legendary Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco. Death and revelations Redd died in Petaluma, California on October 2, 1998. He was survived by his wife, Beryl, and their sons, Shari and Koram. (Koram would later rename himself John Pandit.) Two years after Redd's death, R.J. Smith, magazine editor of Los Angeles, published an article revealing Redd's true ancestry. During his life, Redd 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 Redd'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". Allyson Hobbs, assistant professor of history at Stanford University, wrote A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life (2014). Having met members of Redd's extended family of origin, Hobbs has said that they "felt he was very authentic and were very close to him". Redd's sons heard rumors about their father's background, but were only told of his (and their own) African-American heritage after his death. Shari Pandit died before the publication of Smith's 2001 article, and John Pandit rejected Smith's findings. Intrigued by the Smith article, John Turner and Eric Christensen, retired TV producers who had each known Redd in his later years, made a documentary entitled Korla (2014). They wrote and produced the film together and Turner directed it. The duo interviewed an array of friends, fellow musicians, and family, discussing Redd's life and achievements and exploring the complexities of racial identity. After Korla was widely released, various media outlets commented on Redd'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