Edward J. Yates (September 16, 1918 – June 2, 2006) was an American television director who was the director of the ABC television program ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' from 1952 until 1969.

Biography

Yates became a still photographer after graduating from high school in 1936. After serving in World War II, he became employed by

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's WFIL-TV 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 The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. 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-AM. The show debuted with Bob Horn as host and took off after

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

, already a radio veteran at age 26, took over in 1956. It was broadcast live in its early years, even after it became part of the ABC network's weekday afternoon lineup in 1957 as ''

''. 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 A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of West Chester.

Later years and death

Yates died in 2006 at a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

, where he had been living for the last two months of his life.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Edward 1918 births 2006 deaths American television directors Television personalities from Philadelphia American military personnel of World War II People from Yeadon, Pennsylvania