Jack Reddish

Jack Nichol Reddish (December 2, 1926 – October 20, 1992) was an American alpine ski racer who competed in the Winter Olympics in 1948 and 1952.[1] Known as "Red Dog" during his racing days,[2] he later worked in the entertainment industry, behind the cameras in film and television.[3]

Jack Reddish
Born(1926-12-02)December 2, 1926
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
DiedOctober 20, 1992(1992-10-20) (aged 65)
Salt Lake City, Utah
OccupationAlpine skier
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Skiing career
DisciplinesDownhill, giant slalom, slalom, combined
ClubAlta Ski Club,
post-Olympic: Sun Valley SC
Retired1952 (age 25)
Olympics
Teams2 – (1948, 1952)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams3 – (1948, 1950, 1952)
    includes Olympics
Medals0

Ski racing

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Reddish grew up skiing and jumping at nearby Alta[4][5] and attended Granite High School[6] and later the University of Utah.[3] He was one of the top alpine racers from North America in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and won multiple national titles.[7][8][9] He was a three-time winner of the Snow Cup at Alta.[10][11][12][13]

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. Four years later in Norway, he was captain of the U.S. men's team and finished 14th in the downhill, 17th in the slalom, and 24th in the giant slalom. In between, he also competed for the U.S. at the World Championships in 1950, held at Aspen, Colorado, where he finished fourth in the slalom.[14][15]

Reddish served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and Korean War[16] and was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1969.

After ski racing

Following his ski racing career, Reddish went into the film and television business, directing and producing well-known movies and TV shows.[3] He was the assistant director for the 1963 movie The Great Escape. and produced Le Mans (1971). In television, he directed an episode of The Rat Patrol called "The Delilah Raid" (aired May 1, 1967).

Personal

During his racing career, Reddish was a ski instructor at Alta[17] and afterward in 1952 at Sun Valley in Idaho,[2][12][13] 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.[18] At age 27, he married 18-year-old Katherine Thalberg in Reno, Nevada in April 1954. She was the daughter of actress Norma Shearer and late producer Irving Thalberg.[19] The marriage was short-lived and Thalberg was later married to actor Richard Anderson 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.[20][21][22] 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

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 Slalom 
Super GDownhillCombined
1948217not runnot run2612
195023426not run
195225172414

Olympic results

  Year   Age  Slalom  Giant 
 Slalom 
Super GDownhillCombined
1948217not runnot run2612
195225172414not run

Video

References

  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jack Reddish". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012.
  2. "'Red Dog' Reddish named as Sun Valley mentor". Deseret News. September 25, 1952. p. A19.
  3. Pearson, Howard (March 24, 1979). "From skier to producer". Deseret News. p. 2S.
  4. "Reddish cops Engen ski jump". Deseret News. March 27, 1944. p. 10.
  5. Durham, Wilby (December 16, 1944). "Alta destined to become America's leading ski center". Deseret News. p. 3.
  6. "Reddish cops 3-way, Tri-State ski laurels". Deseret News. March 8, 1943. p. 10.
  7. "Reddish, Robison, and Rytting Olympic choices". Deseret News. United Press. March 19, 1951. p. A7.
  8. "Reddish, Rodolph win national ski titles". Deseret News. United Press. March 14, 1953. p. 3B.
  9. Rego, Brennan (January 16, 2013). "Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame to honor 6 more". Idaho Mountain Express. Ketchum. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  10. Nelson, George (December 20, 1948). "Jack Reddish, Suzy Harris win annual Snow Cup meet at Alta". Deseret News. p. B-2.
  11. Bain, Dale (January 29, 1951). "Reddish, Rodolph annex crowns". Deseret News. p. 6A.
  12. Bain, Dale (December 27, 1952). "Snow Cup races 'interest' Olympic stars". Deseret News. p. A5.
  13. Bain, Dale (January 12, 1953). "Pravda leads Sun Valley in ski sweep". Deseret News. p. 10A.
  14. "World slalom title won by Swiss rider". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. February 17, 1950. p. 4-part 2.
  15. Classen, Harold (February 17, 1950). "Swiss captures men's Slalom". Lewiston Daily Sun. Associated Press. p. 20.
  16. "When skibirds get together". Deseret News. (photo). December 6, 1951. p. A15.
  17. "Deseret News offers free ski school; world's top skiers". Deseret News. December 20, 1948. p. B-2.
  18. "Canadians near top in U.S. men's downhill". Montreal Gazette. Canadian Press. March 29, 1948. p. 18.
  19. "Reddish weds Miss Thalberg". Deseret News. United Press. April 20, 1954. p. 3B.
  20. Coslon, John (January 6, 2006). "Katherine Thalberg 1935-2006". Aspen Times. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  21. "Katharine Thalberg, 70; movie mogul's daughter led Aspen 'Fur Fight'". Los Angeles Times. January 11, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  22. Frank, Robert (October 5, 2007). "The Billionaire and the Bookstore". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
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