Born in Manhattan, Yale Summers made his acting debut in the 1961 film, Mad Dog Coll, playing a small unbilled role. The remainder of his career was almost entirely occupied with television. He appeared in a recurring role on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital, as Dr. Bob Ayres during the 1964-1965 television season. His best known role was as Jack Dane on Daktari, which aired from 1966 to 1968. From 1972 to 1974, Summers replaced Lawrence Casey in the NBC daytime series, Return to Peyton Place, as the character Rodney Harrington. His additional television roles included guest spots on Land of the Giants, My Favorite Martian, My Three Sons, Window on Main Street, The Outer Limits, Quincy, M.E., Fantasy Island, and The Donna Reed Show. The only child of Joseph and Edlie Neuvohner, Yale Summers received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Cornell University in 1955 and served in the United States Army, having attained the rank of lieutenant.

Yale Summers was a founding member of the SAG Awards Committee and for a time the chairman of that committee. Summers was a co-founder and producer of the Screen Actors Guild Awards from 1995 until 2009. Summers also served as the former national treasurer and the recording secretary for SAG. Summers was a trustee of the SAG Pension and Health Funds and a member of the board for the SAG Foundation. In 2008, SAG awarded Summers the Ralph Morgan Award for his service and involvement with the union. Summers was active with another actors’ union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He served a combined twenty-four years on the national AFTRA board and the union’s local Los Angeles chapter. SAG and AFTRA merged in March 2012, shortly before Summers’ death. Yale Summers died in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 78 from complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was survived by his wife, Suzie Summers, two children, and two grandchildren.