Big Tiny Little born 31 August 1930

Dudley "Big Tiny" Little, Jr. (August 31, 1930 – March 3, 2010) was an American musician who appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1959. His primary instrument was the piano. 

Born in Worthington, Minnesota as Richard Dudley Little, the son of Tiny Little Sr., a prominent musician and bandleader, Big Tiny first took up playing piano at the age of five, becoming both a honky-tonk, ragtime pianist and playing other instruments such as the organ, bass horn and bass fiddle. After playing in his father's band for a while, he joined the United States Air Force and did a tour in the Far East. During his hitch in Japan organized a jazz band composed of Japanese musicians. “We played every night,” he says. 

He became a member of Lawrence Welk's famous "Champagne music makers" just one month after Welk's national TV debut in 1955. A regular feature of Welk's popular show, Tiny's outstanding keyboard artistry has earned him millions of fans from coast to coast. One critic said he played like the piano was on fire and another wrote that he had the speed of Oscar Peterson, the left hand of Fats Waller, the rhythm of Errol garner and the imagination of Andre Previn.  Welk dubbed him Tiny Little Jr., to distinguish him from his father. Later facing his own rather portly reality, Little added the “Big” and dropped the “junior,” creating the splendid moniker he carried for the remainder of his career. As a result of his leap to national fame during four years on television’s The Lawrence Welk Show, Little has been labeled “Mr. Honky Tonk” 

                                     

After his tenure on the show (where he was replaced by Jo Ann Castle), he went solo again; recording more than 45 albums and making guest appearances on several television programs over the years. More recently, he played with Mary Lou Metzger, Jack Imel, Ralna English, Ava Barber and Dick Dale in the touring Live Lawrence Welk Show. His 1959 recording of the ragtime standard "12th Street Rag" was used for years as the theme of The Joe Franklin Show.

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show of January 20, 1963, was devoted entirely to masters of the piano, featuring Dinah Shore's four guests, Liberace, Peter Nero, Ray Charles and Big Tiny Little. By the end of the sixties he settled into what became his most popular venue, other than the later Lawrence Welk revival shows. Slowly developing a finely-honed band, Tiny worked in the casinos in Nevada, alternating between Las Vegas, Carson City and Lake Tahoe. He also performed on virtually every music and variety show on the air including the first Mike Douglas Show, Ed Sullivan and Dean Martin.

Little also performed at President Ronald Reagan's inaugural balls in 1985 and returned to television in the PBS special; Lawrence Welk: Milestones and Memories, which featured a reunion of stars from the Welk show. The versatile pianist was also accustomed to numerous showrooms in Reno and Las Vegas, including the Riverside and Mapes Hotels and the Stardust, Tropicana and Riviera (having also performed in every state in the U.S. except Maine). When asked, “Why not Maine?” Tiny repled wryly, “Having been born in Minnesota, I’d had enough of cold weather.” He also played regularly at the Colorado Belle Hotel & Casino (which he and trumpeter Al Hirt helped open in 1987). 

He continued to draw fans and make new ones into the 21st century. He was also one of the only artists who had the tenacity and talent to adapt Christmas songs into ragtime format for a recording. Tiny brought friendliness, fun and familiarity to ragtime. He was just as enthusiastic about the musicians he worked with as he was for the music, and played all manner of styles, adapting to what the audience wanted to hear. During his later years he performed with the Live Lawrence Welk Show tour from 2004 to 2006. 

He battled problems with his weight, alcohol , gambling and poor money management and later in life , throat cancer and diabetes. He went bankrupt 3 times and at his death he was virtually penniless. He lived in Carson City, Nevada, and passed way at his home in Sparks, NV on March 3, 2010 at the age of 79.  

(Edited from Wikipedia and Alchetron)