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IMDbPro

Peter Yates(1929-2011)

  • Director
  • Producer
  • Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Peter Yates in The House on Carroll Street (1988)
Clip: Dinner conversation
Play clip1:28
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
1 Video
20 Photos
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.
BornJuly 24, 1929
DiedJanuary 9, 2011(81)
BornJuly 24, 1929
DiedJanuary 9, 2011(81)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 4 Oscars

Photos20

Dustin Hoffman, Mia Farrow, and Peter Yates in John and Mary (1969)
Dustin Hoffman and Peter Yates in John and Mary (1969)
Dustin Hoffman and Peter Yates in John and Mary (1969)
Dustin Hoffman and Peter Yates in John and Mary (1969)
"Bullitt" Director Peter Yates 1968 Solar Productions
"Bullitt" Director Peter Yates 1968 Solar Productions
"Bullitt" Director Peter Yates, Steve McQueen 1968 Solar Productions
"Bullitt" Director Peter Yates 1968 Solar Productions
"Bullitt" Director Peter Yates, Steve McQueen 1968 Solar Productions
"Bullitt" Director Peter Yates, Steve McQueen 1968 Solar Productions
"Bullitt" Director Peter Yates 1968 Solar Productions
William A. Fraker and Peter Yates in Bullitt (1968)

Known for

Lysette Anthony and Ken Marshall in Krull (1983)
Krull
6.1
  • Director
  • 1983
Steve McQueen in Bullitt (1968)
Bullitt
7.4
  • Director
  • 1968
The Dresser (1983)
The Dresser
7.5
  • Director
  • 1983
Robbery (1967)
Robbery
6.9
  • Director
  • 1967

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

  • Toby Moore in A Separate Peace (2004)
    A Separate Peace
  • Don Quixote (2000)
    Don Quixote
  • It All Came True (1998)
    It All Came True
  • The Run of the Country (1995)
    The Run of the Country
  • Roommates (1995)
    Roommates
  • Penelope Ann Miller and Tim Daly in Year of the Comet (1992)
    Year of the Comet
  • Tom Selleck and Laila Robins in An Innocent Man (1989)
    An Innocent Man
  • Kelly McGillis and Jeff Daniels in The House on Carroll Street (1988)
    The House on Carroll Street
  • Cher and Dennis Quaid in Suspect (1987)
    Suspect
  • Eleni (1985)
    Eleni
  • The Dresser (1983)
    The Dresser
  • Lysette Anthony and Ken Marshall in Krull (1983)
    Krull
  • Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt in Eyewitness (1981)
    Eyewitness
  • Breaking Away (1979)
    Breaking Away
  • The Deep (1977)
    The Deep

Producer

  • The Run of the Country (1995)
    The Run of the Country
  • Needful Things (1993)
    Needful Things
  • Penelope Ann Miller and Tim Daly in Year of the Comet (1992)
    Year of the Comet
  • Kelly McGillis and Jeff Daniels in The House on Carroll Street (1988)
    The House on Carroll Street
  • The Dresser (1983)
    The Dresser
  • Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt in Eyewitness (1981)
    Eyewitness
  • Shaun Cassidy, Barbara Barrie, and Vincent Gardenia in Breaking Away (1980)
    Breaking Away
  • Breaking Away (1979)
    Breaking Away
  • Raquel Welch, Harvey Keitel, and Bill Cosby in Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)
    Mother, Jugs & Speed

Second Unit or Assistant Director

  • Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)
    The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
  • A Taste of Honey (1961)
    A Taste of Honey
  • David Niven, Gregory Peck, and Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone (1961)
    The Guns of Navarone
  • The Entertainer (1960)
    The Entertainer
  • Sons and Lovers (1960)
    Sons and Lovers
  • A Touch of Larceny (1960)
    A Touch of Larceny
  • Cover Girl Killer (1959)
    Cover Girl Killer
  • Serious Charge (1959)
    Serious Charge
    • (uncredited)
  • Ingrid Bergman, Robert Donat, and Curd Jürgens in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
    The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
    • (uncredited)

Videos1

The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Clip 1:28
The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Personal details

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    • July 24, 1929
    • Aldershot, Hampshire, England, UK
    • January 9, 2011
    • London, England, UK(heart failure)
    • 1960 - January 9, 2011 (his death, 2 children)
  • Other works
    DVD commentary: Audio commentary for DVD of For Pete's Sake (1974).
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Interviews
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Yates' three favorites among his own films are The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), The Dresser (1983) and Breaking Away (1979).
  • Quotes
    [on Jacqueline Bisset] People are inclined to be skeptical about Jacqui because she's so beautiful. But she has that quality of intelligence that goes with the face and makes it something more.

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