I’m old enough to remember him making television appearances in the late 60s and early 70s. As a child I remember watching him made me feel uneasy. He was really weird. Only in the 60s . I don’t think he would get much play today.
I saw him for the first time on "Laugh In" way back when,and my initial reaction,like that of many others,was what the heck is that..His strangeness was of course part of the act;strumming a ukelele while singing "Tiptoe through the Tulips" in a falsetto voice was pretty incongruous with the late '60s.He also toured here in Australia in later years,and many were surprised at his level of performance,beyond all the earlier weirdness.
He's a fascinating character who beyond just being a novelty act on stuff like Laugh In was a very serious and strange musical historian on the songs of Tin Pan Alley. Like he genuinely contributed a lot to the American songbook and preservation of American art.
Also just like, a raging homophobe and one of the weirdest looking people to have ever lived. But eh, his personal beliefs don't matter too much.
This is also just one of the most fun things ever recorded:
I like him His version of Stayin Alive always interested me because he’d switch from falsetto to his more natural deep singing voice and it was like he was dueting with himself
