Skitch Henderson

• Name — Skitch Henderson • Birth Name — Lyle Russel Henderson • Born — 27 January 1918 • Birthplace — Halstad, Minnesota, U.S. • Died — 1 November 2005 • Place of death — New Milford, Connecticut, U.S. • Genre — Jazz, classical • Occupation — * Musician • composer • conductor • Instrument — Piano • Years Active — 1937–2005 • Spouse — * * • Past Member Of — The New York Pops, The Tonight Show Band

As his career developed, Henderson often claimed to have been born in Birmingham, England, also adding "Cedric" to his name. However, he was born in the town of Halstad in northwest Minnesota in 1918, to Joseph and Josephine (Scheie) Henderson, both of Norwegian descent. After his mother died when he was two in 1920, he was raised in Halstad by his aunt Hattie Henderson Gift and uncle Frank Gift. His aunt taught him piano, starting at the age of four. Although he did not receive formal conservatory education in music, Henderson received classical training under Fritz Reiner, Albert Coates, Arnold Schoenberg, Ernst Toch and Arturo Toscanini, who invited him to conduct the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Henderson would later recount apprenticeships in pop music while playing in taverns with notable singers of the era.

Blue Network Varieties, which began May 20, 1940, on NBC's Pacific Coast Blue Network, featured Henderson in charge of the music, leading "a novelty instrumental group." After the war, Henderson worked for NBC Radio Network, where he was the musical director for Frank Sinatra's Light-Up Time. He was also accompanist on Philco Radio Time with Bing Crosby on the new ABC network. Henderson also played on Bob Hope's Pepsodent Show. In 1946, Henderson and the Golden Gate Quartet headlined a 13-week summer replacement program on NBC, sponsored by Old Gold cigarettes. In 1950, Henderson had a disc jockey program on WNBC in New York City. Henderson also recorded transcriptions for the Capitol Transcriptions service.

• Illustration — Henderson on The Tonight Show, New Year's Eve, 1962 In his career at NBC, Henderson was conductor of the orchestras for The Today Show, Tonight Starring Steve Allen and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Henderson began his NBC work in 1951 and left in 1957 when Allen was replaced by Jack Paar, then returned when Carson took over and led the orchestra from 1962–1966 during Carson's early years as host and was replaced by Milton Delugg, who was succeeded by trumpeter Doc Severinsen who led the NBC Orchestra until Carson's retirement in 1992. Henderson is credited for originating "Stump the Band", a recurring Tonight Show comedy routine in which audience members would name an obscure song for the band to play, and win a prize if they the band wasn't able to do so. The band would improvise a fake song on the spot to match the title. The routine was continued by Carson and Doc Severinson, long after Henderson left the show, and was also reprised by David Letterman and Paul Shaffer on Late Show with David Letterman.

In 1983, Henderson founded The New York Pops orchestra, which makes its home at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He served as the music director and conductor of the orchestra until his death in 2005. Henderson also conducted numerous symphonic orchestras throughout the world. His radio work included: • California Melodies debuted 1940, Mutual Broadcasting, KHJ (AM) • Songs by Sinatra 1946, CBS Radio • I Deal in Crime 1946, ABC Radio • Philco Radio Time starring Bing Crosby 1946, ABC • Best of All 1954, NBC • United States Air Force Presents 1969 • Skitch Henderson with the Music Makers

• Match Game, 1962–1963 • Password, 5 episodes, 1967 • Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town, co-host, 1951–1952 • What's My Line?, Mystery Guest, 1973

• Act One (1963) • Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! (1971) He also wrote Baby Made a Change in Me for the 1948 movie On Our Merry Way.

The Retro Swing Band at the University of Wisconsin plays arrangements from The Tonight Show and the BBC Dance Orchestra included in the Skitch Henderson Collection at the Mills Music Library. Henderson was known for his unique laugh on the Carson show. In addition to Ed McMahon's famously hearty laugh, Henderson could also occasionally be heard laughing his distinctive "Hoo-hoo-hoo!"

• Illustration — Henderson in 2000 Henderson married movie actress and television personality Faye Emerson in 1950. They were divorced seven years later. In 1958, he then married Ruth Einsiedel and raised two children, Hans and Heidi. Hans was married to Sandra Watson for 18 years, before divorcing in 2000. Heidi was married to actor William Hurt from 1989 to 1992, and they have two sons. From 1972 until his death, Ruth and Skitch Henderson owned and operated The Silo, a store, art gallery, and cooking school in New Milford, Connecticut. In 2003, Ruth and Skitch Henderson co-founded the Hunt Hill Farm Trust, an effort to preserve their farm's land and buildings and to celebrate Americana in music, art and literature through the creation of a living museum. Henderson died of natural causes on November 1, 2005, at age 87.

Henderson was indicted on July 2, 1974, on charges of tax evasion for the years 1969 and 1970, concerning claims about the value (allegedly $350,000) of a music library he donated to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He further claimed he had consulted with Leonard Bernstein and Henry Mancini about the value of his collection, both of whom denied this in testimony at trial. A signature on an acceptance letter from the library director was also deemed a forgery. Henderson was convicted on two counts of filing false tax returns. He was acquitted on the tax evasion charges and obstructing a tax audit. Henderson was sentenced on January 17, 1975, to six months in prison, and was fined. He began serving his sentence at a minimum-security Federal prison on April 9, 1975, and was released after four months, on August 4, 1975.