Skitch Henderson

Skitch Henderson on a visit to Eddie Condon's jazz club in New York, circa August 1947. Photograph by William P. Gottlieb

Skitch Henderson (born January 27, 1918 in Birmingham , England , † November 1, 2005 in New Milford , Connecticut ; actually Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson ) was a British-American pianist and conductor .

Life

As a young teenager, Henderson left his parents, who had emigrated to the USA in the 1920s , and made his way as a pianist in various vaudeville shows. In the mid-1930s, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland discovered his talent when he stepped in for the sick pianist at a performance by the two.

In 1938 Bob Hope signed him for his popular weekly radio show on NBC , which Henderson stayed with for more than two decades. At the same time, Henderson made the acquaintance of Bing Crosby , who gave him the nickname "Skitch" because of his ability to produce sketches in quick succession.

During World War II he served first in the Royal Air Force , then - after naturalization - in the US armed forces.

After the end of the war, Henderson deepened his classical studies with, among others, Arnold Schönberg and Arturo Toscanini , whom he was allowed to represent several times on the conductor's podium. Henderson became a versatile performer and conductor who was just as much at home in jazz and swing as he was in classical music, in Broadway productions and in ballet and film scores. In addition to the New York Philharmonic, he has given guest appearances in numerous large orchestras in the USA, but also in Europe, such as the London Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestra. Henderson went on extensive tours for many years with the New York Pops Orchestra, which he himself founded in 1983 and into the last months of his life.

From 1945 Henderson worked regularly in the studio and on the concert stage as a pianist and orchestra conductor for Frank Sinatra , who also hired him for some of his radio shows and with whom he also had a personal friendship.

In 1954, Henderson joined NBC's legendary Tonight Show and remained the main arranger and orchestral director of this show, which was first hosted by Steve Allen , then by Jack Paar and finally by Johnny Carson until 1967 .

1963 Henderson won a Grammy for the orchestration of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess , recorded with the RCA Orchestra and Leontyne Price and William Warfield as vocal soloists.

In the 1970s, Henderson was sentenced to four months in prison for tax evasion, but this did not detract from his popularity. In addition to his musical activities, he has been running a cooking school and art gallery in his home town of New Milford since the 1980s . On the occasion of his 80th birthday, Henderson was honored in 1988 with a grand gala in New York's Carnegie Hall . In January 2005 he was awarded the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal .

Skitch Henderson had been married to the German photo model Ruth Einsiedel from Vogtland since 1958, who worked in America under the stage name Ruth Michaeles. The marriage had two children.

literature

• Jacques Pepin, Ruth Henderson, Skitch Henderson, Judith Blahnik: Ruth and Skitch Henderson's Seasons in the Country: Good Food from Family and Friends . Viking Studio Books, New York NY 1990, ISBN 0-670-82604-9 .
• Ruth Henderson, Skitch Henderson, Judith Blahnik, Lans Christensen: Ruth & Skitch Henderson's Christmas in the Country: Recipes, Crafts, Gifts, and Music . Viking Studio Books, New York NY 1993, ISBN 0-670-84783-6 , (book / CD).

Web links

Commons : Skitch Henderson  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Skitch Henderson in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Full biography of Skitch Henderson on The New York Pops (en.)