Bill Henderson obit

Bill Henderson, Jazz Vocalist and Actor, Dies at 90

He was not on the list.

He performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and the Oscar Peterson Trio and appeared in dozens of films and TV shows.

Bill Henderson, a well-respected jazz vocalist and actor, died Sunday of natural causes in Los Angeles, according to Lynne Robin Green, president of LWBH Music Publishers. He was 90.

A native of Chicago, Henderson sang with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, the Charlie Haden Quintet and many others. His 1963 album, Bill Henderson With the Oscar Peterson Trio, is considered a classic in the jazz vernacular.

Henderson was a fixture on the Playboy circuit in the 1970s and appeared often at many festivals, including Playboy Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl, Monterey Jazz and the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Connecticut. Later, he performed at The Kennedy Center and in New York at the Hotel Algonquin’s Oak Room and at Lincoln Center.

“Henderson’s phrasing is virtually his own copyright,” music journalist Leonard Feather once said. “He tends to space certain words as if the syllables were separated by commas, even semicolons, yet everything winds up as a perfectly constructed sentence.”

At the suggestion of his friend Bill Cosby, Henderson pursued an acting career and in 1967 relocated to Hollywood.

He appeared in such films as The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), Clue (1985) — as the cop who is killed by a lead pipe in the library — City Slickers (1991), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Maverick (1994), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) and Smiling Fish & Goat on Fire (1999) and on television in ER, Hill Street Blues, Happy Days, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, Good Times, MacGyver, Benson, NYPD Blue and My Name Is Earl.

Henderson made his show business debut as a singer and dancer at age 4. A stint in the Army led to him working with crooner Vic Damone, and in 1956, Henderson made his way to New York.

A year later, Horace Silver hired him to record a vocal version of the popular instrumental song “Senor Blues” for Blue Note Records. It was a jukebox hit and remains one of the biggest-selling singles in the label’s history.

Between 1958-61, Henderson recorded for the Vee-Jay label and recorded his first album, Bill Henderson Sings. Most recently, he released a self-produced live album, Beautiful Memory, co-produced by Green.

Survivors include his daughter Mariko, granddaughter Mya, son-in-law Marc, nephew Finis and niece Henreene.

Filmography

Film

    Trouble Man (1972) – Jimmy, Pool Room Owner

    Silver Streak (1976) – Red Cap

    Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976) – Charles Taylor

    Inside Moves (1980) - Blue Lewis

    Continental Divide (1981) – Train Conductor

    Get Crazy (1983) – King Blues

    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) – Casper Lindley

    Clue (1985) – The Cop

    Fletch (1985) – Speaker

    Wisdom (1986) – Theo

    Murphy's Law (1986) – Ben Wilcove

    How I Got Into College (1989) – Detroit High School Coach

    No Holds Barred (1989) – Charlie

    Cousins (1989) – Valhalla Band

    City Slickers (1991) – Dr. Ben Jessup

    White Men Can't Jump (1992) – Member of the Venice Beach Boys

    Maverick (1994) – Mr. Hightower, Riverboat Poker Player

    "Weird Al" Yankovic: There's No Going Home (1996) – Blind Lemon Yankovic (uncredited)

    Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) – Minister

    Hoodlum (1997) – Mr. Redmond

    Conspiracy Theory (1997) – Hospital Security

    Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) – Angry Patient

    Trippin' (1999) – Gramps Reed

    Hard Ground (2003) – Junior Gunn

    The Alibi (2006) – Counterman

               

Television

    Happy Days (1974) – Mr. Davis

    Harry O (1974-1976) – Spencer Johnson / Teak

    Sanford and Son (1975) – Harvey

    Good Times (1976-1977) – Ray the Bartender / Night Club Owner

    The Jeffersons (1977) – JoJo

    What's Happening!! (1977) – Clarence Hopkins

    Diff'rent Strokes (1979) – Attendent

    The Incredible Hulk (1979) – Antoine Moray / Babalao

    Ad Lib (1981)

    Benson (1982) – Jay

    Hill Street Blues (1983) – Maynard

    The Facts of Life (1985) – Art Jackson

    MacGyver (1987) – Gas Station Cashier

    In the Heat of the Night (1993) – Bishop William Prinn

    NYPD Blue (1996) – Verdis

    Mad About You (1998) – Mets Shortstop

    Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1998) – Lloyd Weeks

    ER (1999) – Charley Barnes

    Malcolm & Eddie (1999) – Uncle Buddy (voice)

    7th Heaven (2000) – Caleb

    Cold Case (2003) – George 'Tinkerbell' Polk (2003)

    My Name Is Earl (2007) – Charlie (final appearance)