William E. Slater (December 3, 1902 – January 25, 1965) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

sports announcer In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio wa ...

, and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

from the 1920s through the 1950s, hosting the radio shows '' Twenty Questions'' and '' Luncheon at Sardi's''. He was the great uncle of actor

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in '' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." ...

Early life

Education and educator

Slater earned a master's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

and was a 1924 graduate of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. An imposing man of 6 ft 3in, he subsequently taught

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and

math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

at his hometown of

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metrop ...

. He then joined the

Greenbrier Military School The Greenbrier Military School was a boys-only, private, military, boarding high school and Junior College, located in Lewisburg, West Virginia. The school was founded in 1812 and closed in 1972, when the campus was converted into the West Virgi ...

Lewisburg, West Virginia Lewisburg is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,930 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Greenbrier County. Geography Lewisburg is located approximately one mile north of the Greenbrier River. ...

as commandant. Next, he was on the faculty of the

New York Military Academy New York Military Academy (NYMA) is a college preparatory, co-ed boarding school in the rural town of Cornwall, north of New York City, and one of the oldest military schools in the United States. Originally a boys' school, it started admitti ...

where he also coached football. He was then the head of the math department and football coach at Blake School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He left Blake School in 1933 to begin his final teaching post, as headmaster of

Adelphi Academy Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher edu ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

(1933–1942).

Military

He served as a lieutenant colonel in public relations for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, beginning in 1942.

From educator to broadcaster

While teaching at the Blake School for Boys in Minneapolis, it was suggested by a student, whose father was a radio executive, that Slater had the voice and knowledge to be a sports announcer. His first network break came while at Adelphi Academy, when NBC network officials heard him calling the 1933 Army-Navy football game on CBS with

Ted Husing Edward Britt Husing (November 27, 1901 – August 10, 1962) was an American sportscaster. He was among the first to lay the groundwork for the structure and pace of modern sports reporting on television and radio. Overview Early life and caree ...

, whose voice was similar.

Radio

In addition to covering many sporting events on network radio, Slater hosted a Thursday night quiz show on CBS radio, ''Askit-Baskit'', in 1940, using the stage name "Jim McWilliams".

Television

Slater hosted/emceed many early television shows: *''Birthday Party'' (1947), aka ''

King Cole's Birthday Party ''King Cole's Birthday Party'' (also known as ''Birthday Party'') was an early American children's television series which aired on the DuMont Television Network. The program was broadcast from May 15, 1947, to June 23, 1949. Little is known abo ...

'' *''

Charade Quiz ''Charade Quiz'' was an American game show hosted by Bill Slater which aired on the DuMont Television Network Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET from November 27, 1947,Wesley Hyatt's book ''Emmy Award Winning Nighttime Television Shows, 1948-2004'' s ...

'' (1947) *''Messing Prize Party'' (1948) *'' Twenty Questions'' (1949) DuMont and NBC versions *''

Fishing and Hunting Club ''Fishing and Hunting Club'' was a short lived DuMont Television Network program aired on Fridays at 9 pm ET from October 7, 1949, to March 31, 1950. At one point the name of the show changed to ''Sports for All''. The 30-minute program was hosted ...

'' (1949) *'' Broadway to Hollywood Headline Clues'' (1949) *'' With This Ring'' (1951)

Sports broadcaster

Slater was the primary voice of

Paramount News Paramount News is the name on the newsreels produced by Paramount Pictures from 1927 to 1957. History The Paramount newsreel operation began in 1927 with Emanuel Cohen as an editor. It typically distributed two issues per week to theaters across ...

reels A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a ''spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

for many years beginning in 1936. Slater covered the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...

for NBC, announced for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

baseball teams, the 1937

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed on ...

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Penn Penn may refer to: Places England * Penn, Buckinghamshire * Penn, West Midlands United States * Penn, North Dakota * Penn, Oregon * Pennsylvania ** Penn, Pennsylvania * Penn Lake Park, Pennsylvania * Penn Township (disambiguation), several munic ...

and other college football games, and later, tennis from Wimbledon and Forest Hills. Slater was noted for his clear, enthusiastic delivery. He was "very lyrical", said sportscaster

Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and bar ...

. Slater was announcing an NFL game between the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

and the

when the first bulletin aired of the Japanese

bombing of Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...

He also co-announced the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. The ...

on Mutual with

Al Helfer George Alvin "Al" Helfer (September 26, 1911 – May 16, 1975) was an American radio sportscaster. Nicknamed "Mr. Radio Baseball", Helfer called the play-by-play of seven World Series, ten All-Star Games, and regular season broadcasts for sev ...

, as well as the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

and 1946

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

s, also on Mutual. Slater gave commentary on the first television broadcast of a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January– February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the count ...

between the

and

, which the Yankees won. His co-broadcasters for that event were Bob Stanton and Bob Edge. Slater was the chief radio announcer for the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

500 Race in 1947 when the race was covered by the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. rad ...

Personal life

Born William E. Slater, December 3, 1902 in

, he married twice. His first wife was Rebecca; his second wife, Marian, who sometimes accompanied him on the ''Luncheon at Sardi's'' radio show. He died in

Larchmont, New York Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Lar ...

after a long battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. His younger brother, Tom Slater, five years his junior, was also a sports broadcaster and followed him as the host of ''Luncheon at Sardi's''. Tom Slater's son, actor Michael Hawkins (Thomas Knight Slater) is

's father.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Bill 1902 births 1965 deaths American broadcasters Military personnel from West Virginia American sports announcers College football announcers Columbia University alumni Deaths from Parkinson's disease Schoolteachers from West Virginia Major League Baseball broadcasters Motorsport announcers National Football League announcers New York Giants announcers New York Giants (NL) announcers New York Yankees announcers Sportspeople from Parkersburg, West Virginia Radio personalities from West Virginia United States Army colonels United States Military Academy alumni 20th-century American educators United States Army personnel of World War II Neurological disease deaths in New York (state)