Monday, May 2, 2022

THE MONSTER TIMES AND . . . TINY TIM? (PART 1)


The magazine publishing world is full of anomalies. One oddity that appeared in 1968 is this one -- a full issue about the whacky performer that went by the stage name of Tiny Tim. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated, the Tet Offensive in Viet Nam occurred which led to even more protests against the war, NASA's Apollo 8 mission was launched, and Tiny Tim had a hit record with his ukulele and warbly falsetto called, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

Herbert Butros Khaury (April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996) began playing music at a young age. In the 1950's he worked in the entertainment industry, which became his gateway to performing. An avid record collector, and enamored with tunes from the 1920's and 1930's, he sang "You Are My Sunshine" in his trademark falsetto on Johnny Carson's THE TONIGHT SHOW. To set himself apart (besides his voice), he wore outrageous (for the times) costumes. He went on to stardom, and the 1960's welcomed him as an off-beat kind of flower child.

This magazine came late in his career, but he was still guesting on TV shows and other venues. The legacy of Tiny Tim is a strange one, but no stranger than some of the other happenings from that era. So, let's tiptoe through the tulips with the weirdly wonderful Tiny Tim!

As a postscript, the art direction for this issue was by Larry Brill and Les Waldstein. The names may sound familiar to monster lovers, as they were the same pair that published a certain monster newspaper -- THE MONSTER TIMES!





























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