METHUEN — It's a bizarre memento from an equally bizarre performer, one that Brian Blouin kept in a desk drawer for years.
But now, Tiny Tim's teeth will travel to Texas.
Before he died of a heart attack in 1996, Tiny Tim — a novelty musician best known for his falsetto rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" — was contemplating oral surgery.
Plaster impressions of the ukulele player's top and bottom teeth were made by his dentist.
The moldings eventually came into the possession of Boulin, 32, who first struck up a friendship with Tiny Tim when Boulin was a teenager growing up in Andover.
After years spent in his desk drawer, Boulin, now a Methuen resident, put the keepsake up for auction online late last month.
It took just five days before a man from Rockwall, Texas, bought the moldings for $1,500.
"It's a unique item," said Blouin, a patrolman with the Andover police department. "You usually don't see celebrity's dental impressions out on the market. Who knows? It might open up a trend."
A total of 16 bids were placed on the moldings beginning March 30, the highest at $200.
But the auction closed Saturday when Texan Randy Reeves, 50, an accountant, bought the plaster impressions for the "Buy It Now" price of $1,500.
Reeves said he was motivated to buy the dental moldings because they were unique.
"It's about as personal as you can get," said Reeves. "Or about as personal as you would want to get."
Reeves plans to give them to his friend Bucks Burnett, who produced a Tiny Tim album in 1996.
"He's going to flip out," said Reeves.
Born Herbert Khaury, Tiny Tim grew up in New York City. He began performing in the early 1950s and gained a cult following a decade later in the Greenwich Village music scene, according to tinytim.org, which claims to be the official Tiny Tim Web site.
After incorporating strange renditions of classic songs into his set list, Tiny Tim eventually made appearances on late-1960s variety shows Laugh-In, The Tonight Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.
His debut album was released in 1968 on Reprise Records and "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips" became a hit, according to tiny-tim.org.
In 1969, he married his wife "Miss Vicki" (Victoria Budinger) on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which attracted some 40 million viewers.
"He was sort of an overnight celebrity," said Blouin, who over the years has collected one of Tiny Tim's ukuleles, a red and white striped stage suit, sequined stage shoes, and other memorabilia - all gifts from the performer's family.
Tiny Tim continued recording and performing well into the 1990s.
Boulin met Tiny Tim in 1993 at an autograph signing. He was 16 and had seen the performer for the first time on MTV the previous day.
After hitting it off, the two exchanged addresses and Boulin soon became a familiar face at Tiny Tim's performances in the area.
Three years later, Boulin travelled via bus to Minnesota to attend Tiny Tim's funeral. On a second trip to visit Tiny Tim's widow in early 1997, Boulin received the dental moldings.
"She was going to throw them out," said Blouin. "I just packed them in my bag and brought them back to Massachusetts."
