Peter Yates(1929-2011)
- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Having seen Robbery (1967) and
Bullitt (1968), it comes as no surprise
that Peter Yates started out as a professional racing car driver and
team manager - albeit briefly - before turning his attention to film.
The son of a military man, he was educated at Charterhouse School and
trained at RADA, gaining his first experience as an actor with local
repertory companies. In the early 1950's, he worked as a dubbing
assistant, cutter, stage manager and theatre director (Royal Court),
eventually graduating to assistant director on
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958).
He cut his teeth, directing many episodes of
The Saint (1962) and
Secret Agent (1964) for television,
before helming his first feature film, the musical
Summer Holiday (1963).
"Summer Holiday" did nothing for his career. However, the exhilarating
car chase through the streets of London - staged for his next film,
"Robbery" - so impressed
Steve McQueen that he requested
Yates to direct him in "Bullitt". The rest is history: for many years,
THAT car chase became the yard stick by which all others were measured.
The success of this venture prompted Yates to remain in America,
adapting himself to a variety of other genres, though continuing to be
preoccupied with action subjects. His best films include the stylish
and ingenious caper comedy
The Hot Rock (1972); the underwater
adventure The Deep (1977), based on the
novel and screenplay by Peter Benchley;
and the quirky coming-of-age comedy
Breaking Away (1979). For the
latter, Yates received simultaneous Oscar nominations as Best Director
and Best Producer.
He was nominated again for a more cerebral 'actor's piece',
The Dresser (1983), starring
Albert Finney and
Tom Courtenay , based on a play about an
ageing stage actor and his long-standing assistant. Never a prolific
director, Yates subsequently made only a few more films. Most
memorable, perhaps, were the courtroom thriller
Suspect (1987), the political drama
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
and the enjoyably old-fashioned comedy
It All Came True (1998), starring
Michael Caine and
Maggie Smith as a couple of
theatrical ghosts.
Bullitt (1968), it comes as no surprise
that Peter Yates started out as a professional racing car driver and
team manager - albeit briefly - before turning his attention to film.
The son of a military man, he was educated at Charterhouse School and
trained at RADA, gaining his first experience as an actor with local
repertory companies. In the early 1950's, he worked as a dubbing
assistant, cutter, stage manager and theatre director (Royal Court),
eventually graduating to assistant director on
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958).
He cut his teeth, directing many episodes of
The Saint (1962) and
Secret Agent (1964) for television,
before helming his first feature film, the musical
Summer Holiday (1963).
"Summer Holiday" did nothing for his career. However, the exhilarating
car chase through the streets of London - staged for his next film,
"Robbery" - so impressed
Steve McQueen that he requested
Yates to direct him in "Bullitt". The rest is history: for many years,
THAT car chase became the yard stick by which all others were measured.
The success of this venture prompted Yates to remain in America,
adapting himself to a variety of other genres, though continuing to be
preoccupied with action subjects. His best films include the stylish
and ingenious caper comedy
The Hot Rock (1972); the underwater
adventure The Deep (1977), based on the
novel and screenplay by Peter Benchley;
and the quirky coming-of-age comedy
Breaking Away (1979). For the
latter, Yates received simultaneous Oscar nominations as Best Director
and Best Producer.
He was nominated again for a more cerebral 'actor's piece',
The Dresser (1983), starring
Albert Finney and
Tom Courtenay , based on a play about an
ageing stage actor and his long-standing assistant. Never a prolific
director, Yates subsequently made only a few more films. Most
memorable, perhaps, were the courtroom thriller
Suspect (1987), the political drama
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
and the enjoyably old-fashioned comedy
It All Came True (1998), starring
Michael Caine and
Maggie Smith as a couple of
theatrical ghosts.