BORN. To David Hartman, 47, folksy host of Good Morning America, and Maureen Hartman, 38, a former television producer: a third son, fourth child; in New York City. Name: Conor Downey. Weight: 8 lb. 2 oz.

DIED. Erving Goffman, 60, unorthodox sociologist whose provocative books (The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life and Forms of Talk) developed his somewhat mordant theories of contemporary ritual, based upon the overlooked small print of daily life (gossip, gestures, even grunts), in such settings as mental asylums and advertising columns; of cancer; in Philadelphia.

DIED. Roy Mark Hofheinz, 70, rambunctious, larger-than-life Texas entrepreneur and showman whose Houston Astrodome was the world's first indoor stadium; of a heart attack; in Houston. After passing the bar exam at 19, becoming the nation's youngest elected county judge, and serving as manager of Lyndon Johnson's unsuccessful 1941 Senate campaign, Hofheinz vowed to make a million dollars in less than a decade, which he did. Elected mayor of Houston at 40, he survived impeachment and eventually promoted the Astrodome, lavishly appointing the stadium with such splashy innovations as an electronic scoreboard, luxury "suites" and, later, artificial turf. Hofheinz once declared, "Texas is capable of excellin' anything anyone else has ever thought of doin'."

DIED. Benny Friedman, 77, All-America quarterback at the University of Michigan (1924-26) and star of the National Football League for eight seasons, regarded as the game's first master of the forward pass; of a self-inflicted gunshot wound; in New York City. A sophisticated student of football, Friedman handed down his theories both as a college coach and as an outspoken advocate of reformed pension plans for the pro game's early stars and improved techniques for preventing injury.

DIED. Abraham Pomerantz, 79, lawyer who pioneered suits by small shareholders against officials of such big organizations as McDonnell Douglas Corp. and the Dreyfus Fund; in New York City. Pomerantz specialized in so-called derivative suits, in which the company receives the award and passes it on to all stockholders. He was known for charging high fees and for sometimes representing the same companies whose stockholders he championed. "I love the buck," he once said. "I'm out to make it. But when it's a question of the rich against the poor, I'm for the poor."

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