Milestones May 6, 2002

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RECOVERING. ROBERT ATKINS, 71, diet doctor and author of the controversial high-protein-, high-fat-, low-carb-promoting Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution; from cardiac arrest related to cardiomyopathy, a heart infection unrelated to diet; after a brief hospitalization; in New York City.

PLEADED GUILTY. ROBERT ILER, 17, who plays Tony Soprano's troublemaking son Anthony Jr., on HBO's The Sopranos; to petty larceny in the mugging, allegedly with three friends, of two 16-year-olds in Manhattan last July; in New York City. In a deal that nixed initial charges of second-degree robbery, a judge sentenced Iler to three years' probation.

DIED. LISA (Left Eye) LOPES, 30, member of the ebullient, tough-talking, Grammy-winning R.-and-B. trio TLC; in a car crash near La Ceiba, Honduras, where she was working to support a child-development center. With hits like Waterfalls and Creep, TLC, which debuted in 1992, evolved from a gimmicky singing trio--Lopes attached condoms to her eyeglasses during concerts--to one that was acclaimed for its original sound. The group's CDs, 1994's CrazySexyCool and 1999's FanMail, which produced the No. 1 hit No Scrubs, sold 25 million copies, more than any other female pop group in history. Despite Lopes' and the group's much publicized difficulties--TLC filed for bankruptcy in 1995 and Lopes was put on probation in 1994 for burning down her boyfriend's house--TLC was recording a new CD, scheduled for release later this year.

DIED. LINDA BOREMAN, 53, ex-pornography star best known by her former moniker, Linda Lovelace; of injuries from an April 3 car accident; in Denver. As the star of 1972's classic Deep Throat, a feature-length film that played in mainstream theaters and made some $600 million, Boreman rose to fame in the '70s. After publishing Ordeal, her 1980 autobiography--in which she charged that her abusive first husband forced her to take the role and that she made no money from it--she became a vocal antiporn advocate.

DIED. BARBARA GRIZZUTI HARRISON, 67, author of the much lauded 1978 book Visions of Glory, a nuanced account of the 12 years she spent as a Jehovah's Witness; of pulmonary disease; in New York City. Converted at 9 by her mother, Harrison moved into the Brooklyn, N.Y., headquarters of the organization at 19; after three years she renounced it. Harrison, who wrote for Ms. and other magazines, presented the faith as racist and sexist--but with members who were often humanitarian and kind.

DIED. JAY CHIAT, 70, idealistic adman whose influential Los Angeles-based firm, Chiat/Day, pioneered the "West Coast style" of conveying strong messages without prominently featuring logos, as in Nike's 1984 billboard portraits of Olympic athletes with a tiny swoosh in the corner; of prostate cancer; in Marina del Rey, Calif. Among the firm's other creations: Apple's 1984 campaign (based on the Orwell novel) to introduce the Macintosh PC, in which a brightly dressed woman rebels against look-alike zombies; and the drumming Energizer Bunny. A tough boss, Chiat once said, "My real talent was for losing clients."

DIED. REGINALD ROSE, 81, socially conscious Emmy-winning TV writer whose courtroom drama, 12 Angry Men, captivated TV viewers in 1954 and was later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring Henry Fonda; in Norwich, Conn.