Died. Howard Robard Hughes, 70, enigmatic, reclusive billionaire; of kidney failure; while en route from Acapulco to a Houston hospital (see THE NATION).

Died. Mary Margaret McBride, 76, homespun radio talk-show hostess whose loyal fans once filled Yankee Stadium in tribute; after a long illness; in West Shokan, N.Y. On network radio for nearly 20 years, she started her guests talking comfortably "by telling a story about them that's funny or sweet." A Missouri-born Baptist, she refused to advertise either alcohol or tobacco but kept a number of food sponsors very happy (and her weight at 180 Ibs. or so) by sampling their products on the air and talking lyrically about them.

Died. Meyer Davis, 83, millionaire maestro of a music empire that has included as many as 80 bands and more than 1,000 musicians; in Manhattan. Davis started his own small band when he was rejected as a violinist for his high school orchestra. In 1914, he dropped out of law school to become a full-time bandleader. Seven years later he played at the inaugural party of President Warren Harding and was on his way to becoming a favorite society and college bandteader. So popular was the Davis sound that his bands were booked years in advance and have already contracted to play at balls in the 1980s.

Died. Wilder G. Penfield, 85, pioneering neurosurgeon and cartographer of the cerebral cortex; of cancer; in Montreal. While treating an epileptic, Penfield probed her brain electrically, setting off recollections of the birth of her child. Subsequently, he mapped the control centers of various kinds of memories and bodily functions and developed surgical techniques that cured many cases of epilepsy. The Montreal Neurological Institute, which he founded with a Rockefeller Foundation grant in 1934, became a mecca for doctors and patients from around the world.

Died. Ben Iden Payne, 94, venerable Shakespearean actor, director and drama instructor; in Austin, Texas. Born in England, Payne managed Dublin's Abbey Players before becoming general director of the Shakespeare Memorial Theater at Stratford on Avon. In the U.S., he taught for nearly 20 years in the famed drama department at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and later created a Stratford of the Southwest at the University of Texas in Austin. On Broadway he directed such stars as Maude Adams, the Barrymores and Helen Hayes, who credited him with being the director "who taught me the most."

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