New book digs deeper into the death of Tiny Tim on Minneapolis stage

Tiny Tim's final concert was anything but a tiptoe through the tulips.

When the vaudeville star died in 1996, shortly after performing at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis, the press emphasized how sweet it was that he went out doing what he loved best.

But the new book, "The Show Won't Go On: The Most Shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage," suggests that the evening was full of missteps.

According to authors Jeff Abraham and Burt Kearns, Tim was so dizzy on the day of the show, he almost fell climbing into the limousine hired to take him to the venue. When he arrived, the leader of the backup band claimed he was unaware that Tim had been hired and refused to perform with him.

Tim would go on solo with an out-of-tune ukulele and a mostly empty room.

The authors appear to have relied heavily on the memories of Susan Gardner, his wife at the time.

The book, which was released this week, also looks back at how Nick Lowe "died" of electrocution on stage in 1969. The "Cruel To Be Kind" singer was, of course, revived. He performs Sept. 13 at First Avenue.