Ronald Verdun Slater (Ron Alexander)
December 31, 1942-April 7, 1989
Born in British Columbia, Ron Alexander (born Ronald Verdun Slater) got his start in skating at the Willingdon Figure Skating Club. In 1964, he performed in Dick Button's "Icetravaganza" show at the New York World's Fair. After touring years of touring doing adagio pairs skating abroad in Europe and Africa and performing in a jazz dancing troupe, he joined John Curry's company, appearing in his "Theatre Of Skating II" show at the London Palladium and "Ice Dancing" on Broadway. He later worked at a gymnasium and acted as one of the founding members of AIDS Vancouver. He passed away on April 7, 1989 at the age of forty-six.
Memories of Ron from AIDS Vancouver founder Gordon Price, from Michael P. Brown's book "Replacing Citizenship: AIDS Activism and Radical Democracy": "I got a visit from a friend named Ron Alexander. That was his 'stage name'. He was a figure skater, had been very active. And I remember very well his anger at the refusal of people in Vancouver to recognize what the hell was going on. And somebody - at least - had to call a meeting. And he said, 'Well, look, you've been involved doing this kind of thing, how do you go about doing it?' This was '83 - pretty late when you look back."
*Source for inclusion: "Alone: The Triumph And Tragedy Of John Curry", Bill Jones, 2014
