And while most 78-year-olds are well into retirement, the former Royal Air Force World War II pilot - full name Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson - who has worked with Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, James Van Heusen, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Bing Crosby - has concerts planned to the year 2000 and shows no signs of missing a beat.
QUESTION: How do you remain so energetic and enthusiastic after nearly 50 years in the entertainment business?
ANSWER: Being in sheer terror all the time. I'm always afraid that what happens tomorrow is Armageddon. If you spend a life auditioning in a profession where you are only as good as what you did last night, something has to wear off that keeps you in line.
Psychologically I'm always auditioning. I work in a strange profession where I wear funny clothes, try to please the public night after night and appear cheerful when maybe it isn't so cheerful. You can wake up tomorrow after you've had a colossal train wreck the night before and you have to figure out what the hell happened. Honestly, I live in a true state of panic and never stop worrying.
Q: Low points in your career?
A: I've had ups and downs like anybody else and times of tremendous depression thinking I ought to get a real job like driving a cab. But I've been so very lucky. I stumbled out of the movie business after the war and went into radio; when radio disappeared I was able to go into television simply because I was in New York. Then I started the orchestra at Carnegie nearly 15 years ago and we're still going.
Q: If you were stuck on a desert island what is the one piece of music you would want?
A: Mahler or Bruckner. I had studied with Schoenberg after the war, while I was at the University of California, Los Angeles, and looking for steady work. He put a stamp on my forehead that never really left. I never hear a Bruckner symphony without thinking of him.
Q: What's the future look like for Skitch Henderson?
A: We're booked through the year 2000. I'm too stupid to quit and hope to keep up good relationships with good bands around the world.
Q: OK, let's get serious. If you had a tattoo what would it be and where would you put it?
A: Ha! I don't know what, but I'm sure whatever it would be it would be on my ass for all the times I'm been kicked there by people asking what the hell am I doing.
Q: And the name Skitch?
A: Bing Crosby persuaded me to use a nickname rather than Cedric. I was called the Sketch Kid, because as a rehearsal pianist I made piano sketches for the orchestra. From that came Skitch.
What: Skitch Henderson's "Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Broadway Express" with the Honolulu Symphony
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday
Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall
Tickets: $15 to $45, at the Blaisdell box office or Connection outlets
Call: 545-4000 or 538-8863