Korla Pandit

United States • 1921-09-16 – 1998-10-02

Biography

Korla Pandit (born John Roland Redd; September 16, 1921 – October 2, 1998), was an American exotica musician, composer, pianist, and organist. Redd was an African-American man from Missouri who moved to California in the 1940s. After getting involved in show business, Redd became known as "Korla Pandit" and claimed to be a French-Indian musician from New Delhi, India. A pathbreaking musical performer in the early days of television, Redd is known for Korla Pandit's Adventures In Music; the show was the first all-music program on television. He also performed live and on radio and made various film appearances, becoming known as the "Godfather of Exotica". Both publicly and privately, Redd maintained the Korla Pandit persona and continued to pass as a native of India until the end of his life.

Bio from Wikipedia