Herbert J. Yates | |
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| Born | Herbert John Yates (1880-08-24)August 24, 1880 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 3, 1966(1966-02-03) (aged 85) Sherman Oaks,California, U.S. |
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| Known for | Republic Pictures |
| Notable work | American Tobacco Company |
Herbert John Yates (August 24, 1880 – February 3, 1966), a Hollywood mini-mogul, was the founder and President ofRepublic Pictures. With his contract, he had launched the film careers of such Western stars asRoy Rogers,Gene Autry, andJohn Wayne. Between 1935 and 1959, under the supervising leadership of Yates, Republic has produced 956feature films and 66 multi-chaptercliffhanger serials, some of which are today considered classics, later broadcast on television and then released on home video.
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Yates was born inBrooklyn, New York, on August 24, 1880 to Charles Henry Yates and Emma Yates (née Worthington).[1] He started his business career at an early age, building a newspaper sales business on the streets of Brooklyn. Later, he ascended from office boy to eastern regional sales manager of theAmerican Tobacco Company,[1] retiring from that company with a sizable fortune before the age of 30.
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Focusing on the movie and recording business, he built a small empire, acquiring record companies and film laboratories. In the 1920s he provided financing forMack Sennett andFatty Arbuckle.
In October 1929 hisConsolidated Film Industries took control of ARC, theAmerican Record Corporation, a company created as a result of a merger between a number of smalldime store record labels. In the following years, the company was heavily involved in a depressed market forphonograph records, buying up failing labels at bargain prices to exploit their catalogues. In December 1931Warner Bros. leasedBrunswick Records,Vocalion Records, and associated companies to ARC.
By 1932 ARC was king of the 3-records-for-a-dollar market, selling 6 million units, twice as much as competitorRCA Victor. In an effort to get back on top RCA launched the low-pricedBluebird Records label. ARC bought out theColumbia Records catalogue in 1934. During the 1930s, ARC produced the Brunswick and Columbia labels at 75c each and the Oriole (for McCrory), Romeo (for Kress), Melotone, Vocalion, Banner, Conqueror (for Sears), and Perfect labels at 35c each, or 3 records for $1.00.
In December 1938 the entire ARC complex was purchased from Consolidated Film for $700,000 by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). After CBS brought back Columbia as their flagship label, they brought back the inactiveOKeh Records label to replace Vocalion, which allowed the rights to the Brunswick and Vocalion labels to return to Warner Bros. They sold the rights to those labels to Decca Records in the early 1940s. In a complicated move, CBS managed to keep the rights to the ARC material from 1931 through 1938.
Yates formed Republic Pictures in 1935 by arranging for the merger of several smaller production companies with hisConsolidated Film Industries, which was providing film processing and financing for many Hollywood studios. Among the merged companies wereMascot Pictures, which brought theserial to Republic, and also purchased theMack Sennett lot in Studio City andMonogram Pictures. 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.
In 1934 Gene Autry had his first film role in the Mascot production ofIn Old Santa Fe. Autry had been a recording artist under contract to Yates'American Record Corporation. He would go on to star in 56 feature films for Republic between 1935 and 1947. In 1938 Yates created a second American icon by giving Roy Rogers his first starring role inUnder Western Stars. Rogers filled in for Autry during World War II and ended up making more than 80 films under the Republic banner.
Republic's most acclaimed feature film wasThe Quiet Man (1952), directed byJohn Ford, and starringJohn Wayne andMaureen 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 more than a million dollars, making possible the use ofTechnicolor (in lieu of Republic's ownTrucolor process) and location filming in Ireland. It earned triple its cost and earned Republic its onlyAcademy Award nomination for Best Picture.Johnny Guitar (1954), directed byNicholas Ray and starringJoan Crawford, became another well regarded Republic picture.
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Yates had 3 children, a daughter and 2 sons.[1]
In 1948 Yates left his wife Petra for the Czech figure skaterVera Hruba Ralston, with the couple marrying in 1952. He employed Vera's brotherRudy Ralston as a producer at Republic.
In 1958 Yates was accused of exploiting Republic for his own gain, in particular his promotion of his wife's career. It was alleged that 18 of her 20 films had beenflops.[2]
Yates and Vera's relatives were pushed out of Republic and the film business in 1959, the same year Republic's board decided to switch emphasis from production to distribution,[3] selling their controlling interest to Victor M. Carter for nearly $6 million.[4] Yates became chairman of the board.[4]
Yates died at his residence inSherman Oaks in 1966.[5][6]
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The Republic lot survives today asCBS Studio Center. Notable among Yates' contributions to the lot are theMabel Normand sound stage, built during World War II and later home toThe Mary Tyler Moore Show, and an award-winning music scoring auditorium that has hosted such famous names asAaron Copland andArtur Rubinstein.
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