Sporting long, straggly hair and accompanying himself with a ukulele, Tiny Tim sang a 1929 ditty of a song called "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" on a variety of TV programs and nightclub engagements with a voice that was so high he could call the neighborhood dogs. Surprisingly, the song reached No.17 on the pop charts.

Tiny Tim also made a number of appearances on NBC's LAUGH-IN, and played a suspected "Vampire" on the romantic anthology LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE/ABC/1969-74.

Perhaps his most famous moment on TV was his on-air wedding to Miss Vicki (Victoria May Budinger) on the December 17, 1969 segment of TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON on the NBC network. The circus-like ceremony gave Carson's show the highest rating in its history. It was reported that one out of every two televisions in the country was tuned to the nuptial event.

Preparations for the wedding were enormous. Ten thousand Tulip plants were purchased direct from Holland, and hundreds of carnations, Indian paint bushes (among other flowers) were rounded up from local florist shops. Celebrities clamored for the 100 seats available at the ceremony.

Miss Vicki wore an eloquent but simple Victorian-styled wedding gown (valued at $2,500), and carried as part of her traditional paraphernalia, a borrowed cameo, a new Bible and a blue garter. Her groom-to-be wore a black, silk and velvet frock coat, vest, striped pants, and an Edwardian top hat. Rounding out his ensemble was a black cape and a hand carved walking stick.

Despite all the pomp and circumstance and the enormous ratings, the marriage of Miss Vicki and Tiny Tim soon failed. They divorced October 24, 1977. Their union bore the blossom of a beautiful child whom they called "Tulip." Tiny Tim wed second wife, Miss Jan in 1984.

In 1985, Tiny Tim no longer the slender performer (weighing 250 pounds) started a 36-week engagement with The Great American Circus Big Top earning much less than his previous $50,000 a week salary received in Las Vegas in the 1960s.

In 1995, 63-year-old Tiny Tim married his third wife, Sue Gardner, 39 year old Harvard honors graduate and daughter of millionaire industrialist George Gardner.

Tiny Tim's album "Songs of an Impotent Troubadour" debuted in England in the same year. On 11/30/96 Tiny Tim collapsed after performing his final set ("Tip-toe") at a Minneapolis fund-raiser and was later pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack at the age of 64.

TRIVIA NOTE: On Tuesday, July 6th, 2010, actor/screenwriter Jason Segal presided over a TV wedding ceremony held on THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO. The bride and groom (Abbe Thorner and Jason Wood) were fans of the actor and initially tried to get Segal to attend their wedding, but he could not because of sheduling problems. Instead, he contacted Jay Leno and held their ceremony on the air. Leno served as a witness while the couple's family sat in the studio audience.

External Links

• Tiny Tim (IMDb)
• Remembering Tiny Tim