Biographie

While on the set of Gunga Din (1939) in the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA, he was asked by director George Stevens if he could "whip these guys into shape." Being a military expert, Redwng took on the task of training 3,000 Hindus, Gurkhas (Nepalese) and East Indians the military drills of their own nations. The movements of the regiments in the movie are considered classic to this day.

Known widely as a trick shooter, he delighted in shooting Necco wafers out of the air with .22 LR single-action revolvers and Marlin lever-action rifles. His best known feat was holding a throwing knife at shoulder level with his right hand, throwing the knife at a target, and in the same hand motion draw an SA Colt revolver and fire a shot. The knife would stick in the edge of the bullet hole. Bob Argenbright, nationally known firearms and security expert and author of books on guns, stated in 2010 that Redwing had perfected a magic act to create this illusion, but admitted that "it required exceptional gun handling skill and hand speed to get that shot off before the knife stuck in the target, as well as being a skilled knife thrower.".

On the February 2, 1958, CBS program What's My Line? (1950), hosted by John Daly, the four panelists--Arlene Francis, Jonathan Winters, Dorothy Kilgallen and Bennett Cerf--all failed to identify his line of work. In conversation with Daly at the conclusion of the game, Rodd said he was able to shoot in the center of something the size of a quarter at 20 feet in two-tenths of a second. Winters asked why Indians didn't make out better in the westerns and Rodd replied because the studios don't hire Indians to play Indians. There was no reply and Rodd rose and shook hands with each of the four panelists.

He coached Alan Ladd, Glenn Ford, Jerry Lewis, Henry Fonda, Clayton Moore, Ronald Reagan and many other film and TV cowboys in use of firearms for westerns. He was able to hit a target the size of a quarter at 20 feet.

While on location for the Paramount film The Tin Star (1957) he was hired to stand guard over the cast and crew in the rattlesnake-infested California foothills.