British filmmaker Peter Yates Has Passed Away
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:54 am
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_ ... obit_yates
LONDON – British filmmaker Peter Yates, whose eclectic output included "Bullitt" and "Breaking Away," has died at the age of 81.
A statement from Yates' agent, Judy Daish, said he died Sunday in London after an illness.
Yates was responsible for one of the most famous sequences in cinema — actor Steve McQueen's Ford Mustang car chase through the hilly streets of San Francisco — in the 1968 police thriller "Bullitt."
He was nominated for four Academy Awards — two as director and two as producer — for cycling tale "Breaking Away" and backstage drama "The Dresser."
He is survived by his wife, Virginia Pope, a son and a daughter.
Monday's statement said a private family funeral would be held.