Milestones

By Kathleen Adams, Daniel Eisenberg, Tam Gray, Anita Hamilton, Michael Krantz, Alain Sanders and David Thigpen

BANKRUPTCY FILED. TONI BRAXTON, 30, slinky rhythm-and-blues vocal superstar whose two albums have sold more than 15 million copies; in Atlanta. Claiming debts of more than $1 million, Braxton says she is "effectively insolvent." Last December she sued LaFace Records, to be freed from a contract she considers unlucrative.

CHARGED. DANIEL BALDWIN, 37, actor; with criminal possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia; in New York City. The second eldest of the four acting Baldwin brothers was arrested, dazed and bleeding, after what police said was a cocaine-induced rampage. Baldwin has appeared in TV's Homicide and the film Mulholland Falls.

DIED. CARL WILSON, 51, a founder of America's quintessential pop group, the Beach Boys; of complications from cancer; in Los Angeles. A gifted guitarist and the youngest of the band's Wilson brothers, Carl was seen as the relatively level-headed and dependable sibling, while Brian, the eldest, brooded as the troubled genius and Dennis, who drowned in 1983, played the lovable rogue. However, Carl too went through bouts with drugs and alcohol. His sweet, smooth pitch is heard in lead vocals in a number of the Beach Boys' most beloved hits, including Good Vibrations and God Only Knows.

DIED. RICHARD CASSILLY, 70, American tenor and operatic star of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s; of a cerebral hemorrhage. A pure heldentenor, Cassilly possessed a booming, heroic voice that ideally suited grand Wagnerian roles. Debuting at New York City's Metropolitan Opera in 1970, he sang in more than 100 performances there.

DIED. ROGER STEVENS, 87, founding chairman of the Kennedy Center; of pneumonia. A successful real estate entrepreneur and Broadway producer (West Side Story, Bus Stop), Stevens helped raise millions to launch the nation's signature cultural center.