Milestones

By Melissa August; Peter Bailey; Elizabeth L. Bland; Carolina Miranda; James Poniewozik

WON. PHIL MICKELSON, 33, the Masters, his first victory in any of golf's four major tournaments, after 47 tries; in Augusta, Ga. One year after his worst season, he acquired a new swing and a slimmer physique and, with a dramatic birdie putt on the 18th hole, won the coveted green blazer.

CHARGED. AUDREY SEILER, 20, with two misdemeanor counts of lying to police, after her apparent abduction turned out to be a hoax; in Madison, Wis. The University of Wisconsin sophomore, who was missing for five days, says she faked her own kidnapping to get more attention from her boyfriend.

BODY FOUND. DRU SJODIN, 22, a University of North Dakota student and Victoria's Secret clerk, missing for five months; in Crookston, Minn. Dozens of volunteers searched the area last year and again this month. A sobbing Sheriff Mark LeTexier announced, "Dru is home." Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., a convicted sex offender, has been charged with the crime.

DIED. MICHELINE CHAREST, 51, a founder with her husband of the Canadian children's television group Cinar, which produced the hit show Arthur; of complications from plastic surgery; in Montreal. Cinar was a leading supplier of children's shows like Zoboomafoo, Wimzie's House and Caillou as well as Arthur, featuring the world's most famous aardvark; in 1997 the Hollywood Reporter ranked Charest as the 19th most powerful woman in show business, ahead of Madonna. But two years later, Charest, along with her husband, was booted from Cinar's board following a series of financial scandals.

DIED. ED GREGORY JR., 66, colorful carnival owner and felon who was pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2000; of pulmonary disease; in Nashville, Tenn. The pardon--Gregory had been convicted of bank fraud--prompted a congressional investigation into his financial ties with the President's brother-in-law Tony Rodham, who had received $240,000 in undocumented consulting fees from Gregory.

DIED. PHIL SOKOLOF, 82, who spent millions of his own money to wage war against fat; in Omaha, Neb. After a heart attack at age 46, the self-made millionaire, who suffered from high cholesterol, began buying full-page newspaper ads with such headlines as MCDONALD'S, YOUR HAMBURGERS HAVE TOO MUCH FAT! His work prompted some fast-food chains, including McDonald's, to begin frying potatoes in vegetable oil rather than beef tallow and other companies to stop using highly saturated tropical oils in packaged snacks. He was credited with helping bring about mandatory nutritional labels on food packaging.

DIED. EILEEN DARBY, 87, photographer of Broadway stars; in Long Beach, N.Y. Known for her snapshots of Broadway sets and celebrities for publications like LIFE magazine, Darby often put her subjects' interests above her own--refusing once to photograph Ingrid Bergman for fear of passing on a cold. Darby stopped taking photos in 1968, saying she lost her enthusiasm for the theater after seeing the musical Hair.

DIED. HENRY VISCARDI JR., 91, a leading campaigner for jobs for the disabled; in Roslyn, N.Y. Born with withered stumps for legs, he worked his way through law school and was employed as a tax clerk when a doctor fitted him with artificial legs that added 2 ft. to his natural 3 ft. 8 in. After working with amputees during World War II and at the urging of Eleanor Roosevelt, he started Abilities, Inc., a nonprofit job-placement group, in 1952. Three groups founded by Viscardi merged in 1991 to create the National Center for Disability Services.