He served as an aviator in the United States Navy during World War II, training fighter pilots in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he married Jessie Jean ("Skippy") Hardy.

(In Brazil during the early 1960s, Professor Phumble was published as Zé Fiasco in the Correio da Manhã newspaper.

When Sylvan Byck retired from King Features Syndicate in 1978, Yates took over the position of comics editor.

At the end of 1988, Yates left his editorial position at King Features in order to spend full-time cartooning.

He continued to write Redeye and do both scripting and art on the small society, but increasing ill health forced his retirement from the strips in 1999.