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photographer unknown
Fifty-two years ago today, on Wednesday, December 17, in 1969, television history was made when Tiny Tim and Victoria Budinger were married by Rev. William Glenesk on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show.
photo: Getty Images
The wedding of Tiny Tim
to "Miss Vicki", as he called her, was a huge television event, viewed
in more than 21 million households with 40 million people watching, a Tonight Show record at the time. In attendance on the show were the episode’s other guests: Florence Henderson, Phyllis Diller, and Nick Lucas.
Nick Lucas - 1969
screen shot 
When the couple’s engagement was announced by Tim on the Tonight Show, Carson asked, “Now, this is your first marriage, isn’t it?” Tim replied, “Yes, Mr. Carson, and last,” after which he added, “The fact that she is 17, I would like to say that a lot of prayer is involved at the moment and, of course, I’ve always loved youth, but only in the right way.”
After showing off Vicki’s engagement ring, Carson asked Tim about his past relationship history, at which point Tim admitted that he was saving himself for marriage, although he admitted, “I’m no saint: I have, to my sorrow, slipped in that, and thank God-to-Christ he’s protected me and I never had any relations with a woman.” The “slipping,” as it turned out, was merely a reference to having kissed Vicki a few times, but as Carson assured him, "A little kissing isn’t bad before marriage.”
A few minutes later, after Vicki left the stage, Carson asked Tim if he and Vicki would like to be married on TV, and Tim accepted without hesitation. Vicki had actually wanted a traditional wedding and had anticipated that their nuptials would take place at her parents’ house. The first bump in their marriage.
A few minutes later, after Vicki left the stage, Carson asked Tim if he and Vicki would like to be married on TV, and Tim accepted without hesitation. Vicki had actually wanted a traditional wedding and had anticipated that their nuptials would take place at her parents’ house. The first bump in their marriage.
Although their marriage didn't last, they had one daughter, Tulip Victoria, in 1979. Tim and "Miss Vicki" largely lived apart and they divorced three years after the birth of their daughter. Tim married two more times and Budinger married several more times.
On November 30, 1996, Tim 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. Before the start 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.
Victoria May Budinger died on the 30th of November in 1996 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota; she was 64 years old.
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