John Biddle

School and military years Biddle, and his many cousins, attended Meadowbrook School, then went on to Kent School in Connecticut. He turned 18 in 1943 and served in the infantry during World War II. A bad tooth sent him to the back of the lines during fighting in Belgium. There it was noticed that he could play piano and work a movie projector, so he was assigned to entertain the troops. Shortly thereafter, he discovered two thirds of his platoon had been killed in a firefight. His entertaining skills likely had spared his life. They also led to an unlikely occurrence: brother Nicholas Jr., who was fighting in the same region, learned that John was working at the back of the lines and flabbergasted him with a visit. After the war, John attended Trinity College, then returned overseas to Germany with the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry during the Korean War.

Yachting cinematographer In the 1950s, Biddle spent several years working as an engineer while snapping wedding and baby photos on the side. His father would have liked him to enter the family insurance business, Biddle, Bishop and Smith (now named Biddle & Company), but John saw a different path. After watching a John Jay skiing film, he imagined himself doing the same but with sailing. The following June he embarked on the 1956 Bermuda Race aboard his cousin, Charles Wharton's, 51-foot cutter, Souvenir, bringing along his film camera to capture the event. He combined that footage with three other pieces he shot that summer and would later booked himself into yacht clubs for his first lecture-show.

Lecturer Each year, Biddle filmed three to four events during the summer months and edited the footage into a 90-minute presentation in the fall. He also wrote the accompanying script, selected music, and edited it to align with the film. During the winter, he embarked on a five-month tour across the United States, Canada, Bermuda, the Caribbean (and occasionally Europe and Australia) where he delivered up to 100 in-person presentations, primarily at yacht clubs. For many audience members, these presentations provided a rare opportunity to view highlights from the previous year’s sailing events. A key feature of his work was his ability to capture both the dynamic and lighthearted elements of sailing, conveyed not only through film but also through his concise, understated narration, which often included humorous expressions such as “callapso flapitis” to describe moments of confusion on board. in Jamestown, Rhode Island and they had two children, Sophie in 1964 and Scott in 1966. Mary assisted John in filming the early America's Cup races. She had a stroke shortly after the birth of Scott and died five years later. Following this, Biddle managed to spend time at home with his children while continuing his career on the road and was able to include Sophie and Scott on trips to Bermuda, a cruise to Maine and trips to various lecture dates. In March 1977, he married Amy McKay van Roden in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania with three stepchildren: Winifred, Peter and Julie.

Career highlights Biddle filmed two races multiple times. The Bermuda Race he sailed 11 times to capture the stories that this pre-eminent, East Coast distance race delivered. Despite the race's long history and prestige, Biddle is the only film-maker to have focused on it. He also filmed the international yacht racing event, the America's Cup, all ten times when 12-metre class boats were used, from 1958 to 1987. For this, he took footage of the Sparkman & Stephens test tanks, of the spring practices, the summer trials, the Newport, Rhode Island balls, the dock happenings and the September finals. He was invited to shoot on board the 12-metre yachts by mercurial skippers including Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Ted Hood and Bus Mosbacher. The rare invitations were granted because of his nautical proficiency and ability to get key shots while staying clear of onboard action.

Final years After moving to Jamestown in 1980, Biddle became active with the Jamestown Community Chorus and directed the town talent show for several years. He fell ill with cancer soon thereafter and died on October 1, 2008, at the age of 83 in Middletown, Rhode Island. The formal induction ceremony was held in April 2009. Gary Jobson said of Biddle's film-making achievement, “His film archive is one of the most comprehensive and important yachting libraries in existence”. Biddle was also inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2018.