Milestones

By Kathleen Adams, Tam Gray, Susan Horsburgh, Daniel Levy, Lina Lofaro, Jeffrey Ressner, Flora Tartakovsky and Chris Taylor

APOLOGIZED. DON HEWITT, 76, executive producer of 60 Minutes; for a June 1997 segment, made by Carlton Communications for the British network ITV (and also aired by Time Warner's Cinemax), which falsely claimed the Cali cartel had started a new heroin-smuggling route to London.

CONVICTED. DARLENE GILLESPIE, 57, former Mouseketeer; of securities fraud; in Los Angeles. Gillespie was accused of writing bad checks in a scheme to help a boyfriend buy $827,000 worth of stock. She faces up to 90 years in prison.

AILING. BILL BLASS, 76, fashion designer; following a mild stroke; in Houston.

DIED. MICHAEL ZASLOW, 54, Emmy award-winning actor; of a heart attack; in New York City. CBS had dismissed Zaslow from Guiding Light when his speech became slurred from the effects of Lou Gehrig's disease. Undeterred, he reprised a former character on ABC's One Life to Live, successfully incorporating the disorder into the role and raising awareness of ALS.

DIED. LAWTON CHILES, 68, two-term Governor of Florida known as "Walkin' Lawton" for his campaign style; of an apparent heart attack; in Tallahassee. Chiles also served 18 years in the U.S. Senate and made a fortune as an original investor in Red Lobster restaurants. He was to leave office next month, succeeded by Jeb Bush.

DIED. ARCHIE MOORE, 84, light-heavyweight champion; in San Diego. The only boxer to fight both Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali (he lost both matches), he entertained fans with a fighting style that won him the moniker the Mongoose (see Eulogy).

DIED. CLAYTON ("Peg Leg") BATES, 91, one-legged tap dancer; in Fountain Inn, S.C. Bates didn't let an accident that severed his leg at the age of 12 keep him from dancing. Wearing a wooden limb outfitted with metal taps, he hoofed from the 1920s to 1989; appeared in vaudeville, film and TV; performed with musicians such as Louis Armstrong; and made more than 20 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.