Friday, Oct. 04, 1968
Born. To Jane Fonda, 30, film star; and Roger Vadim, her director-husband: their first child, a daughter; in Paris.
Divorced. Richard Helms, 55, director of the CIA since 1966; by Julia Helms; on grounds of a year's separation; after 29 years of marriage, one child; in Washington, D.C.
Presumed Dead. William Willis, 75, solitary sailor who, just for the challenge of it, pitted his skill against the sea in small, hand-built boats; after his battered 11 1/2-ft. sloop Little One was found empty 400 miles west of Ireland and 143 days out of Montauk Point, L.I. A seaman since 15, Willis sailed alone in 1954 aboard a balsa raft from Peru to Samoa, and in 1963-64 made a 10,000-mile solo voyage from Peru to Australia. Before his third and last unsuccessful attempt to reach England from America alone, he said: "The greatest challenge is to prevent the solitude from driving you so mad that you want to jump overboard."
Died. Daniel Johnson, 53, Premier of Quebec since 1966; of a heart attack. Half Irish by birth and French Canadian by choice, Johnson studied for the priesthood but turned to politics, becoming a protege of the late autocratic Premier Maurice Duplessis. Johnson maneuvered a political tightrope on the issue of separatism for French-speaking Quebec by calling for national unity to calm down extremists, yet urging more autonomy for the province. He had planned to go to France later this month, and Charles de Gaulle intended to receive him as a full-fledged head of state.
Died. Constantine John Philip Ionides, 67, the legendary Snake Man of East Africa, whose slithery pets often bit the hand that fed them; of coronary thrombosis; in Nairobi. Sandhurst-trained lonides felt more at home among animals than among men, whom he called "the least interesting of all animals." A devoted herpetologist, he discovered four new species of snakes and hunted down 22 rare species of mammals for the world's zoos and museums. Even after his legs were amputated because of illness, he continued to stalk the bush--in a wheelchair.
Died. Padre Pio, 81, the Capuchin friar whose body was said to bear the stigmata, or the wounds inflicted on Christ during his passion; of a heart attack; in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. Blood first appeared on his hands, feet and side 50 years ago and, though the Vatican never officially considered his wounds of divine origin, Pio (born Francesco Forgione) attracted millions of pilgrims who came to his monastery in San Giovanni in hopes of seeing him.
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