Milestones

By Harriet Barovick, ELIZABETH L. BLAND, Clayton Neuman

RETIRED. TED KOPPEL, 65, as the veteran anchor of ABC's Nightline, three years after the network's embarrassingly public attempt to bring in David Letterman to take over his time slot; in Washington. Since 1980, when the half-hour show was launched, Koppel has made Nightline a lively, aggressive examination of the news. Down-playing his exit, he ended his last broadcast by asking viewers to give his successors a chance or else, he said with a jab at ABC, "I promise you the network will just put another comedy show in this time slot. Then you'll be sorry."

DIED. CHRIS WHITLEY, 45, innovative singer-songwriter best known for his 1991 debut album, Living with the Law, and its radio hit, Big Sky Country; of lung cancer; in Houston. With its fresh, electrified take on country-blues, Law inspired glowing reviews and a cult following. Yet Whitley avoided formulas, going on to record 11 albums that touched on a range of styles, from grunge to jazz.

DIED. GEORGE BEST, 59, dazzling international soccer superstar whose good looks and shaggy coif earned him the nickname the "fifth Beatle"; of a lung infection, after being hospitalized for a prescription-drug reaction; in London. Long before David Beckham, Best injected sex appeal into soccer, leading Manchester United to its first European Cup win in 1968. But he earned his reputation as a trouble-seeking playboy. Unable to stop drinking, even after a 2002 liver transplant, he called alcohol the "only opponent I've been unable to beat."

DIED. PAT MORITA, 73, actor nominated for an Academy Award for his quietly wise, wry Mr. Miyagi, the martial-arts mentor in 1984's The Karate Kid and its three sequels; of natural causes; in Las Vegas. Born in California to migrant fruit-pickers, Morita lived in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. At 30, the aspiring comic gave up his day job to focus on acting, first winning national fame as Arnold, owner of the restaurant favored by Fonzie and friends in the sitcom Happy Days.

DIED. RUTH SIEMS, 74, General Foods research-and-development staff member whose carefully planned recipe made Stove Top stuffing a best-selling comfort to harried mothers everywhere; of a heart attack; in Newburgh, Ind. Knowing that bread-crumb size held the key to liquid absorption--and thus "proper texture and mouthfeel," as the patent stated--she determined the precise dimensions of the ideal crumb--about those of a pencil eraser. Now part of Kraft, Stove Top sells some 60 million boxes every Thanksgiving.

DIED. LINK WRAY, 76, the original thrashing guitarist whose pioneering use of the "power chord" on his 1958 instrumental hit Rumble inspired rockers from Pete Townshend to Neil Young; in Copenhagen. In an era of clean-cut performers, Wray shook up the music world with his distorted guitar and menacing persona, laying the foundation for punk, metal and beyond. In the 1990s, he enjoyed a resurgence when his music was featured in several films, including Pulp Fiction and Independence Day.

DIED. MIKE AUSTIN, 95, golfer who slammed a 515-yd. drive in a Las Vegas senior tournament in 1974, setting a record for the longest drive in a pro-golf tournament; in Los Angeles. Despite dramatic advances in club technology, his feat, accomplished at 64, still holds.

DIED. ALFRED ANDERSON, 109, last surviving participant in the famous Christmas Truce of 1914, during which British and German soldiers emerged from opposing trenches along the Western Front near Ypres, Belgium, to exchange gifts, sing carols and smoke; in Newtyle, Scotland. The unofficial World War I truce spread to much of the Western Front, lasting for days in some areas. Last year he said of the reprieve, "I remember the eerie sound of silence."