BLANKET COVERAGE our respects

ill OF THE RICH: to HERBERT JOHN YATES FORT WAYNE TRI -STATE

FARSIGHTED Herbert John Yates was the pendent producers, Liberty, Mascot, Monogram MARKET first major motion picture producer to act upon and Select, and took over the Mack Sennett lot the potentialities of tv. He may also be the in North Hollywood. first to switch to tv-only production, if his re- Besides Republic's tv film production and marks to Republic Pictures stockholders last distribution subsidiaries, the studio itself has week (see story, Fn.M SEC ION), bear fruit. made such facilities as 19 sound stages, under- Five years ago the president of Republic Pic- water tank, western back lot and one of the tures Inc. set up Hollywood Television Service two finest recording studios in the world, avail- Inc. to engage in tv film distribution. Contrary able to independent tv film producers. A major to the manner in which other major studios tenant is Revue Productions, MCA's film unit. have since gone about video, Republic entered A further tie -up was recently effected in "the tv film production only after the distribution biggest contract of its kind in the history of arm was a going concern. tv" when MCA -TV acquired tv distribution With Earl R. Collins as president, Hollywood rights to Republic's package of 67 Roy Rogers Tv started moving ahead in 1951 with a pack- and 56 Gene Autry feature films. age of 100 westerns and 136 features. Cur- Republic grossed $7 million for distribution rently in distribution through HTS and its 33 of features to tv during the past two years. branch offices are 505 features plus 39 half - Studio rentals to tv producers brought in over hours in the Stories of the Century series. $700,000 last year. Studio City Television Productions Inc., with Consolidated Film Industries, from which Morton W. Scott in charge, started functioning this activity evolved, is today a division of Re- only last year. Its one series to date, Stories of public Pictures with labs in Ft. Lee, N. J., and WIN -T, your station for complete the Century, received the Academy of Television Hollywood, headed by Douglas T. Yates and Arts & Sciences' national "Emmy" award for P. coverage the Sidney Solow, respectively. In 1948 CFI of thriving 18- the best western or adventure series, the only processed the first west coast tv film series, county, tri -state market surround- syndicated film package so honored. NBC -TV's Your Showtime, produced by Mar- Studio City is readying four additional series shall ing Fort Wayne, Indiana. Check Grant -Realm for American Tobacco. for fall release by HTS. Two half -hours have Currently, approximately 85% Ei of the labs' these billion dollar market facts been completed in Behind the Scenes and scripts business is tv film for such clients as Revue, and figures: are being written for Adventures of Dr. Fu Desilu Productions, Four Star Productions, Manchu. The latter will undoubtedly also be- Gross -Krasne, Guild Films, Ziv and McCadden come a transcribed radio series, Mr. Yates re- Corp. It also processes all of CBS -TV's and POPULATION 722,500 veals. about half of NBC -TV's Hollywood films and He was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 24, 1880. kinescopes. HOUSEHOLDS 228,600 At 19, while working his way through Colum- Mr. Yates' foresight was again demonstrated bia U., he became a sales executive for Amer- in the construction of a new plant with specially CONSUMER SPENDABLE ican Tobacco Co. By the time he was 27, he designed equipment to handle 16mm film. It INCOME $1,177,771,000 was assistant to the vice president in charge was conceived with Mr. Solow in advance of of sales for Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. the actual need, but planned for the present TOTAL RETAIL SALES Retiring from the tobacco industry in 1910, emergency which has found many other labs $768,150,000 he got interested in motion pictures after fi- reconverting 35mm space and facilities. ` nancing the late Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle and Feature -wise, Republic used to be identified receiving 100% profit plus his investment. solely with westerns. Gene Autry as the first After taking time out to lose $100,000 as a singing cowboy, followed by Roy Rogers and "gentleman farmer," he joined Hedwig Film Rex Allen, contributed greatly to the success Laboratories in 1915. The processing of film of the studio, Mr. Yates says. But, series west- WIN -T intrigued him to the point that within two erns were "a casualty of tv" and Republic now years he felt he had acquired enough knowledge makes about 20 competitive big budget color CBS and ABC for FORT WAYNE and self confidence to establish his own enter- features per year. and the Tri State area of In- prise, Republic Film Laboratories, New York. Cited many times for his continual support Within another year diana, Ohio and Michigan. he organized Allied Film of American ideals, he takes particular pride Laboratories Assn. and by 1922 he had devel- in the National Gold Citizenship Medal which Nationally rep d by oped Consolidated Film Industries Inc. was presented to him in 1951 by the Veterans H -R TELEVISION, INC. From his vantage point in the laboratory he of Foreign Wars for his feature film, "Red decided the motion picture industry "was a Menace." fascinating business, with plenty of room for Married in 1952 to actress Vera Ralston, the brains and intestinal fortitude and eternal hun- Yates' have a home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., one ger for capital to provide expansion and im- on Long Island and an apartment in Manhattan. provement." The apparently tireless Mr. Yates plays 18 Republic Pictures was born in 1935 when holes of golf every weekend, but Republic with Mr. Yates engineered the merger of four inde- its subsidiaries is his vocation and avocation. Page 22 April 11, 1955 BROADCASTING TELECASTING