Herbert Yates
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Herbert John Yates (1880-1966) was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, famous for being the home of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. Under Yates' leadership between 1935 and 1959, Republic made 956 feature films and 849 serial chapters, many of which are classics enjoyed today on television and DVD by a whole new generation of appreciative fans.
Yates was born in Brooklyn in 1880. His was a Horatio Alger story. He started his business career at an early age, building a newspaper sales business on the streets of Brooklyn. Later, he ascended rapidly through the ranks of the American Tobacco Company, retiring from that business with a sizable fortune before the age of 30. Focusing on the movie and recording business, he built a small empire, acquiring record companies and film laboratories. In the twenties, he provided financing for Mack Sennett and Fatty Arbuckle.
Yates formed Republic in 1935 by arranging for the merger of several smaller production companies with his Consolidated Film Industries, which was providing film processing and financing for many studios in Hollywood. Among the merged companies were Mascot Pictures, which brought the serial genre to Republic, and Monogram Pictures, which brought the Mack Sennett lot in Studio City. Under Yates' leadership, Republic first leased and then purchased the lot, expanding it from six stages to nineteen and adding state-of-the-art production facilities.
The Republic Studio was in large part responsible for the economic and cultural development of the surrounding neighborhoods, including Studio City and the San Fernando Valley. Over a thousand full-time employees drew their paychecks at the studio, and many more worked in the New York home office, overseas distribution, and the two Consolidated Film lots in Hollywood and New Jersey.
In 1935, Yates gave Gene Autry his first movie role in the Republic production of Tumbling Tumbleweeds, ushering in the genre of the singing cowboy. Autry had been a recording artist under contract to Yates' American Record Corporation: he would go on to star in 56 movies for Republic between 1935 and 1947. In 1938, Yates created a second American icon by giving Roy Rogers his first starring role in Under Western Stars. Rogers filled in for Autry during the war and ended up making more than 80 movies under the Republic banner.
During the war, Republic entertained the home front with such patriotic titles as Flying Tigers and Remember Pearl Harbor!, helping to keep spirits up and patriotic fervor high. After the war, Republic helped the armed forces to document some of their most significant war-time accomplishments. In 1950, Sands of Iwo Jima helped the United States Marine Corps to stave off an attempt by Congress to merge them into the Navy. John Wayne's performance as Sergeant Stryker earned him his first Academy Award nomination.
At the same time, Republic was thrilling audiences with cliffhanger serials such as The Adventures of Captain Marvel, Dick Tracy versus the Phantom Empire, and The Lone Ranger. These productions showcased the talents of director greats William Witney and John English and featured the special effects magic of Theodore and Howard Lydecker. In all Republic produced 65 separate serial titles ranging in length from 12 to 15 chapters each. Titles such as King of the Rocket Men and Zombies of the Stratosphere were some of the earliest science fiction films, paving the way for Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Gene Roddenberry.
Arguably Republic's most acclaimed movie was The Quiet Man (1952), directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Ford had tried to make the Irish love story for years, but none of the studio heads would take a chance on it: Yates risked a budget of over a million dollars, making possible such extravagances as Technicolor and location filming in Ireland. The result was spectacular - The Quiet Man is considered by many critics to be John Wayne's finest performance.
In 1948,Yates left his wife Petra for the Czech figure skater Vera Ralston. After his first wife's death in 1952, he and Vera were married. He retired from Republic and the movie business in 1959, the same year that Republic's board decided to switch emphasis from production to distribution. He died at his residence in Sherman Oaks in 1966.
The Republic lot survives today as CBS Studio Center. Notable among Yates' contributions to the lot are the Mabel Normand sound stage, built during the war and later home to Mary Tyler Moore, and an award-winning music scoring auditorium that has hosted such greats as Aaron Copland and Arthur Rubinstein. It is a testament to Yates' foresight that these facilities have been in demand for more than 60 years.
