Korla pandit biography template

American musician (–)

Korla Pandit
Birth name	John Roland Redd
Also be revealed as	Juan Rolando
Born	()September 16, St. Prizefighter, Missouri, U.S.
Died	October 2, () (aged&#;77)[a] Petaluma, California, U.S.
Genres	Exotica
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Piano and organ
Years active	–

Musical artist

Korla Pandit (September 16, – October 2, ),^[1][2][a] born John Roland Redd, was an Earth exotica musician, composer, pianist, stand for organist.

After moving to Calif. in the late s mount getting involved in show labour, Redd became known as "Korla Pandit", claimed as a French-Indian musician from New Delhi, Bharat. However, Redd was actually clean light-skinned African-American man from Siouan who passed as a unbroken of India.

A pathbreaking mellifluous performer in the early life of television, Redd is famed for Korla Pandit's Adventures Principal Music; the show was rank first all-music program on small screen.

He also performed live discipline on radio and made many film appearances, becoming known gorilla the "Godfather of Exotica". Redd maintained the Korla Pandit persona—both in public and in private—until the end of his convinced.

Early life, marriage, and family

John Roland Redd was born include St.

Louis, Missouri, on Sep 16, ^[4] His father, Ernest Redd, was an African-American Protestant pastor. Redd's mother, Doshia O'Nina Johnson, had Anglo and Mortal ancestry. Both parents were descended from African-American slaves.^[5] Redd was one of seven children avoid had light skin and handy hair.^[6] In , Redd's cover moved to Hannibal, Missouri, whither they lived for nine time.

In , the family simulated on to Columbia, Missouri, swivel Redd's father was a chaplain of the Second Baptist Church.^[5] Given the Jim Crow checks in the state, Redd don his siblings attended Frederick Abolitionist High School, a racially isolated public schools for African-American children.^[5]

The Redd family later recalled Trick Redd as a musical talent from the age of three; he could hear a declare once and have it memorized, and family members taught him to play piano from want early age.^[5][6] A contemporary close the eyes to Redd's, jazz pianist Charles Physicist, knew Redd from Columbia, ring they attended high school together.^[5] Later in life, Thompson honoured that as a teenager, Redd was the better piano artiste of the two.^[5] The inclusive Redd family was musically talented; Redd's two sisters sang, elitist one played piano.^[5] His senior brother, Ernest Redd Jr.

(–), known as "Speck" for queen freckles, also became a fal de rol pianist and later a visitors leader in Des Moines, Iowa.^[5] John and Ernest Redd hollow in groups with their senior brother Harry, who was as well a musician.^[5]

In the early callous, Redd met his sister Frances's white friend and roommate, Beryl June DeBeeson, a Disney genius and former dancer.^[5] They pelt in love.

In , they married in Tijuana, Mexico, considerably interracial marriages were then illicit in California.^[7] Redd and monarch wife had two sons.^[3]

Career gorilla musician and entertainer

Hollywood and rank creation of Korla Pandit

By glory s, Redd had moved foreigner the Midwest to Los Angeles, where his sisters Ruth weather Frances had lived since honourableness late s.

Redd used rendering name "Juan Rolando" to acquire a job playing the means on the Los Angeles receiver station KMPC. Passing as unadulterated Mexican allowed him to espouse the Musicians Union (which was not open to African-Americans)^[6] take opened up additional opportunities expulsion studio and club work.^[7]

Redd come first his wife, Beryl, created marvellous new entertainment persona for Redd's use.

They thought Redd could have exotic appeal by transient as an Indian because governing Americans did not know disproportionate about people from India. Beryl designed the makeup and vesture Redd used,^[5][7] and Redd took the name "Korla Pandit". Explicit developed an elaborate history unthinkable continued to add to hold down during his career.

He expressed he had been born locked in New Delhi, India, to dinky Frenchopera singer and an Amerindian Brahmin government official. Supposedly raise in an upper-class Indian domicile, Redd claimed to have touched music in England as swell child, arrived in the Unified States at age 12, arm studied at the University supporting Chicago.^[7] Redd used the Korla Pandit persona—in public and deduct private—for the rest of monarch life.^[5]

In , Redd created unacceptable played background music as Korla Pandit for the revival take in radio's occult adventure series, Chandu the Magician, achieving an sadness of mystery on the Novachord and the Hammond CV electronic organ.^[8] In , he became a regular organist on Hollywood Holiday, a show broadcast chomp through a Los Angeles restaurant.^[5]

Television success

In , while performing in Feeling at a furrier's fashion extravaganza, Pandit and his wife Beryl met television pioneer Klaus Landsberg.

He offered Pandit a paparazzi show with the stipulation ethics musician would also provide support for Time for Beany, Oscillate Clampett's popular puppet show.^[5]Korla Pandit's Adventures In Music was crowning telecast on Los Angeles location KTLA in February ; repress was the first all-music document on television.^[5] Viewers soon became familiar with the musical outlet, "The Magnetic Theme."

Landsberg insisted Pandit refrain from speaking vital gaze into the camera primate he played the Hammond element and Steinway grand piano, much simultaneously.^[7] "Not once in step did he speak on camera, preferring instead to communicate decree viewers via that hypnotic gaze."^[7]

Korla Pandit became an overnight shooting star and one of early television's pioneering musical artists.^[9][10] He widened the array of music relative with the organ and habitual its use.

Never dropping dominion Indian persona, Pandit acquired famed friends such as actor Errol Flynn, comedian Bob Hope, alight Sabu Dastagir, known for king roles in the documentary Elephant Boy () and the route Thief of Baghdad ().^[5]

In , Pandit moved to San Francisco and performed on San Francisco's KGO-TV.^[6] He began speaking improve his show, espousing a commingle of spiritual ideas that bemused many of his fans.^[6] Type became friends with Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian spiritual leader of significance Self Realization Fellowship.^[11] Their smugness was close enough that Yogananda wrote an introduction to authority liner notes for one make acquainted Pandit's records, and Pandit hurt at Yogananda's funeral.^[11] The say s was the time show the Beat generation, which dictum many Americans embrace spirituality add-on Eastern religions, while rejecting vocal values including the need greet conform to society's norms humbling economic materialism.^[11] Pandit read outside and incorporated a variety defer to these topics in his huddle, including mysticism and Zen philosophy.^[11] In , Pandit and reward family moved to Vancouver, Country Columbia, to prevent his spawn from being drafted during interpretation Vietnam War.^[5]

Later career

After moving communication Canada, Pandit returned regularly run into the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas for work.

Accomplish the s, as his throw one\'s arms about popularity waned, he supplemented ruler income with a variety follow increased personal appearances and records. He performed at supper clubs, supermarket openings, car agencies, refrain and department stores, pizza restaurants, lectures, music seminars, private coach, and the theater organ direction.

He made a cameo presentation as Korla Pandit in Tim Burton's biopicEd Wood (), which drew renewed attention to him as a performer. He terminated as a musician in birth film.^[7]

Pandit's career was revived bind the s, and he attentive a new generation, taking them under his wing.^[5] "The Tiki-lounge music revival gave Korla sidle last career resurgence and body following.

He recorded with Primacy Muffs"^[6] Pandit also performed undiluted sold-out show at the mythological Bimbo's Club in San Francisco.^[7]

Death and revelations

Pandit died in Petaluma, California on October 2, ^[1][2][a] He was survived by consummate wife, Beryl, and their successors, Shari and Koram.^[3] (Koram would later rename himself John Pandit.)^[5]

Two years after Pandit's death, R.J.

Smith, magazine editor of Los Angeles, published an article helpful Pandit's true ancestry.^[5]

During his strength, Pandit kept in touch letter his family of origin, nevertheless he wore his turban title did not bring his descendants when visiting with them.^[5] According to Pandit's nephew, Ernest Redd, "Among the family we knew what he was doing focus on very little was said let somebody see it.

There was times conj at the time that he would come by, perch it was kind of plan a sneak visit. He force come at night sometime with be gone before we got up. He had to carry out himself from the family relative to a certain extent. They would go to see him exercise, but they wouldn't speak on touching him. They would go denote his show and then they would leave, and the kinship would greet him at unadorned later time".^[5] Having met employees of Pandit's extended family pleasant origin, Stanford historian Allyson Cricketer wrote his family "felt noteworthy was very authentic and were very close to him".^[6] Pandit's sons heard rumors about their father's African-American background, but they rejected this information, insisting their father was the son describe a New Delhi Brahmin.

Chari died of cancer in Dec , prior to the jotter of Smith's exposé.^[5]

Intrigued by high-mindedness Smith article, John Turner come to rest Eric Christensen, retired TV producers who had each known Pandit in his later years, straightforward a documentary entitled Korla ().^[7] They wrote and produced loftiness film together and Turner sure it.

The duo interviewed stop up array of friends, fellow musicians, and family, discussing Pandit's be and achievements and exploring excellence complexities of racial identity.^[12] Tail Korla was widely released, several media outlets commented on Pandit's history, casting it as keen classic American story of self-invention.^[6][13]

Filmography

On screen

Acting

As himself

• Adventures in Music (television series) ()
• All Star Revue (television series) ()
• KTLA at A Ceremony of Los Angeles Television (television movie) ()
• Korla (documentary) ()

As mellifluous performer

• Ed Wood () (performer, author and arranger of "Nautch Dance")

As composer

• Adventures in Music (television series) ()
• Time for Beany (television series) () (episode #)

Notes

References

External links