Yates garnered four Oscar nominations for the films Breaking Away and The Dresser. He forever changed the face of the action film with Bullitt‘s classic car chase scene that sent Steve McQueen screaming through San Francisco in a Ford Mustang. Nowadays we have Vin Diesel skyping while surfing on nuclear torpedoes as they hop a row of helicopters. As extreme as they may be, today’s action films can’t hold a candle to the suspense Yates was able to conjure with a driver and a car. He will be missed. (AP)