Bullitt director dies, aged 81

Peter Yates passes away after illness.

by Amber Wilkinson

Four-time Oscar nominee Peter Yates has died in London at aged 82.

The British director, who helmed films including The Dresser and Bullitt, passed away on Sunday, in London, after an illness, according to his agent.

Yates, who was Academy Award nominated for best director and best film for The Dresser and Breaking Away, began his career on the stage, before working as a second unit director on films including Sons And Lovers and A Taste Of Honey. He made his full directorial debut with Cliff Richard song-fest Summer Holiday in 1963.

By 1968 he had headed to Hollywood, teaming up with Steve McQueen to cop thriller Bullitt, whose car chase scene through the streets of Chicago would go on to make the film a cult classic.

His career was to peak a decade or so later, when comedy Breaking Away (1979) was nominated for five Oscars and, then in 1983, his adaptation of Ronald Harwood's play The Dresser - about the assistant (Tom Courtenay) to an egomaniacal actor (Albert Finney) - was nominated for a further five statuettes.

His final big-screen film, Curtain Call - featuring Michael Caine and James Spader - was made in 1999.

He is survived by his wife Virginia Pope, a son and a daughter.

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