Career
Yates became a still photographer after graduating from high school in 1936. After serving in World World War II, he became employed by Philadelphia"s WFIL-television as a boom microphone operator. He was later promoted to cameraman (important as most programming was done live and local during the early years of television) and earned a bachelor"s degree in communications in 1950 from the University of Pennsylvania.
In October 1952, Yates volunteered to direct "Bandstand," a new concept featuring local teens dancing to the latest hits patterned after the "950 Club" on WPEN-Department of Administration and Management. The show debuted with Bob Horn as host and took off after Dick Clark, already a radio veteran at age 26, took over in 1956.
lieutenant was broadcast live in its early years, even after it became part of the American Broadcasting Company network"s weekday afternoon lineup in 1957 as American Bandstand. Yates pulled records, directed the cameras, queued the commercials and communicated with Clark via a private line telephone located on his podium.
In 1964, Clark moved the show to Los Angeles, taking Yates with him. Yates retired from "American Bandstand" in 1969, and moved his family to the Philadelphia suburb of West Chester.
He died in 2006 at a nursing home where he had been for the last two months of his life.