Shirley Slater, 67; With Husband, Wrote About Travel, Cruises

Shirley Slater, 67, who with her husband, Harry Basch, formed a popular travel writing team adept at evaluating cruise ships and recreational vehicles, died Friday in Los Angeles of complications of cancer and chemotherapy.

The couple created a column called Cruise Views for The Times’ Sunday travel section in 1984 and remained regular contributors to the newspaper for 18 years. Slater was also a food writer who contributed to Bon Appetit magazine. Slater and Basch were also known for their advisory travel books, including the annual “Fielding Worldwide Cruise Guides� for 1996 through 1999, Fielding’s “Freewheelin’ USA,� two editions of Frommer’s “Exploring America by RV� and the not-yet-published “RV Vacations for Dummies.� A Times review praised the 1995 “Freewheelin’ � as “a very comprehensive guide for the RV traveler� and added, “A breezy style makes ‘Freewheelin’ ’ lots more fun than most guides of this sort.�

Born in Lynchburg, Va., Slater grew up in Mount Airy, N.C., and earned a journalism degree from the University of Georgia.

After helping create an eight-station public broadcasting network in Georgia, she turned to acting, working with the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

She also appeared in plays at the Ahmanson Theater and was in such films as “The Candidate� and such television series as “The Waltons.�