Tiny Tim may have become a more famous name in its sudden, new-found contemporary poignancy than when it was originally penned by Charles Dickens for inclusion in his Christmas Carol. For our 20th century Tiny Tim, the limp-haired, squeeky-voiced, ukulele-strumming popular comedian- singer, has finally run out of luck and has found himself suddenly tossed out of the tulip patch and into the bramble bush. The money that he literally rolled in for the past few years has somehow trickled down the drain, and the lovely wife that he picked up along the way will now be drifting from his side. Even the birth last year of their 10-month-old daughter, Tulip Victoria, doesn't seem to be enough of a thread to weave Tiny Tim and his young bride, Victoria Budinger, back together.
   "This thing kills me to the bone," Tiny heartbrokenly announced. "But Miss Vicky is still my sweet angel. The wedding ring will always stay on my finger. I'll always love her ... I love her more now than when I met her.
   Their marriage had been attended by perhaps the largest congregation in the history of marriages-they were wed on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show on December 17, 1969, by the Reverend William Glenesk, pastor of Brooklyn's Spencer Memorial Church.
   The courtship that had led to the altar, had been every bit as colorful and unusual. Miss Vicky and Tiny met when he was doing a promotional tour for the book he had written, Beautiful Thoughts By Tiny Tim. She approached him while he was autographing copies in the book department of a department store, handing him a book to sign like the many other eager customers. But Tiny noticed her and remembered her long after he had left the store. In the next store he visited, he was shocked to watch her come up to him again. And glad. They began a lively conversation, and this time Tiny didn't leave the book department alone. Tiny was captivated by Miss Vicky's pixyish charm. They married soon after.
   For months, Tiny filled the press with the most virtuous of sentiments about his marriage, and marriage in general. By now Tiny's beliefs in propriety are all but legend. (Who can forget his decision in December of 1969 that he and his bride would sleep in separate bedrooms for the duration of their honeymoon to adhere to the Old Testament tradition of Tobias?) Even today, quotes like "I don't believe in yelling in marriage" remind us that though circumstances may have changed, Tiny Tim is still the upright soul he was then.
   What went wrong is not an easy question to answer. It was reported that Miss Vicky had been trying to become a model-something her husband was vehemently opposed to-and that, in addition to having become enamoured with modeling, she had become enamoured with a handsome male model. Rumors also revealed that some rather spicy photographs of her had been taken, which Tiny's been trying to locate.
   Tiny admitted that a good deal of the blame rested on his shoulders, too. He confided that she had constantly reprimanded him for being a spendthrift and "a pig in the house." She especially hated the way he spent money on cosmetics and pizza. His habits, coupled with the self-stated ""fact" that he has been rapidly going broke due to foolish expenditures, were too much for her to accept.
   But despite whatever anger was shared between them, Tiny still loves her and wants her back. "She doesn't want to come back," he sighed. "But there will never be a divorce. At least, not on my part. I will not sign the papers. And even if the court permits a divorce, we'll still be wed-spiritually."