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Tiny Tim 1932 - 1996

Tiny Tim of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN was born on April 12, 1932 in New York, New York United States to Butros Khaury and Tillie Khaury. He married Victoria Mae Budinger on December 17, 1969 and they later divorced. He had a child Tulip Khaury. Tiny Tim died at age 64 years old on November 30, 1996 in Minneapolis, MN, and was buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Tiny Tim
Herbert Buckingham Khaury
Name
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Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN 55410
Last residence
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April 12, 1932
New York, New York, United States
Birth
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November 30, 1996
Minneapolis, MN
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Updated: July 31, 2024
Biography ID: 25734907 What's this
Tiny Tim Tiny Tim (1932 - 1996)
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Tiny Tim's History: 1932 - 1996

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  • Introduction

    Known as Tiny Tim, he was a singer and musician. He was dearly loved - 700 people attended his funeral. Tiny Tim was born Herbert Buckingham Khaury on April 12th, 1932 in New York City, New York. His mother, Tillie Staff, was a garment worker and the daughter of a rabbi. She had immigrated from Brest-Litovsk, in present-day Poland as a teen in 1914. Herbert's father, Butros Khaury, was a textile worker from Beirut - present-day Lebanon - and was a Maronite Catholic priest. Tiny Tim married three times: first, to Victoria Mae Budinger (Miss Vickie) (m. 1969; div. 1977); then to Jan Alweiss - married in 1984; and annulled in 1995; and last to Susan Marie Gardner- married in 1995 until his death. He had one child from his first marriage: Tulip Khaury. He is best remembered for his cover hits "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" and "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight", which he sang in a high falsetto voice. Herbert displayed musical talent at a very young age. At the age of five, his father gave him a vintage wind-up Gramophone and a 78-RPM record of "Beautiful Ohio" by Henry Burr. He would sit for hours listening to the record. At the age of six, he began teaching himself guitar. By his pre-teen years, he developed a passion for records, specifically those from the 1900s through the 1930s. He began spending most of his free time at the New York Public Library, reading about the history of the phonograph industry and its first recording artists. He would research sheet music, often making photographic copies to take home to learn, a hobby he continued for his entire life. At eleven years of age, Khaury began learning to play the violin, and later picked up the mandolin, and what would be considered his signature instrument, the ukulele, and enjoyed performing at home for his parents. During his recovery from having his appendix removed in 1945, he read the Bible, listened to music on the radio and sang along, and after that rarely left his room, except to go to school, where he was a mediocre student. After repeating his sophomore year of high school, he dropped out entirely, taking a series of menial jobs. In a 1968 interview on The Tonight Show, he described the discovery of his ability to sing in an upper register: "I was listening to the radio and singing along; as I was singing I said 'Gee, it's strange. I can go up high as well.'" In a 1969 interview he said he was listening to Rudy Vallee sing in a falsetto, and "had something of a revelation—I never knew that I had another top register," describing it as a religious experience. By the early 1950s, he had landed a job as a messenger at the New York office of MGM Studios, where he became ever more fascinated with the entertainment industry. He then entered a local talent show and sang "You Are My Sunshine" in his newly discovered falsetto. He started performing at dance club amateur nights under different names. To stand out from the crowd of performers he wore wild clothing and, after seeing an old poster of a long-haired Rudolph Valentino, grew his own hair out to shoulder length, and wore pasty white facial makeup. His mother did not understand Herbert's change in appearance and was intending to take her son, now in his twenties, to see a psychiatrist at Bellevue Hospital, until his father stepped in. In 1959, he dropped all his other stage names, and performed as "Larry Love, the Singing Canary" at Hubert's Museum and Live Flea Circus in New York City's Times Square. While performing there, he signed with a manager who sent him on auditions throughout the Greenwich Village section of New York, where he played the ukulele and sang in his falsetto voice the song which would become his signature, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", and performed unpaid amateur gigs. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote: "I first saw Tiny Tim very early in his career, in Greenwich Village in the winter of 1962–63. There was a convention of college newspaper editors, and a few of us – I remember Jeff Greenfield coming along – went to the Black Pussycat and found ourselves being entertained by a man the likes of whom we'd not seen before. He was already locally popular." In 1963 he landed his first paying gig at Page 3, a gay and lesbian club in Greenwich Village, playing 6 hours a night, 6 nights a week, for $96 per month. He performed for the next two years as "Dary Dover", and after that, "Sir Timothy Timms". After being booked to follow a "midget" (sic) act, his manager, George King, billed the 6'1" (185 cm) Khaury using the ironic stage name "Tiny Tim". Tiny Tim appeared in Jack Smith's Normal Love (1963), as well as the independent feature film You Are What You Eat (1968) in which he sang the Ronettes song "Be My Baby" in his falsetto range; also featured was a rendition of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe", with Tim singing the Cher parts in his falsetto voice, along with Eleanor Barooshian singing Sonny Bono's baritone part. These tracks were recorded with musicians who went on to be in The Band. The "I Got You Babe" performance led to a booking on the Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, an American television comedy-variety show. Co-host Dan Rowan announced that Laugh-In believed in showcasing new talent, and introduced Tiny Tim. The singer entered carrying a shopping bag, pulled his Martin soprano ukulele from it, and sang a medley of "A Tisket A Tasket" and "On The Good Ship Lollipop" as an apparently dumbfounded co-host Dick Martin watched. For his third number on Laugh-In, Tiny Tim entered blowing kisses, preceded by an elaborate procession of the cast and, after a short interview, he sang "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". In 1968, his first album God Bless Tiny Tim was released. It contained an orchestrated version of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", which became a hit after being released as a single. For All My Little Friends (1969) was a collection of children's songs and was nominated for a Grammy Award. On October 7, 1969, Tiny Tim was able to take the ice before a charity hockey event at the hockey shrine Maple Leaf Gardens, with his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs, his favorite pro sports team. Wearing the skates and jersey of future hall of fame member (as a coach), Pat Quinn, Mike Walton and Jim McKenny helped him skate on the ice, his very first time trying to skate. He was quoted as saying "What a thrill! Just being on the ice was great!”. Reacting well to his inability to skate on his own, he said “I was always athletic spiritually, not physically". When Tiny Tim first became well-known to the American public, pundits and journalists debated whether the character being presented was just an orchestrated act or the real thing. "It quickly became clear that he was genuine," however, and that he could probably be best described as "a lonely outcast intoxicated by fame" and "a romantic" always in pursuit of his ideal dream. After his career highlights, Tiny Tim's television appearances dwindled, and his popularity began to wane. He continued to play around the United States, making several lucrative appearances in Las Vegas. John Wayne and Tiny Tim helped celebrate the 100th episode of Laugh-In, in 1971. Herbert Buckingham Khaury died on November 30th, 1996 after giving a performance in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was 64 years old. See Tiny Tim: Obituary.
  • 04/12
    1932

    Birthday

    April 12, 1932
    Birthdate
    New York, New York United States
    Birthplace
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  • Ethnicity & Family History

    Tiny was Caucasian, of Polish heritage on his maternal side (his mother was born in Poland, the daughter of a Rabbi) and of Lebanese heritage on his paternal line. (His father was born in Beirut, Lebanon and was a Maronite Catholic priest.)

  • Nationality & Locations

    Born and raised in New York, New York, Tiny Tim died in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the age of 64. During his musical career, he traveled extensively.

  • Religious Beliefs

    He was Catholic. Although his mother was the daughter of a Rabbi, his father had been a Maronite Catholic priest.

  • Military Service

    "Because Tiny Tim was my friend, I know for a fact that he tried to join the military many times so he could entertain the troops. He would show up wearing make-up and he always wore loud clothes and they would say, "Sorry Tiny Tim, but we are all filled up." " - Amanda S. Stevenson

  • Professional Career

    Singer-Musician- Recording Artist When his recording contract ended with Reprise, he founded his own record label and humorously named it Vic Tim Records, as a pun on the combination of his wife's name with that of his own. He performed with the American alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven in 1986. He played the lead role in the 1987 horror film Blood Harvest, acting the role of Mervo. In the 1990s, he released several albums, including Rock (1993), I Love Me (1993), and Girl (1996). Tiny Tim was published in 1976 by Playboy Press, a biography by Harry Stein. Tiny Tim played the ukulele left-handed (but the guitar right-handed), though he retained the standard string placement. The instruments he played included a vintage Martin, a Favilla, and a Johnston metal resonator. Tiny was a huge fan of Arthur Godfrey and taught himself to play using a method book that came with the Godfrey-endorsed Maccaferri Islander plastic ukulele. In 2000, the Rhino Handmade label released the posthumous Tiny Tim Live at the Royal Albert Hall. This recording had been made in 1968 at the height of Tiny Tim's fame, but Reprise Records never released it. The limited-number CD sold out and was reissued on Rhino's regular label. In 2009, the Collector's Choice label released I've Never Seen a Straight Banana: Rare Moments Vol. 1, produced and recorded by Richard Barone in 1976. The album was a collection of rare recordings of some of Tiny Tim's favorite songs from 1878 through the 1930s, along with some of his own compositions. In 2009, it was reported that Justin Martell was preparing a biography of Tiny Tim, released in 2016 under the title Eternal Troubadour: The Improbable Life of Tiny Tim. Martell is called one of America's "foremost experts" on Tiny Tim; he contributed liner notes to I've Never Seen a Straight Banana and the 2011 Tiny Tim compilation LP Tiny Tim: Lost & Found 1963–1974 (Rare & Unreleased), released on Secret Seven Records. In 2013, a biography of Tiny Tim was released in two editions. Tiny Tim: Tiptoe Through A Lifetime was released July 16, 2013, and is by Lowell Tarling (author) and Martin Sharp (illustrator). Ship To Shore PhonoCo followed up Lost & Found Vol 1 with a Vol 2 featuring Tiny Tim's 1974 live recording of "(Nobody Else Can Love Me Like) My Old Tomato Can" on a limited edition wax cylinder. In 2016, Ship To Shore PhonoCo released Tiny Tim's America, a collection of demos recorded by Tiny Tim in 1974 and finished in 2015 with overdubs overseen by producer Richard Barone and Tiny Tim's cousin Eddie Rabin. The album was subtitled "Rare Moments Vol. 2" and was presented as a spiritual sequel to 2009's I've Never Seen A Straight Banana: Rare Moments Vol 1. His cover of "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight" was featured in the "Help Wanted" segment of the first episode of the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants. His rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" was a main part of the 2011 horror film Insidious and also used as a bass track in "The Amazing Adventures of DJ Yoda" in the mix Tip Toe. In Ursula Dubosarsky's trilogy for children, The Strange Adventures of Isador Brown, the hero Isador's Daddy has long red hair and plays the ukulele, and is, according to the author, based on and inspired by Tiny Tim. He also appeared in WWE in 1993, on a skit with Jerry Lawler on 'King's Court' whilst going under his king gimmick at the time. Lawler smashed Tim's ukulele forcing Tim to cry. Discography God Bless Tiny Tim (Reprise Records, 1968) With Love And Kisses From Tiny Tim: Concert In Fairyland (Bouquet SLP 711) recorded 1962. "Unauthorized" recording. Tiny Tim's 2nd Album (Reprise Records, 1968) The Beatles' 1968 Christmas Record (Lyntone, LYN 1743/4, 1968) For All My Little Friends (Reprise Records, 1969)- This album was nominated for a Grammy Award. Tip Toe To The Gas Pumps / The Hickey (On Your Neck) (Clouds Records, 1979)- 45 rpm single; a-side refers to long gas lines during OPEC oil crisis. Wonderful World Of Romance (Street Of Dreams YPRX 1724) 1980) Recorded at EMI Australia, only 200 pressed, no cover printed. Chameleon (Street of Dreams YPRX 1848, 1980)- Only 1000 copies pressed. Tiny Tim: The Eternal Troubadour (Playback PBL 123441, 1986) Tip-Toe Thru The Tulips/ Resurrection (Bear Family BCD 15409, 1987) Leave Me Satisfied (NLT 1993) 1989 (unreleased country album) The Heart Album (Ca-Song CA 1369), 1991 – (Tiny Tim has six songs on this album) Tiny Tim Rock (Regular Records, 1993) I Love Me (Yucca Tree Records, 1993) Songs of an Impotent Troubadour (Durtro, 1994) Tiny Tim's Christmas Album 1994 (Rounder Records, 1994) Live in Chicago with the New Duncan Imperials (1995, Pravda Records) Prisoner of Love: A Tribute to Russ Columbo (Vinyl Retentive Productions, 1995) Girl (with Brave Combo) (Rounder Records, 1996) Tiny Tim Unplugged (Tomanna 51295, 1996) – Recorded live in Birmingham, Alabama The Eternal Troubadour: Tiny Tim Live in London (Durtro, 1997, recorded in 1995) Tiny Tim Live! At the Royal Albert Hall (Rhino Handmade, 2000, recorded in 1968) Chameleon (Zero Communications TTCH 12061, 2006, CD release) Wonderful World of Romance (Zero Communications, TTWW 12062, 2006, recorded in 1979) Stardust (Zero Communications, TTST 12063, 2006) I've Never Seen a Straight Banana – Rare Moments Vol. 1 (Collectors Choice Music WWCCM 20582)[22] (2009) Tiny Tim: Lost & Found (Rare & Unreleased 1963–1974) (Secret Seven Records, 2011, compilation)[23] Tiny Tim's America (Ship to Shore Phonograph Company, 2016, previously unreleased)

  • Personal Life & Family

    Tiny Tim was married three times, and had one daughter from his first marriage to the then 17-year-old Victoria Budinger – also known as "Miss Vicki" – at the age of 37. [Tiny Tim married Miss Vicki on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on December 17, 1969, with 40 million people watching.] Shortly after their marriage, Miss Vicki discovered she was pregnant, but the child was stillborn five months later. Khaury buried the child with a headstone that read "It". Budinger went on to have a second pregnancy with Khaury a year later, and in 1971, the couple gave birth to daughter Tulip Victoria. Tiny Tim and Victoria Budinger divorced three years later. He married Jan Alweiss ("Miss Jan") in 1984 and their marriage was later annulled. After the annulment, he married Susan Marie Gardner ("Miss Sue") in 1995.
  • 11/30
    1996

    Death

    November 30, 1996
    Death date
    Cardiac event
    Cause of death
    Minneapolis, MN
    Death location
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  • Gravesite & Burial

    mm/dd/yyyy
    Funeral date
    Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN
    Burial location

  • Obituary

    Tiny Tim's tomb at Lakewood Mausoleum On September 28, 1996, Tiny suffered a heart attack just as he began singing at a ukulele festival at the Montague Grange Hall in Montague, Massachusetts (this hall is often confused in accounts of the incident with the nearby Montague Bookmill, at which he had recorded a video interview earlier that same day). He was hospitalized at the nearby Franklin County Medical Center in Greenfield for approximately three weeks before being discharged with strong admonitions not to perform again because of his health, weight, and dietary needs for his diabetic and heart conditions. Nevertheless, he ignored the advice. On November 30, 1996, he was playing at a gala benefit hosted by the Women's Club of Minneapolis. He had let his third wife ("Miss Sue") know before the show that he was not feeling well, but did not want to disappoint the fans. By the end of his performance, most of the audience had left. While performing his last number of the evening, he suffered another heart attack on stage in the middle of a rendition of his hit, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". His wife asked him if he was feeling all right, and he said he was not; she was helping him back to their table when he collapsed and never regained consciousness. EMTs performed on-site CPR and transported him to Hennepin County Medical Center, where, after many revival attempts at the hospital, Tiny Tim was pronounced dead nearly an hour later. His remains are entombed in a mausoleum at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.
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12 Memories, Stories & Photos about Tiny

Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim in my living room. he was a very good entertainer and a very sweet guy. When I was in the hospital in 1967, Tim visited me! I miss him. About 1966.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
I took this photo in my Fort Lee, NJ apartment in 1963. When I was in Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan for 21 days in June of 1967, Tiny Tim came to visit me. He was very kind and generous. I am the only one who has given him a tribute. He was very lovable.
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim
Date & Place: in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim
Date & Place: in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
03/05/2021
Tiny Tim
Michael Townsend Wright and I had Tiny Tim as a friend. And he was a wonderful man who visited me when I was in the hospital for three weeks in 1967.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Photo of TinyTim Club TinyTim Club
13 favorites
04/14/2023
Will you post more Tiny Tim items!! This was great!!
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim
The night that Tiny Tim died, the band leader refused to let Tiny Tim sing. Refused to introduce him. And the people who asked Tiny Tim to be there, did not intervene. This disrespect was done to him by some obscure, small town high school music teacher in Minnesota who resented an entertainer who was beloved ALL OVER THE WORLD and had sold more than 20 albums and truly was a household name who never hurt or bullied anyone in his life. But this petty, mean-spirited, man should be remembered for being the kind of cruel death-causing person that no one should emulate. Jealous people can be deadly, and here is the proof.
Tiny Tim finally sang HOURS after he was supposed to, and HOURS after being constantly humiliated.
Most of the audience was there to see TINY TIM and only after most of them had left was he allowed to perform and he died.

Robert LeeRoy Elledge, 77, of San Diego died June 29. He was born in Coulter, Iowa, and was a band director for Edina Public Schools. Survivors include his wife, Mary Elledge; son, Charles Elledge; sisters, Mary Rumreich and Betty Barnhill; and one grandchild.
Viewing 9-9:30am today, with rosary at 9:45am the Immaculata, 5998 Alcala Park, University of San Diego. Mass 10am today at the church.
Interment 2:30 p.m. today, Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd., Riverside.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Tiny Tim and Jackie Gleason
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim and Jackie Gleason
A photo of Tiny Tim with Jackie Gleason
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Tiny Tim
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/08/2019
Tiny Tim
A photo of Tiny Tim
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Tiny Tim's Family Tree & Friends

Marriage

Victoria Mae Budinger

&

Tiny Tim

December 17, 1969
Marriage date
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Tiny Tim
Tiny Tim Apr 12, 1932 - Nov 30, 1996
Victoria Mae Budinger
Victoria Mae Budinger born Apr 20, 1952
Child
Tulip Khaury
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Friendships

Tiny's Friends

Friends of Tiny Friends can be as close as family. Add Tiny's family friends, and his friends from childhood through adulthood.
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4 Followers & Sources

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Tim, Fannie (Oct 8, 1907 - Jun 18, 2005) Tim, Rudy (Apr 19, 1924 - Jul 1967) Tim, Burnestin (Feb 24, 1952 - Aug 23, 2008) Tim, Lena (Feb 25, 1923 - Feb 7, 2000) Tim, Magdalene (Jan 3, 1920 - Mar 24, 2002) Tim, Edna (Feb 13, 1880 - Jan 1981) Tim, Mon (Mar 14, 1886 - Dec 1966) Tim, Anna (Sep 7, 1896 - Jan 1970) Tim, Gladys (Aug 29, 1924 - Jul 1976) Tim, Edward (Sep 25, 1890 - Jan 1967)
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