One admirer, Norman Kay, recalled that Tiny Tim's outrageous public persona was a false front belying a quiet, studious personality: "Herb Khaury was the greatest put-on artist in the world. His choice of repertoire and his encyclopedic knowledge of vintage popular music impressed many of the spectators. In the 1960s he was seen regularly near the Harvard University campus as a street performer, singing old Tin Pan Alley tunes. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Tiny Tim developed something of a cult following. ![]() His headstone reads "Khaury/Herbert B/Tiny Tim/1932-1996". He had no official middle name, though some web sites report it to be "Butros", his father's first name, while during his televised wedding his middle name was given as "Buckingham". He was generally regarded as a novelty act, though his records indicate his wide knowledge of American songs. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a distinctive high falsetto/vibrato voice (though his normal singing voice was in a standard male range). Herbert Khaury (ApNovember 30, 1996), better known by the stage name Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. Dare we speculate he simply loved the songs and the singing of them?Īfter the videos (there are dozens online), I've included much of the biographical essay by Wikipedia. He was very famous for a long time, and then faded from view. ![]() ![]() The friendly all-night desk clerk confided, "I don't think he's much like you see on TV. The one or two times I saw him, he was polite and formal. I lived at the Sunset Marquis on Alta Loma, half a block down from Sunset, while I was writing " Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." Tiny Tim was a fellow resident, along with Van Heflin, Roy Scheider, Elaine May, Jackie Gayle and Harold Ramis.
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