Jack Nichol Reddish (December 2, 1926 – October 20, 1992) was an American alpine ski racer who competed in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

in 1948 and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. Known as "Red Dog" during his racing days, he later worked in the entertainment industry, behind the cameras in film and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

Ski racing

Born and raised in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Utah, Reddish grew up skiing and

jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotics, robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, gallo ...

at nearby Alta and attended Granite High School and later the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. He was one of the top alpine racers from North America in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and won multiple national titles. He was a three-time winner of the Snow Cup at Alta.

Olympics

At the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, he raced in all three events and finished seventh in the slalom, twelfth in the combined, and 26th in the

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

. Four years later in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, he was captain of the U.S. men's team and finished 14th in the

, 17th in the slalom, and 24th in the giant slalom. In between, he also competed for the U.S. at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

, held at

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, where he finished fourth in the slalom. Reddish served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and was inducted into the

National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

in 1969.

After ski racing

Following his ski racing career, Reddish went into the film and

business, directing and producing well-known movies and TV shows. He was the assistant director for the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

movie '' The Great Escape''. and produced '' Le Mans'' (1971). In television, he directed an episode of ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one British — who are part of a long-range desert ...

'' called "The Delilah Raid" (aired May 1, 1967).

Personal

During his racing career, Reddish was a ski instructor at Alta and afterward in 1952 at Sun Valley in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, where he won the downhill in the Olympic trials in March 1947 and first won the Harriman Cup (and national title in downhill) in 1948. At age 27, he married 18-year-old Katherine Thalberg in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

in April 1954. She was the daughter of actress

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...

and late producer

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

. The marriage was short-lived and Thalberg was later married to actor

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin ( Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers ( Lindsay Wagner) i ...

from 1961 to 1973, then moved to Aspen and married Bill Stirling, who later became its mayor. She was a bookstore owner in Aspen and a noted political activist. Reddish was later married to Jane Fisher of Salt Lake City. He died in Salt Lake City at age 65 in 1992.

World Championship results

* The

were also the

for alpine skiing from 1948 through 1980

Olympic results

Video

References

External links

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
– Jack Reddish
Alta Historical Society
– Jack Reddish
Alf Engen Ski Museum - Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame
– Jack Reddish
University of Utah Marriott Library - digital archives
– photos of Jack Reddish *

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reddish, Jack 1926 births 1992 deaths American male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for the United States Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Skiers from Salt Lake City United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War