Herbert John Yates

Motion Picture Executive. Founder of Republic Pictures. Born in Brooklyn, he studied at Columbia University and became an advertising executive for the American Tobacco Company, retiring from that position a wealthy man at age 30. During the 1910s he made another fortune investing in film laboratories and in 1924 he founded Consolidated Film Industries (CFI), the largest provider of film processing and raw stock in the United States. Many of his customers were Poverty Row producers. In 1935 Yates foreclosed on several small movie companies that owed him money and merged them into Republic Pictures, with himself as president and headquarters at the former Mack Sennett lot in Studio City, California. Republic quickly grew into the biggest of Hollywood's B studios, specializing in low-budget westerns, serials, and action flicks for audiences mainly outside the big city markets. Its films were unsophisticated in terms of scripts but boasted slick production values, sturdy behind-the-scenes craftsmen, and some of the best visual and sound effects in the business. The company's most popular draw was John Wayne , who rose to fame while under contract there from 1935 to 1952; singing cowboys Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were Republic stars born-and-bred. Republic was so successful that after World War II Yates decided to take on the majors with a series of prestigious A pictures, including Orson Welles' "Macbeth" (1948), Frank Borzage's "Moonrise" (1948), Allan Dwan's "The Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949), Lewis Milestone's "The Red Pony" (1949), and John Ford's "Rio Grande" (1950) and "The Quiet Man" (1952). The last was the only Republic film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. More of an embarrassment was Yates' obsession with his young mistress, former Czech skating star Vera Ralston . He signed her to a lifetime contract in 1941 and spent millions trying to build her into a screen idol, oblivious to the fact she had no acting talent whatsoever. They married in 1952 after the death of Yates' first wife. The mogul stubbornly resisted the rise of television until 1956, when economic realities forced him to sell the studio's early films for broadcast and to venture into TV production; by then it was too late. Republic ceased operations in 1959 and Yates and Ralston retired to their Sherman Oaks estate. In all he released over 950 features and 65 serials. Denigrated for much of its history, Republic and its unpretentious product is today regarded with affection by generations of movie buffs.