Korla Pandit

Before there was Liberace, there was Korla Pandit (literally). Korla Pandit had a daily afternoon music TV show in LA back in the 1950s where he played his unique percussive style of Hammond organ while mystical cloud projections passed in the background and the camera focused in on his dreamy hypnotic eyes.

So dreamy & hypnotic, in fact, that wealthy women started sending him really expensive gifts, like grand pianos. Rumors began to circulate that Pandit was actually hypnotizing women thru the TV & the concern got so great that the station cancelled him & he was replaced by an up & coming pianist - Liberace.

Korla slipped into obscurity, eventually playing organ at silent film revival houses in LA until Tim Burton cast him for a cameo as himself in Ed Wood.

With thanks to, & in memory of, Lux Interior.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Korla
• Pandit
• Liberace
• Ed
• Wood