Korla Pandit

Korla Pandit (born John Roland Redd; September 16, 1921 – October 2, 1998), His father, Ernest Redd, was an African-American Baptist pastor. Redd's mother, Doshia O'Nina Johnson, had white and African ancestry. Both parents were descended from African-American slaves.

In 1931, the family moved to Columbia, Missouri, where Redd's father was a pastor of the Second Baptist Church. Given the Jim Crow restrictions in the state, Redd and his siblings attended Frederick Douglass High School, a racially segregated public school for African-American children.

Career as musician and entertainer Hollywood and the creation of Korla Pandit By the 1940s, Redd had moved from the Midwest to Los Angeles, where his sisters Ruth and Frances had lived since the late 1930s. Redd used the name "Juan Rolando" to gain a job playing the organ on the Los Angeles radio station KMPC. Passing as a Mexican allowed him to join the Musicians Union (which was not open to African-Americans) and opened up additional opportunities for studio and club work. Contemporaries who knew Redd before his move to Los Angeles were aware of his deception; a 1943 Columbia, Missouri newspaper article detailed how "Johnny Redd, Negro band leader and pianist" had been using the Juan Rolando name for two years to obtain bookings in Southern California. The article included a photo that showed Redd in an early version of his Korla Pandit costume.

Redd and his wife later created a new entertainment persona for him. They thought he could have exotic appeal by passing as an Indian because most Americans did not know much about people from India. Beryl designed the makeup and clothing,

In 1948, Redd created and played background music as Korla Pandit for the revival of radio's occult adventure series Chandu the Magician. He achieved an air of mystery on the Novachord and the Hammond CV electronic organ. In 1949, he became a regular organist on Hollywood Holiday, a show broadcast from a Los Angeles restaurant. He widened the array of music associated with the organ and popularized its use. Never dropping his Indian persona, Pandit made notable friends such as actor Errol Flynn, comedian Bob Hope, and Sabu, known for his roles in the films Elephant Boy (1937) and Thief of Baghdad (1940). In 1967, Pandit and his family moved to Canada, settling in Vancouver, to prevent his sons from being drafted during the Vietnam War. He was survived by his wife and their sons.

During his life, Pandit kept in touch with his family of origin, but he wore his turban and did not bring his sons when visiting with them. According to Pandit's nephew, Ernest Redd, "Among the family we knew what he was doing and very little was said about it. There was times when he would come by, and it was kind of like a sneak visit. He might come at night sometime and be gone before we got up. He had to separate himself from the family to a certain extent. They would go to see him play, but they wouldn't speak to him. They would go to his show and then they would leave, and the family would greet him at a later time". After Korla was widely released, various media outlets commented on Pandit's history, casting it as a classic American story of self-invention.

Filmography On screen Acting Something to Live For (1952) – Hindu Man (uncredited) Which Way Is Up? (1977) – The Hindu Ed Wood (1994) – Indian musician

As himself Adventures in Music (television series) (1948) All Star Revue (television series) (1952) KTLA at 40: A Celebration of Los Angeles Television (television movie) (1986) Korla (documentary) (2015)

As musical performer Ed Wood (1994) (performer, writer and arranger of "Nautch Dance")

As composer Adventures in Music (television series) (1948) Time for Beany (television series) (1951) (episode #1.421)