Tiny Tim, who had a history of heart trouble, was stricken Saturday night during a benefit for the Women's Club of Minneapolis. His widow, Susan Khaury, said he cut short "Tulips" and told her he was not well. She was trying to help him back to their table when he collapsed.
Tiny Tim died a a Minneapolis hospital late Saturday. A hospital spokeswoman said the cause apparently was cardiac arrest, but a final determination would be made later.
Born Herbert Khaury, Tiny Tim built his career on his single hit song in 1968, his stratospheric falsetto, an asexual and childlike stage persona and a flair for self-promotion.
In an era of acid-tinged performers like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, the older Tiny Tim seemed to offer a benign, comic foil. ''Tiptoe Through the Tulips'' dates from the late '20s, but Tiny Tim appropriated the song on behalf of the flower generation.
"I don't think he had time to feel pain," Mrs. Khaury said yesterday. "He died singing 'Tiptoe Thru' the Tulips,' and the last thing he heard was the applause, and the last thing he saw was me."