John Jay was a trailblazing American ski filmmaker who revolutionized the industry by shaping the modern ski film and sharing his distinctive style through travel adventure lectures, books, and magazine articles for over six decades.
Jay was an early advocate for skiing, capturing the evolution of the sport from primitive rope tows to helicopter skiing through his films. He began his career in the late 1930s, producing promotional films for Williams College, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Panagra airline.
Jay's first feature film, Ski the Americas, North and South, was released in 1940. During World War II, he served as a meteorologist, photographer, and public relations officer with the 87th Mountain Infantry Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington, and later with the 10th Mountain Division.
As a member of the 10th Mountain Division, Jay created training and recruiting films, evaluated equipment for winter warfare, and even produced a film titled Ski Patrol in 1943, which helped boost recruitment for the division. Later that year, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 10th Reconnaissance Troop.
After the war, Jay wrote a comprehensive History of the Mountain Training Center in 1944, which was published in 1948. From 1946 to 1970, he resided in Williamstown, Massachusetts, but continued to travel the world, producing a new ski film each year and presenting them in lecture format.
Jay's contributions to the ski film industry were immense, with Warren Miller, a renowned ski filmmaker, describing him as "virtually inventing the ski film in its modern form."
