CELEBRATING
SKITCH HENDERSON
The bandleader Skitch Henderson, who died on Nov. 1 at
87, was honored yesterday at a Carnegie Hall memorial service
as a towering influence over American entertainment who
retained a wry sense of humor and common touch on the streets
of New York.
The service, on a stage where Mr. Henderson was said to
have performed 281 times, was open to the public, and nearly
every seat was filled in Carnegie Hall. Liz Smith, Mike
Wallace, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Marilyn Horne
and Kitty Carlisle Hart offered anecdotes about his musicianship
and personal warmth.
Their comments were punctuated by music from the New York
Pops orchestra, which Mr. Henderson founded and conducted.
It performed an eclectic mix of symphonic work, jazz and
Broadway tunes that echoed Mr. Henderson's own wide ranging
interests as a conductor, pianist and entertainer. He became
best known in the 1950's as a mainstay on the ''Tonight''
show with Steve Allen, and later Johnny Carson.
The musical program was perhaps climaxed by the appearance
of Ms. Carlisle Hart, who is 95. In full voice and unwavering
pitch, she led the audience in a sing-along rendition of
Irving Berlin's ''Always,'' a song she said Mr. Henderson
had insisted she sing repeatedly over a professional relationship
that spanned decades.
Mr. Henderson's rapport with his fans was reflected in
an anecdote recounted by James M. Johnson, the executive
director of the New York Pops. He recalled Mr. Henderson,
in an elevator, being addressed as Skitch by a woman he
had never met, and engaging her in an animated conversation.
''He was on a first-name basis with half of New York, and
the other half wanted to shake his hand,'' Mr. Johnson said.
Mr. Giuliani, who had been invited by Mr. Henderson to
appear as a guest conductor at a New York Pops performance
in 1995, described the experience in a way that revealed
both Mr. Henderson's wit and the professionalism he had
instilled in the orchestra.
Mr. Giuliani said the Pops musicians seemed to respond
so well to his direction that at one point he simply dropped
his arms to his sides, and stopped conducting, only to find
the orchestra played on seamlessly.
Mr. Henderson's response to the episode, Mr. Giuliani said,
was a joke. ''Skitch said it's a little like being the mayor
of New York,'' Mr. Giuliani said. ''You think you are in
charge, but you really are not.''
