American singer, music archivist, and multi-instrumentalist Herbert Buckingham Khaury, better known by his stage as Tiny Tim, was born in the United States (particularly known for playing the ukulele). This former performer is best known for his cover versions of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” which later became his signature song, as well as “Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight.” He also had a striking appearance, shoulder-length dark curly hair, and a distinctive high-pitched falsetto voice. He started his musical adventure by learning to play various instruments, and over time, he discovered his singing voice. He was a school dropout who worked at a number of odd jobs before joining a local talent show. He adopted many stage names and performed at amateur dance club evenings before moving on to the gay and lesbian bar Page 3 in Greenwich Village. After making an appearance in the movie “You Are What You Eat,” he gained fame on the American sketch comedy TV program “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” He had throughout the years published various albums, starting with his initial one, “Heaven Bless Tiny Tim,” among which “For All My Little Friends,” a collection of children’s songs, received a Grammy nomination.
Early Childhood & Life
He was born on April 12, 1932, to Butros Hanna Khaury and Tillie (née Staff) in Manhattan, New York City, USA. His father was a Maronite Christian priest and a textile worker from Beirut, Lebanon. His mother Tillie (née Staff), a garment worker, emigrated to the United States from Brest-Litovsk in 1914.
His father originally gave the five-year-old son a vintage wind-up gramophone and a 78 RPM record of Henry Burr’s “Beautiful Ohio” because his musical skill was quite evident even as a young child. At age six, he started learning the guitar, and at age eleven, he started practicing the violin. He eventually picked up the mandolin and the ukulele, with the latter evolving into his hallmark instrument. He would wow his parents at home by showcasing his early abilities with panache.
He would study the Bible and sing along to the songs being played on the radio in 1945 as he recovered from an appendix operation. He struggled academically and, after repeating his sophomore year, left high school.
He began to get interested in recordings, particularly those from the 1900s to the 1930s.
In his spare time, he would travel to the New York Public Library to read up on the phonograph industry’s history and its founding artists. Throughout time, he developed a lifelong interest in investigating sheet music, and he frequently made photographic reproductions for home study.
Tiny Tim’s Career
Somewhere in the early 1950s, he was hired as a messenger at the MGM Studios in New York, which only fueled his passion for the entertainment industry. He performed at a talent event, belting out “You Are My Sunshine” in a falsetto that he had just recently discovered he could use to sing along to the radio.
He soon began performing at amateur dance club nights under various identities, including Emmett Swink and Vernon Castle. Tim made an effort to stand out from the other performers by dressing outrageously, sporting shoulder-length hair (inspired by a poster of the long-haired Italian actor Rudolph Valentino), and donning pasty white makeup.
Tim’s mother got concerned after noticing this change in his appearance and wanted to take him to a psychiatrist at Bellvue Hospital, but his father prevented this from happening. He performed in Times Square, New York City, in 1959 under the alias “Larry Love, the Singing Canary” at Hubert’s Museum and Live Flea Circus. He obtained a contract with a manager there, which allowed him to go to auditions all throughout Greenwich Village.
While there, he gave free amateur performances and sang the song “Tiptoe Through The Tulips” in a falsetto. He also played the ukulele. Over time, he would make “Tiptoe Through The Tulips” become his hallmark song, which he would continue to sing throughout his career.
In 1963, he began performing for 6 hours per night, 6 nights per week, at $96 per month, in a homosexual and lesbian bar called Page 3 in Greenwich Village. He performed for a few years under the names Sir Timothy Timms and Dary Dover before his manager George King decided to use the stage name, Tiny Tim.
Tim had an appearance in the American sketch comedy TV show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” after roles in the films “Normal Love” (1963) and “You Are What You Eat” (1968). He continued to appear as a frequent guest star on the program in 1968–1970 and 1971–1972 and took part in the celebration of the program’s 100th episode.
God Bless Tiny Tim, his debut album, was released in April 1968 on the Reprise label. It had 15 songs, including an orchestrated rendition of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” which became popular and peaked at #17 on the charts that year. Later, his performance of the song played a significant role in the critically acclaimed supernatural horror hit movie “Insidious” 2010.
Tiny Tim’s 2nd Album (1968), Tiny Tim: The Eternal Troubadour (1986), “Rock” (1993), “I Love Me” (1993), and “Girl” are just a few of the albums he has produced over the years (1996). He received a Grammy Award nomination for one of his albums, a collection of children’s songs titled “For All My Little Friends,” which was released by Reprise Records in 1969.
As his contract with Reprise Records expired, he also established his own record company, “Vic Tim Recordings.” Even though this charismatic performer’s popularity waned after a while, he kept on touring almost to the end.
Tiny Tim Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2000) and I’ve Never Seen a Straight Banana: Rare Moments Vol. 1 are two posthumous albums by Tim (2009). Tiny Tim, written by Harry Stein in 1976, and Eternal Troubadour: The Improbable Life of Tiny Tim, written by Justin Martell in 2016, are two biographies of the performer.
Tiny’s Individual Life
He got three wives. On December 17, 1969, he wed Victoria Mae Budinger live on the well-known American talk show “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” There were 40 million viewers. However, the marriage ended in divorce in 1977. In 1971, Tulip Victoria Khaury Stewart, his lone child from this union, was born.
Thereafter, from 1984 to 1995, he was married to Jan Alweiss; finally, from 1995 till his passing, he was wed to Susan Marie Gardner. On September 28, 1996, while playing at a ukulele festival at the Montague Grange Hall in Montague, Massachusetts, he had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. Tim carried on despite being told not to perform.
Tim suffered a second heart attack that proved deadly on November 30, 1996, while singing his signature song, “Tip-Toe Through the Tulips,” at a gala benefit given by the Women’s Club of Minneapolis. After being taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center, he was pronounced dead an hour or so later.
The remains of this tireless performer are now interred in a mausoleum in Minneapolis’ Lakewood Cemetery.
Estimated Net Worth
One of the wealthiest and most well-known folk singers is Small. Tiny Tim’s net worth is $5 million, according to our analysis of data from sources like Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
He used his left hand to play the ukulele and his right hand to play the guitar.
He served as the inspiration for the father figure in Australian author Ursula Dubosarsky’s children’s series “The Odd Adventures of Isador Brown,” who has long red hair and plays the ukulele.
He is also addressed in the Roxette song “How Do You Do!” from 1992, “I love your blue-eyed voice like Tiny Tim shines through.”