Skitch Henderson

Conductor and pianist Skitch Henderson followed a long stint as musical director for crooner Frank Sinatra with his most famous gig: bandleader of NBC television's The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Born Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson in Birmingham, England, on January 27, 1918, he was the son of a church organist and enrolled in the London Conservatory at age seven. Henderson relocated to the U.S. in the late '20s, spending his adolescence in the care of relatives. Despite studying composition under Arnold Schoenberg and conducting under Fritz Reiner, he paid his dues as a roadhouse pianist in clubs across Minnesota and Montana before settling in Los Angeles, working in radio and theater orchestras before landing a gig as the accompanist on a 1937 MGM promotional tour featuring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. After returning to Hollywood, Henderson remained on the MGM payroll, accompanying singer Dolores Reed. Upon meeting Reed's future husband, comedian Bob Hope, he was hired to play piano on Hope's Pepsodent-sponsored radio program. Hope also introduced Henderson to crooner Bing Crosby, who suggested the pianist adopt his nickname full-time: "I was called 'the sketch kid' because of the way I would quickly sketch out a new score in a new key," he later recalled. "And Bing said, 'If you're going to compete, get your name straightened out. People always forget Christian names but they never forget nicknames.'" During World War II, Henderson returned to Britain to serve in the Royal Air Force, and upon earning his American citizenship, he fought with the U.S. Army Air Corps as well. After completing his tour of duty he signed to RCA Victor as a pianist and arranger, most notably replacing Joe Bushkin on several Tommy Dorsey recordings featuring the young Sinatra....