Slate, Hal 3 May 1990 Click on the thumbnail below to enlarge. If your browser shrinks the full obituary image to fit within the browser window, you may need to click on the image one more time to display its full size. 03 May 1990 Please add a message of remembrance to the guestbook for this obituary. Click the button below to add your thoughts. John Mehring San Francisco 18 May 2013 In the 1990s, the late author, Eric Rofes, interviewed individuals about the South-of-Market social-sexual scene. One of those people, Bob Thomas, on March 12, 1997, related the following [note: the other guy Thomas mentions is Hal Slate]: I was a member of the San Francisco Gay Chorus in 1981, and the Cauldron was built with, by two guys in the Chorus, with the funds from their real estate deals or something. See - it was - now, he's got a porn name and he's got a real name. Jim Gilman. And another guy, I don't remember. But he was the guy, not Jim, but the other one was the guy that invented the concept of splitting movie theaters into small houses. So I know he got rich off that idea, and then Jim -- well, anyway, it was a Chorus tradition to go out Monday after rehearsals, to go have pizza and then go to the Cauldron. And they'd play loud classical music on Monday. John Mehring San Francisco 11 May 2013 This is from the Oct. 6, 2009 San Francisco Bay Guardian: After my second wife left me, I fled to San Francisco. Bought a restored Victorian at 164-166 Castro with my cousin, Hal Slate. Hal owned the Cauldron bathhouse and sang in the Gay Men's Chorus. Hal lived upstairs and I was on the bottom. — Dr. Stanley Finkelstein John Mehring San Francisco 19 May 2013 B.A.R. writer Mike Hippler wrote a column, AIDS and the Baths: To Go or Not to Go...? in May 1983. Hippler had this to say about Hal Slate: Slate has probably done more than any other sex club owner in San Francisco to alleviate the fears concerning AIDS and to provide help and information for his clientele. He has held two benefits for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to aid them in producing their Play Fair! pamphlet, the infamous Cum Clean party and the Revenge of the Sisters return engagement. He has invited a Gay doctor into his establishment to make recommendations concerning health precautions. He's also handed out AIDS literature and posted health notices. Furthermore, he's been in communication with the KS Foundation to keep informed.... John Mehring San Francisco 25 May 2013 In June 1984, Slate wrote a letter to Coming Up!: The Caldron is closing its doors after almost 4 years. ...My closing is voluntary and sudden. ...My reasons for closing are personal and economic. There are many factors, certainly among them the AIDS crisis and its repercussions. ...The Caldron was an extension of my own personal process of coming to terms with my sexuality. It was also an experiment in love, acceptance, and support. Certainly, the love and support expressed to me over the difficulties of the last year and a half indicates that the Caldron meant a lot to a lot of people, and that we have accomplished our goal. But times have changed, and other goals beckon. It's time for sexual experimentation to give way, as an end in itself, to other forms of relationship and intimacy. We must not lose the benefits of sexual liberation, but our growth as human beings, as well as our survival, depend on going beyond sexual liberation itself. Slate also mentioned that he would graduate with a master's degree in clinical psychology in December 1984 and become a therapist (which he did). Tom Burtch San Francisco, CA 28 Jun 2010 Hal was a member of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus from May, 1980 until July, 1982 for a total of 10 concert seasons. He also participated in the historic 1981 National Tour of nine cities in the United States. The tour is credited with being the creative force behind the formation of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses which as of 2010 has more than 170 member choruses with over 7,000 singers worldwide. He last sang as a member of the Baritone section. The Chorus refers to these members who are no longer able to sing with the group as members of the "Fifth Section." They are listed Chorus programs and on the group's website: https://www.sfgmc.org/about_fifth.shtml Copyright © 2009. No part of this database may be copied or reproduced without permission.