Tigger's Obituary:
http://www.dallasnews.com/obituary-headlines/20120314-mark-tigger-liddell-tattoo-artist-who-helped-shape-dallas-deep-ellum-dies-at-56.eceMark ‘Tigger’ Liddell, tattoo artist who helped shape Dallas’ Deep Ellum, dies at 56
To many, Mark Pruiett “Tigger” Liddell was the face of Dallas’ Deep Ellum in the 1990s.
The bald, burly and bearded biker left his indelible mark on many who took a walk on the wild side into his parlor as the tattoo became less taboo.
Others knew him for his years organizing charitable motorcycle rallies.
Mr. Liddell, 56, died Sunday at an Ada, Okla., nursing center of complications of diabetes.
A celebration of his life and a benefit will be on March 31 from 3 p.m. until closing at 3025 Main, also know as eXcuses Cafe — the former Club One — in Dallas. All proceeds from the evening will be used for Mr. Liddell’s funeral expenses, friends said.
Tigger’s Body Arts quickly became a Deep Ellum showplace after it opened in the late 1980s, said Raine Devries, a Dallas producer.
“People had never had the chance to watch body arts being designed,” Ms. Devries said. “It had always been sort of in the back room somewhere; Tigger just put everything out on display.”
Mr. Liddell “was a pretty showy fellow,” said longtime friend Troll Mallow, the musician known as Mr. Troll.
“He made a big splash everywhere he went,” Mr. Mallow said. “He was just 100 percent Tigger all the time. He wasn’t interested in pretending to be somebody he wasn’t.”
Mr. Liddell was one of a kind, and he knew it, his friend said.
“He was a one-of-a-kind guy on purpose,” Mr. Mallow said. “He knew how to use that to promote his interest whatever he was involved with, whether it was the tattoo shop, the Toy Run or the motorcycle club, or whatever.”
Born in Tishomingo, Okla., Mr. Liddell graduated from high school in Stonewall, Okla.
He studied theater and drama at Murray State College in Tishomingo, where he received an associate degree in 1976.
He earned two bachelor’s degrees and his nickname at East Central State College, now East Central University, in Ada, where he received degrees in teleproduction in 1978 and marketing in 1987. He also was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.
He was the East Central State mascot for the Tigers, which led to his nickname, said his son, Matthew Liddell of Tulsa.
Mr. Liddell’s higher education included a bachelor’s degree in hydrodynamics, which he earned from Rice University in 1982.
During the oil boom of the 1980s, Mr. Liddell worked in various areas of the oil business with his mother and sister, his son said. His work included using his knowledge of hydrodynamics to help design oil refineries. He had also worked as an emergency medical technician in Oklahoma.
Mr. Liddell started tattooing as a hobby and decided in 1988 to move to Dallas, where he could legally practice his art, his son said. (Oklahoma legalized tattooing in 2006.)
“It could not be done in any kind of formal setting,” his son said. “I’m sure he learned with homemade equipment.”
In Dallas, Mr. Liddell was a sales representative for several companies, selling everything from advertising on register receipts to medical supplies.
“He was doing tattoos on the side,” his son said. “His hobby became his occupation.”
In 1989, Mr. Liddell opened Tigger’s Body Art in Deep Ellum, which he sold in 1996. In 2003 he opened a tattoo shop, Tiger Moon, on Northwest Highway, which he operated until 2005. He then briefly had a Tiger Moon shop in Ada.
“There was a very public raid. … They came in and confiscated all the equipment, only to give it back two or three weeks later,” his son said. “After the raid, his business never exactly recovered.”
Mr. Liddell closed his Tiger Moon in Ada and decided it was time for a change after more than 20 years in business, his son said.
Styles had changed from Mr. Liddell’s old-school favorites of dragons and skeletons.
“Being a tattoo artist is perhaps not that different from being some sort of entertainer because you have a certain style,” his son said. “If you are a musician, you may not sell a lot of records. If you’re a tattoo artist, you many not do a lot of tattoos.”
Mr. Liddell was active with several motorcycle charity events and organizations. He was on the board of the Big Texas Toy Run and was a founding member of Thor’s Hammer Motorcycle Club.
“He was an amazing gentleman with regards to how much he gave back to the community, with his involvement with the Big Texas Toy Run,” Ms. Devries said. “I don’t even want to think about how many countless hours he’s invested with that organization in raising tens of thousands of dollars so that hundreds of kids in Dallas-Fort Worth could have a new toy on Christmas.”
In addition to his son, Mr. Liddell is survived by three grandchildren.
