MILESTONES

By JULIE K. L. DAM, SINTING LAI, MEGAN RUTHERFORD

DIED. PRINCE ALEXIS D'ANJOU DE BOURBON-CONDE, 47, heir presumptive to the Russian throne; of complications from brain tumors; in Madrid. Alexis claimed to be the grandson of Grand Duchess Maria, the third daughter of Csar Nicholas II; either Maria or her sister Anastasia, some have theorized, escaped the Bolsheviks' 1918 massacre of Russia's royal family. Last October, Alexis gave a blood sample for testing to compare his DNA with that in bone samples taken from the massacre site; no official findings have been released.

DIED. GERALD DURRELL, 70, British animal lover, conservationist and best- selling writer about the creature kingdom; of complications from a 1994 liver transplant; in St. Helier on the Channel Island of Jersey. As a self- described ``champion of small uglies,'' Durrell dedicated his life to the preservation of wildlife. In 1958 he founded the Jersey Zoological Park, where he bred endangered species such as the Mauritius pink pigeon to return to the wild. Encouraged by his novelist brother Lawrence, Durrell (pronounced Durl) began writing about his life's work, filling books such as The Overloaded Ark (1953) with witty anecdotes.

DIED. PATRICIA HIGHSMITH, 74, author of dark and psychological thrillers that attracted a cult following; in Locarno, Switzerland. Born in Texas and educated in New York City, she went to Europe to lead a reclusive life after the success in 1950 of her first novel, Strangers on the Train, which Alfred Hitchcock made into a movie. Highsmith's most famous character was Tom Ripley, an opportunistic and amoral gentleman-murderer. DIED. DONALD PLEASENCE, 75, chameleon-like British character actor who could be meek or malevolent in his stage and screen roles; in St.-Paul-de-Vence, France. Pleasence first gained an international reputation as the compellingly repellent Davies in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker. But his widest audiences were reached in more popular fare such as The Great Escape and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice.

DIED. ANDRE FROSSARD, 80, intellectual editorial writer for the French daily Le Figaro and noted Roman Catholic author of such books as Defense of the Pope (1993) that chronicled his close relationship with the present Pontiff; in Versailles. Frossard was an atheist and leftist in his youth, but, as he recalled in his 1968 best seller God Exists and I Met Him, he became a sudden Catholic convert in 1935.

DIED. FRED PERRY, 85, one of tennis' all-time greats, whose 1936 Wimbledon singles championship remains the last by a British man; in Melbourne, where he provided radio commentary for last month's Australian Open. A trade unionist's son, Perry was considered a brash upstart in the then elitist tennis world, but his engaging off-court style and running forehand drive shots erased all doubts as he became the first player to win all four Grand Slams--though never all in one year. After retiring in the late 1940s, Perry remained a presence in the sport through his coaching and BBC commentary, and by co-founding one of Britain's most popular designer labels, Fred Perry Sportswear. DIED. GEORGE ABBOTT, 107, American playwright, director and producer; in Miami Beach. Abbott was easily Broadway's longest running hit--from his acting in 1913's The Misleading Lady to the reworking of his 1950 Damn Yankees for its current smash revival. In between were more than 100 productions, including bona fide classics such as Pal Joey and Wonderful Town.