Tiny Tim on Ironside

Enjoy this clip of Tiny Tim performing in a beatnik club from the pilot episode of Ironside. (Thanks, Maddy!)

[#1 posted by Antinous , February 7, 2008 12:15 PM]

What makes this perfect is the fact that Tiny Tim was straight and Raymond Burr wasn't.

[#2 posted by the specialist , February 7, 2008 12:17 PM]

does anyone know if tiny tim was for real, or was his persona just part of his act? either way i am still astonished at his sheer guts (little else, though!).

[#3 posted by Suburbancowboy , February 7, 2008 12:21 PM]

I met Tiny Tim when I was in High School (around 1994). He was at my friend's neighbor's house. It was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. He sang for us, and played his ukulele (covered with little kids stickers), which he kept in a paper bag by his side at all times. He smelled of perfume, and looked like his makeup was put on by a mortician. It was awesome!

I really should blog about it, since it is one of the best stories I have.

[#4 posted by Chris L , February 7, 2008 12:22 PM]

I believe the persona was mostly act. But the talent was all real. Apparently he was a walking encyclopedia on early 20th century popular music. Really, one of the great unappreciated artists of history.

[#5 posted by Suburbancowboy , February 7, 2008 12:24 PM]

In response to The Specialist's question, he was not going into character at all. That was very much his real persona.

Howard Stern says that Tiny Tim was the best interview subject he has ever had. He was the most unique and interesting person he has ever met. He also said that if Tiny was still alive, a reality show about him would be so much better than any reality show ever made.

[#6 posted by the specialist , February 7, 2008 12:47 PM]

wow - glad to hear it was the real tiny we all came to know. and he had the best taste in music ever. we will never see another jazz age, or another tiny.

[#7 posted by Maddy , February 7, 2008 1:07 PM]

@1 Antinous: Yup, that's the mind-blowing thing. I think in this cabaret setting, you see Tiny doing less of his fey schtick he would do on talk shows -- he was more secure in these places, that's where he started. If you fish around on the Youtube there's another clip of Tiny singing in a crooner's baritone picking a song from the Russ Columbo catalog. He did a whole album of Columbo standards. Before he became America's pet freak, he was a college coffee house darling for his knowledge of the American songbook, and it looks like he's headed that way again.

[#8 posted by Evil Jim , February 7, 2008 1:28 PM]

Wow. Was this video re edited from the source? There just seems to be a ridiculous number of short cuts.

[#9 posted by tarlach , February 7, 2008 5:27 PM]

I knew Tiny Tim during the late 60's and early 70's.

He was 100% for real.

This was no act.

He used to refer to me as master Tarlach.

He smelled of old perfume and musty clothes.

It was eerie it was so real.

[#10 posted by Steve Stair , February 7, 2008 8:27 PM]

Here's one with Tiny Tim NOT singing in falsetto.

[#11 posted by robcat2075 , February 7, 2008 9:16 PM]

And it was a pop sensation when he married "Miss Vicki" on the Tonight Show.

I recall one obituary as saying he had voice that actually sounded like a 78 RPM record.

[#12 posted by Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey , February 7, 2008 9:28 PM]

I heartily recommend the album Girl, his collaboration with other-dimensional Texas dance band Brave Combo.

Not least for the swing version of "Stairway to Heaven."

[#13 posted by Pyros , February 7, 2008 9:39 PM]

Nowadays, where one can see the pierced and tattooed clowns on parade in every major city with their coterie of other pierced and tattooed friends consuming familiar cultural items served up to this market niche, it can be easy to lose site of what an authentic freak is. Tiny Time, aka Herbert Khaury was such an authentic freak which means that he was misunderstood by all and reviled by most despite the fact that he was a gentle, delicate and sweet human being. He was also immensely talented and intelligent. There are a million clowns, and they have their own society to enjoy. There was only one Tiny Tim and the world is less without him.

[#14 posted by Clumpy , February 8, 2008 12:32 AM]

Unorthodox people like this pretty much make life worth living. I hadn't discovered Tiny Tim until today, but he reminds me strongly of Emo Philips. Of course, Tim's falsetto shtick stopped when he wasn't performing but I feel strongly that Emo is for real.

[#15 posted by Boba Fett Diop , February 8, 2008 8:01 AM]

Jump cuts! I'm freaking out, man!!!

[#16 posted by WWEBoing , February 8, 2008 9:27 AM]

Dylan's rambling biography CHRONICLES spends more time talking about Tiny Tim than the Beatles. What a weird guy, but some of his non-falsetto songs were quite affecting.

[#17 posted by Beanolini , February 9, 2008 2:35 PM]

Tiny Tim's renditions of 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' are among the most disturbing things I've ever seen.

[#18 posted by Antinous , February 9, 2008 2:52 PM]

What the hell? You just made me watch Tiny Tim strip!