Recently, I came across an article about Tiny Tim, the ukulele
player and singer from the 1970’s. Some
of you younger readers may not know him, but any of the “Boomers” that watched
Laugh In or the Johnny Carson Show will remember how outrageous he was.
He was a performance artist before anyone knew what that
was. He had long stringy hair and
pancake makeup and looked like something out of a horror film. He sang old 1920’s tunes in a falsetto voice
and would blow kisses during the applause.
He was a real fruitcake.
The funny thing about his act is you did not know if he
was faking it or serious. It was a
little embarrassing or awkward to laugh at him.
One of the highest rated TV shows of that era was Tiny Tim’s wedding to
Miss Vicki on the Johnny Carson Show.
Tiny Tim became a regular on the show.
Tiny Tim’s popularity crested at the end of the 1970’s and
had a short revival in the 1980’s. but he finally lost his moment of fame. He still loved performing and would show up
in the most unusual places. In June of 1996,
Melissa and I travelled to the Bahamas on a day cruise. The cruise boat was very small and resembled
more a ferry boat that a cruise liner.
We enjoyed the ride and when we went into the tiny lounge,
we were surprised to find Tiny Tim was performing. The lounge was also tiny so we were sitting
just a few feet away from the stage. It
was awkward at first because we didn’t want to openly laugh at Tiny Tim, but it
was so hilarious. He looked old and
tired. It was kind of sad.
Later that year while performing at a ukulele festival in
Montague, Massachusetts, Tiny Tim suffered a heart attack right as he started
singing “Tiptoe through the Tulips.” He
later died in the hospital on September 28, 1996. He was buried with his ukulele. He was survived by his third wife and daughter from his
first marriage. She was appropriately
named “Tulip.”
I wish I had gotten an autograph or at least shook his hand. Rest in Peace Tiny Tim!
