Fantasia review: “Tiny Tim - King for a Day”
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter - Uphill Both Ways Podcast)
Director Johan von Sydow’s loving tribute to the one-of-a-kind entertainer Tiny Tim, Tiny Tim - King for a Day, is a fascinating look at the man who improbably became a cultural icon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The documentary also looks at the hard times that he fell on when his popularity went from sky-high to so low that he had to move back in with his mother as a middle-aged man.
Born Herbert Butros Khaury in 1932 in New York City, he was, according to his diaries narrated here by Weird Al Yankovic, considered a freak by almost everyone, including his parents. He turned to music of the past and, again according to his diaries, prayed one night and then woke up the next morning with his famous falsetto, which eventually took him from New York open mics and circus sideshows to the Billboard Top 10 charts with his recording of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” Television appearances from Laugh-In to The Dick Cavett Show to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson catapulted him to fame and to becoming a household name in America and other countries. His marriage to Miss Vicki on Carson’s show in 1969 became the highest-rated American TV program other than the lunar landing.
After becoming one of the most recognized and popular entertainers of his day, though, Tiny Tim — for various reasons that I will leave the documentary to explain — fell back down to being a celebrity to laugh at, appearing in the circus as he had in his early days, in the 1987 slasher movie Blood Harvest, and at whatever schools or events would book him.
Some of the more well-known talking heads interviewed are television producer George Schlatter, filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Jonas Mekas, musicians Tommy James and Peter Yarrow, and fellow 1960s entertainer Wavy Gravy. Friends and relatives also participate. All provide unique insights into Tiny Tim the person and Tiny Tim the persona — and several claim that the two are one and the same.
Besides interviews, Tiny Tim - King for a Day is chock full of clips from Tiny Tim’s television appearances, which show the magic of his on-stage personality that people found either charming or abrasive. Marko Mestrovic’s simple but elegant animation segments also help effectively illustrate the proceedings.
If there are any faults with Tiny Tim - King for a Day, one would be that the darker elements briefly brought up — including possible crime connections and treatment of women — could have been examined more thoroughly (especially given the brief 78-minute running time), but I feel that the light dusting of these elements was a directorial choice. Von Sydow’s documentary was meant to be largely a valentine to a once beloved entertainer who still holds a place in the hearts of many, and a document that should help keep his memory alive and perhaps introduce him to those who may not have grown up seeing his almost weekly presence on their television screens.
Tiny Tim - King for a Day had its world premiere as part of Fantasia, which ran August 20–September 2, 2020.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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