinion–is definitely not a singer I’m listening to daily, or someone I would jam to on a car ride home. However, I have much respect and admiration for the man, as I believe he endured a career with strangely unique, weirdly captivating music. Thanks to him, some of his hit songs, especially “Tip Toe Thru the Tulips with Me” have been used for horror movies such as James Wan’s 2010 “Insidious”, the first of four films. Ironically enough, I have absolutely no recollection of how, where, and when I first discovered Tiny Tim. All I remember is admiring his style, as I still do today and always will. Someday, one day, I’ll definitely plan on writing a screenplay of his story.
BIG BUTROS
Born on April 12, 1932 in Manhattan, NY as Herbert Butros Khaury, the “king for a day” was born with an ear for music. Herbert was looked at as introverted and odd. He was often made fun of and bullied by the kids his age for being “too proper”, “too shy”, and a “goody-goody”. He was considered a strange kid, and bizarre with a desperate crave for attention. Even his mother thought he was strange, and wondered about the kind of person he was. When he was three years old, his father introduced him to music. Herbert referenced himself as the dog gazing through the phonograph speaker, as he would spend every night listening and taking in every word of every song he heard. He did this all by himself. On the other hand, Herbert never shared the same relationship with his mother, as his relationship with her was “strange”. She never accepted Herbert’s quirkiness lifestyle, and even thought of him as an odd character. Despite the many harsh opinions from the many people who met him, Herbert persisted. Oddly fixated and utterly inspired by Rudy Valley and his high pitched voice, Herbert created a handful of characters for himself when he would perform. Dressing in brightfully colored costumes, Herbert went through a period of stage names such as: Judas K. Foxglove, Emmett Swink, Vernon Castle, Larry Love, Darry Dover, Sir Timothy Tims, and Texarkana Tex. One of his many managers was a fan of Charles Dickens, who created the character Timothy “Tiny Tim” Cratchit from the 1843 novella titled, “A Christmas Carol”. Some say this was the inspiration for Herbert using the name Tiny Tim, though it is also known that the 6’1” singer called himself Tiny Tim after working with a band of midgets during his time working with the circus. It was 1963 when the name Herbert Butros Khaury was forgotten, and Tiny Tim was born…never to be forgotten.
TINY TIM TIP TOES THRU SHOW BUSINESS
Word quickly spread about Tiny Tim and his unique falsetto voice. Tiny Tim would use his high pitched voice to “break the boredom” during amateur shows where there were other singers performing. During this time, he was inspired by a picture of Rudolph Valentino in “Monsieur Beaucaire” where he posed with long hair and white makeup. After this, Tiny Tim decided to apply makeup to look paler than he already was, and grow his hair–which was something he had done as a gimmick in 1954. However, during this time period, the decisions made by Tiny Tim were the antics of a “crazy person”. His mother, who immigrated to the United States from Belarus, thought he should have an evaluation done on him, as she believed there was something wrong with her son. She wanted to send her son to Bellevue Hospital to see a psychiatrist. However, back then the times were very different. Tiny Tim may have never existed if it wasn’t for Herbert’s father, as he prevented his wife from sending their son to Bellevue Hospital. Shortly after this, in 1959, Tiny Tim found work in Time Square at Hubert’s Museum and Live Flea Circus. After working there for a few years, Tiny Tim gained enough experience and exposure to secure himself a manager, and an audience in different café’s. Tiny Tim took his passion for singing seriously, though some weren’t sure if it was all a joke, as he performed EVERYWHERE. From streets to subways trains, and subway trains to back alleys, Tiny Tim sought for a crowd of people–and when he found them, he performed. During this time, Tiny Tim appeared in a few independent films such as “Normal Love” and “You Are What You Eat”. He also befriended musicians such as Bob Dylan and George Harrison. In 1966, a talent booker for the Merv Griffin show spotted the high-pitched singer in a New York club. The talent booker offered him a spot in the talk show, though when the time came, he was not well received. At this point, it felt like Tiny Tim would never break through…but that wasn’t the case. Soon enough, four words would be recognized by everyone, and, ironically enough, the first two were said by the character who inspired the name Tiny Tim…
GOD BLESS TINY TIM
After spending years establishing himself as a performer, someone finally took a wild chance. In the fall of 1967, Tiny Tim was signed to his first record deal where he moved to Los Angeles, California and recorded his very first album: GOD BLESS TINY TIM. This was a gamble, for not everyone thought Tiny Tim would ever become a success. Producer of the album, Richard Perry, even admitted that the chances of Tiny Tim making a successful and respected album by the public were extremely low, as he knew no one would ever think that would happen. The successful and respected album featured two cover songs: “Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight” by Maurice Chevalier and “Tip Toe Thru the Tulips with Me”, a 1929 song written by Joe Burke and Al Dubin. Both of these songs were prominent songs in the career of the yet-to-be-widely known ukulele player. Tiny Tim treated his career seriously, with pride and passion. He always tried to educate his audience on who wrote the songs he performed. Appearing on a variety of talk shows, Tiny Tim continued to grab the attention of the public. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to him, this would be the height of Tiny Tim’s career.
DEVOTED CHRISTIAN, LONELY STAR
As his fame grew…so did his personal life behind the scenes. One of his managers claims at one point, when he walked up to Tiny Tim’s room, he overheard and caught Tiny Tim moving from chair to chair, pretending to have a dinner party. While he lived a lonely life, Tiny Tim contained a heavy fundamentalist belief in Christianity. This even overlapped with his view on women’s roles in marriages, which he was very outspoken about. Tiny Tim also had a significant interest in younger women. He married his first wife when she was 16, whom he called Miss Vicki, live on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His wedding was the most viewed Carson show of all time with 45 million viewers…until his finale show which had 55 million people tuned in. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted eight years as Tiny Tim believed his wife committed adultery, and Miss Vicki strongly disagreed with his views on marriage. Tiny Tim always considered her as his only true wife because he did not believe in divorce, though she was keen to divorce him, which they eventually did. Though the two divorced, they had a daughter together named Tulip. Tiny Tim was not supportive of his ex-wife and daughter, which resulted in Miss Vicki going on welfare. And so his career continued…lonely and back to the 2nd class lounges such as: baseball parks, motel lounges, bars, and trailer parks. This was the beginning of the end of Tiny Tim’s descending career.
CHASING THE CROWN
It’s rare to see another performer such as Tiny Tim. He didn’t care much about money, or his health. All he cared about was making music and performing for people. In 1984, he joined Allan C. Hill Great American Circus. He even appeared as a clown in a horror film, and in many of his shows towards the end of his career. Tiny Tim attempted to reclaim the king’s crown in many ways, though as he continued his appearance grew…stranger, which says a lot given the fact that he was already viewed that way. He even tried to run for mayor in New York City in 1990, though he was unsuccessful. Never reclaiming the crown, Tiny Tim entered a time of depression where he approached a series of binge eating and binge drinking where he gulped three to four jars of fish, each jar would hold roughly six to eight pieces, as he downed it with beer. When his career was at an all time-low, Howard Stern invited him on his show. It was at this time that people realized Tiny Tim was NOT an act. He returned to Stern’s show a few times until the two argued over using the name “Jesus” disrespectfully. After that, Tiny Tim never returned to Stern’s show. Because of his unhealthy behavior of binge drinking and eating, Tiny Tim was diagnosed with diabetes and warned by doctors NOT to perform. He didn’t listen. He kept chasing the crown.
TIP TOE WITH ME ONE LAST TIME
In 1979, Tiny Tim performed in Massachusetts. After ending his performance of “When the Saints go Marching in”, he transitioned into his #1 hit, “Tip Toe Thru the Tulips with Me”. But before he could even strum his ukulele and sing the first words of the song, Tiny Tim collapsed. He suffered a non-fatal heart attack on stage. Thankfully, the doctors revived him. It was not the end of Tiny Tim. This should’ve been a warning for the 64 year old, but he persisted…only for a month this time. Tiny Tim performed one last time in a women’s club in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he performed–you guessed it–“Tip Toe Thru the Tulips with Me”. After the performance, he clutched his chest and ran off stage. His third wife, Susan Marie Gardner, asked if he was all right and he simply replied, “No.” He was rushed to the hospital where there were numerous, desperate attempts to resuscitate the singer, but none worked. His second heart attack took him away from the world, as he tiptoed away thru the tulips of life. Tiny Tim was pronounced dead in the hospital, as he died on November 30, 1996.
Gone, but certainly not forgotten, Tiny Tim was remembered by many people. In Sydney, Australia, a large Tulip themed mural is dedicated to Tiny Tim in a university student building. A star with his name featured was painted on the outside of Minneapolis Theatre 1st Ave. This was an honor only awarded to prestigious performers who played at the venue. He was buried in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN. The singer was buried with his ukulele on his chest and a dozen tulips right at his side.
As I stated, I admire his music for how unique and different he was. I have a deep respect for people like him who pave a road no one dares march on. But it’s people like him who are the reason those roads are even there. It always starts with one.
As for my top five favorite songs by Tiny Tim, this was quite an easy list as five songs from the singer easily catch my ear all the time. Here they are, starting from five: (5) “Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight” (4) “Daddy, Daddy What is Heaven Like?” (3) “The Other Side” (2) “Welcome to My Dream” (1) “Tip Toe Thru the Tulips with Me”.
Thank you as always for reading, and be sure to tune in for the fifth episode as we’ll finally be heading toward my ALL TIME FAVORITE band! Thank you!
