Milestones, Nov. 4, 1974

Born. To precociously sexy TV Mouseketeer and Film Actress (Shaggy Dog, Muscle Beach Party) Annette Funicello, 32, and Talent Agent Jack Gilardi, 44: a third child, second son; in Burbank, Calif. Name: Jason Michael.

Died. Yekaterina A. Furtseva, 64, Soviet Minister of Culture; of a heart attack; in Moscow. Furtseva joined the youth branch of the Communist Party as a teen-age worker in a textile plant, then climbed through a series of party posts. Closely allied with Nikita Khrushchev, she became Minister of Culture in 1960 and the most powerful woman in the Soviet Union. As Culture Minister, "Baba Katya" (Grannie Kate) sponsored an upsurge of artistic exchange with the West, but shifted after Patron Khrushchev's ouster to a policy of harsh repression (notably against Alexander Solzhenitsyn).

Died. David Oistrakh, 66, Soviet violin genius; of a heart attack while on tour; in Amsterdam. Raised in the musical hothouse of Odessa's Jewish community, Wunderkind Oistrakh rose rapidly through the conservatories and concert halls of the Soviet Union. In the cold war November of 1955, Oistrakh's first Carnegie Hall recital melted American critics. A short (5 ft. 6 in.), pudgy, businesslike performer, Oistrakh produced music with a luminous, flawless tone. In his last years, he grew into a first-rank conductor as well. On hearing of Oistrakh's death, American Violinist Yehudi Menuhin, a close friend, lamented the loss of "a wonderful man ... a sort of friendship bridge among countries all over the world."

Died. Leo C. Byrne, 66, Coadjutor Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis and vice president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops; of heart failure; in St. Paul. Theologically conservative, Byrne was a social activist who supported Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers' grape and lettuce boycotts. At the 1971 World Synod of Bishops in Rome, Byrne urged that "no argument should be used to exclude women from any service to the church if it stems from male prejudice or blind adherence to merely human tradition."

Died. Jean-Baptiste Troisgros, 77, premier chef and bon vivant; of a heart attack while feasting; in Villefranchesur-Mer. Troisgros's Restaurant des Frères Troisgros in Roanne, 240 miles southeast of Paris, became a shrine for gourmets who came to sample his food and prejudices. "From 35 to 45, women are old," Troisgros once said. "Then the devil takes over and they're beautiful, splendid, maternal, proud ... When I see them my mouth waters."