Skitch Henderson Dies at 87

New York Pops conductor Skitch Henderson died of natural causes at his home in New Milford, Connecticut on November 1. He was 87 years old.

Born Lyle Cedric Russell Henderson in England in 1918, he began his career in the United States as a vaudveville pianist. In 1937, he served as an accompanist for Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney on a concert tour and moved to Hollywood after its conclusion. He then joined MGM’s music department, where he worked with Bob Hope and other major stars. (Henderson got his nickname from Hope’s good friend Bing Crosby.)

After World War II, during which he flew for both England’s Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Corps, Henderson worked with Frank Sinatra before becoming music director for both NBC Radio and later NBC Television. He was the original bandleader for The Tonight Show and worked with various hosts including Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson.

In 1983, Henderson founded the New York Pops, which has become one of the city’s most popular attractions. He was scheduled to make his 207th appearance with the Pops on November 11, conducting Marc Blitzstein’s Airborne Symphony at Carnegie Hall — the same piece with which he made his Carnegie debut in1953. Henderson has hundreds of recordings to his credit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for the Leontyne Price-William Warfield recording of Porgy and Bess.

Henderson is survived by his second wife, Ruth, whom he married in 1958, and their two children, Heidi and Hans. He was married to actress Faye Emerson from 1950-1957; that union ended in divorce.