Milestones

DIED. Bobby Layne, 59, fiercely competitive, party-loving Pro Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Detroit Lions to National Football League championships in 1952, 1953 and 1957 and set unsurpassed team records before finishing his 15-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers; after a long bout with liver problems, and cancer; in Lubbock, Texas. He was a dedicated carouser off field, but he was also a disciplined team leader whose skills were strongly evidenced in the last minutes of many games. His strategies helped develop what was later known as the two-minute drill. "Bobby Layne never lost a game," said Teammate Doak Walker. "Sometimes time just ran out on him."

DIED. Desi Arnaz, 69, Cuban-born actor, bandleader and innovative TV producer, best known for playing Harried Husband Ricky Ricardo in television's phenomenally successful series I Love Lucy (1951-59); of lung cancer; in Del Mar, Calif. Fleeing Cuba after the revolution of 1933, he formed a Latin dance band, making his film debut in Too Many Girls (1940), where he met and married his leading lady Lucille Ball. While co-starring with her in Lucy, he headed their production studio, Desilu, pioneering in the use of film for TV programs. The approach preserved Lucy and other shows, resulting in additional income from reruns. Two years after Ball and Arnaz divorced in 1960, he sold his interest in Desilu; he interrupted his retirement to produce pilots for proposed TV series, only one of which, The Mothers-In-Law (1967-69), enjoyed success.

DIED. Frank McCarthy, 74, retired U.S. Army brigadier general and film producer who marshaled his military expertise to help create the films Patton (1970) and MacArthur (1977); of lung cancer; in Woodland Hills, Calif. McCarthy served as an aide to Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall during World War II and as an Assistant Secretary of State in the Truman Administration.

DIED. Horace Heidt, 85, Big Band leader of the 1930s and '40s whose Musical Knights beguiled radio fans with such hits as Hut Sut Song and Ti-Pi-Tin; of pneumonia; in Los Angeles. His talent shows (Pot o' Gold, Youth Opportunity Program) launched the careers of Art Carney, Gordon MacRae and Al Hirt.

DIED. Reuben Nakian, 89, prolific American sculptor whose quasiabstract marbles, clay urns, terra-cotta plaques and monumental bronzes were inspired by Greek and Roman mythology; in Stamford, Conn. Nakian's realistic work brought him early fame, particularly his life-size sculptures of Franklin Roosevelt and some of his Cabinet and an eight-foot plaster figure of Babe Ruth.