Korla Pandit

Korla Pandit (September 16 1921 – October 2 1998), born John Roland Redd in St. Louis, Missouri, was a musician, composer, pianist, organist and television pioneer. He was known as "The Godfather Of Exotica". Arriving in Los Angeles, California in 1940, John Roland Redd donned a turban and performed under the name Juan Rolando.

Redd married Disney artist Beryl June DeBeeson in 1944, and the two overhauled his image, eventually replacing "Juan Rolando" with "Korla Pandit" and fabricating a romantic history for him as a baby born in New Delhi, India to a Brahman priest and a French opera singer, who traveled from India via England, finally arriving in the United States.

Radio

Pandit's first work for radio was in 1938 with the Central Broadcasting Company in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1948 he created eerie background music for the revival of radio's occult adventure series, "Chandu the Magician", achieving atmospheric effects on the Nova Chord Organ and the Hammond C-3 Electronic Organ. [Dunning, John. "On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio". Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-507678-8] In 1949, he was heard on "Hollywood Holiday", broadcast from a Los Angeles restaurant.

Television

In 1948, while performing in Hollywood at a furrier's fashion show in Tom Breneman's Restaurant, Korla and Beryl met television pioneer Klaus Landsberg who offered Korla his own 15-minute daily television show with the stipulation that he would also provide musical accompaniment for "Time for Beany", Bob Clampett's popular puppet show which featured Stan Freberg and Daws Butler as puppeteers and voices. Korla and Beryl's son, Shari Pandit, was born August 5, 1948. "Korla Pandit's Adventures In Music" was first telecast on Los Angeles station KTLA in February 1949, and viewers soon became familiar with the musical opening, "The Magnetic Theme." Landsberg insisted that Korla not speak but instead simply gaze dreamily into the camera as he played the Hammond organ and Steinway grand piano, often simultaneously. Following Klaus's directorial and contractual stipulations, Pandit became an overnight star and one of early television's pioneering musical artists. [ [http://www.korlapandit.com Korla Pandit biography: David Marshall-Rutledge deClue] ]

In 1951, Pandit left KTLA in a deal with Louis D. Snader of Snader Telescriptions, resulting in short films which gave Pandit a national TV audience. However, problems with contract negotiations prompted Snader to replace Pandit with Liberace, which launched the pianist to fame. Pandit then did a show on KGO in San Francisco.

In the 1970s, when his television popularity waned, Pandit supplemented his income with increased personal appearances at supper clubs, supermarket openings, car agencies, music and department stores, pizza restaurants, lectures, music seminars, private lessons and the theater organ circuit. He made a cameo appearance in Tim Burton's film, "Ed Wood" in 1994. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659259/ IMDb: Korla Pandit] ]

Recordings

Pandit's audio works number over two dozen albums recorded on 78 and 45rpm records, LP vinyl albums and CD labels. The back of his LP "Hypnotique" (Fantasy 8075) lists eight other Fantasy Records LPs by Pandit, and he eventually recorded 13 albums for Fantasy.

He died in Petaluma, California of a myocardial infarction. Two years following his death, it was sensationally revealed in an article by "Los Angeles" magazine editor RJ Smith that Pandit was actually an African-American who had been born in the United States. Smith won a journalism award for his tabloid-style exposé.

Filmography

*Snader Telescriptions
**"Chiu Chiu"
**"Song Of India"
**"Tango In D"
**"Moon Love"
**"Underwater Worshippers"

References

Listen to

* [http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/DP/2007/12/352_105_Korla_Pandit_-_Silver_Bells.mp3 Korla Pandit: "Silver Bells"]

External links

* [http://www.korlapandit.com/ Korla Pandit official site managed by Verne Langdon]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:4t9sa9rgy23f~T0 Korla Pandit] at Allmusic.com