MILESTONES

DIED. PAT COLLINS, 62, Hollywood's hippest hypnotist; years after a stroke; in San Bernardino, Calif. Cured of hysterical paralysis by hypnosis, according to her account, the mesmerizing blond took the subconscious to nightclubs--with hysterical results. Her Nefertiti eyes sent the suggestible Lloyd Bridges "swimming" through the audience.

DIED. RONNIE LANE, 51, fun-loving British rock guitarist; after a two-decades-long struggle with multiple sclerosis; in Trinidad, Colo. The bassist co-founded Small Faces, which became the band that launched Rod Stewart. In 1977, as Lane began to feel the effects of the disease, he collaborated with Pete Townshend on the rock-'n'-roll classic Rough Mix.

DIED. DENNIS JAMES, 79, ubiquitous master of ceremonies who was host of the first sports telecast and such game shows as Haggis Baggis; in Palm Springs, Calif. James established himself as an inventive entertainer and emcee at the wrestling ring, where he used his gimmicky "cracklebone," a rubber bone, to imitate the sound of bones crushing.

DIED. J. ANTHONY LUKAS, 64, Pulitzer-prizewinning journalist whose scrupulously detailed books explored America's great divides; by his own hand; in New York City. The individual was the starting point for his work, as in Common Ground, an examination of three families linked and separated by Boston's busing initiative. (See Eulogy below.)

DIED. GEORGE FENNEMAN, 77, Groucho Marx's announcer who perfected the art of the sidekick laugh on TV's You Bet Your Life; in Los Angeles. His velvet voice also introduced Dragnet.

DIED. ROSE MONROE, 77, the can-do poster gal of World War II who inspired America's female foot soldiers to join the work force; in Clarksville, Ind. A factory employee in the 1940s, Monroe literally embodied the character Rosie the Riveter, made famous by the song of the same name and the familiar J. Howard Miller poster. In a subsequent film for war bonds, she symbolized the era's patriotic working women.

DIED. ROBERT SERBER, 88, unapologetic nuclear physicist whose briefing to an elite corps of scientists at Los Alamos, N.M., in 1943 laid the groundwork for atomic destruction; in New York City.

DIED. ADOLPHUS ("Doc") CHEATHAM, 91, late-blooming trumpeter; in Washington. Once an understudy for Louis Armstrong, Doc became a leading sideman of the swing era. His buttery lyricism and witty improvisations played better with age. By his seventh decade, he had grown into his trademark stance--trumpet held high, pointed to the heavens.

DIED. HELEN JACOBS, 88, stout-hearted tennis player who kept swinging year after upsetting year in her lopsided rivalry with Helen Wills Moody; in East Hampton, N.Y. Jacobs won nine Grand Slam titles, many in doubles. In 11 much hyped face-offs, "Helen the Second" survived Moody's baseline drives only once, in 1933.