A native of Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, Slantis was born on September 27, 1919 and attended Central Catholic High School when be became involved in photography. After graduation, he sold papers and worked in a grocery store to pay for the darkroom he established in his basement. His first job as a photographers was with Oakland News . He subsequently worked for the photographic reproduction department at the Carnegie Museum before serving as a combat photographer with the U.S. Navy and Marines in the South Pacific during World War II. He visually documented the invasion of Okinawa. Upon his return from the war in 1946, Slantis joined the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a photographer. He remained with the newspaper for 35 years, retiring on September 25, 1981. He then worked as a freelance photographer until his untimely death a year later at age 62 on July 21, 1982. Slantis was married to Jane Shaw Slantis, herself a staff writer employed by the Post-Gazette for 18 years. Mrs. Slantis died in 1990. As an active member of his profession, Slantis won many awards for his photography. In 1958, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) awarded him the Morris Berman Citation for special contributions advancing the interests of photojournalism. A year later Slantis won the President's Award given at the discretion of the president for special services to NPPA. One of his photographs appeared in the 1962 issue of Sports Illustrated . A picture taken by Slantis of Pittsburgher, Henry Dries, a Brigadier in the Salvation Army holding a baby after a fire in Hazelwood in 1967, was selected for the commemorative stamp issued on March 5, 1980 by the African nation of Zaire. It was one of a series eight stamps which that nation issued to honor the 100th anniversary of the Salvation Army in the United States. At the time, this was only the third stamp issued that was based on a news photo. In addition to being a member of the NPPA, Slantis was also a member of the White House Press Photographers and Pittsburgh Press Clubs.
From the description of Paul Slantis photograph collection, ca. 1946-1956. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 643327859
