His father was a civil engineer who worked in South America and left Slate with the wife's parents, who taught him Welsh before he spoke English.
[3][4] He joined the board of Jester of Columbia, where he worked with Ralph de Toledano, Ad Reinhardt, Herman Wouk, and Robert Lax.
[3] In 1952, Slate was a special Assistant Attorney General of New York and from 1954 to 1957, he was a member of the United States Air Fleet Advisory Group.
[2] Described as mischievous, moody, and conspicuously informal, Slate contributed humorous pieces to Fortune, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Saturday Evening Post.
[3] Slate died of a heart attack on September 19, 1967, in St. Francis Hospital in Flower Hill, New York.