Milestones Jul. 20, 1998

• Share

BORN. To former co-stars and current newlyweds UMA THURMAN, 28, and ETHAN HAWKE, 27: a girl, Maya Ray; in New York City.

BORN. To Woo star JADA PINKETT, 26, and action hero WILL SMITH, 29: a boy, Jaden Christopher Syre; in Los Angeles.

SENTENCED. AMY GROSSBERG, 20, and BRIAN PETERSON, 20; to 2 1/2 and 2 years in prison, respectively; in Wilmington, Del. The two pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of their newborn son in a Newark, Del., motel in 1996.

DIED. SID LUCKMAN, 81, Chicago Bears Hall of Fame quarterback with a mind as potent as his arm; in North Miami Beach. After joining the Bears in 1939, Luckman perfected the T-formation offense, memorizing 350 plays in the team's repertoire and changing the way the game was played for the next decade. He led an All Star-packed lineup, dubbed the Monsters of the Midway, to four NFL championships in seven years, beginning with a 73-0 rout of the Washington Redskins in the 1940 title game.

DIED. KAY THOMPSON, in her 90s, entertainer and creator of the Plaza Hotel's most memorable guest, six-year-old Eloise; in New York City. Thompson was a successful nightclub performer who appeared as a Vreelandesque fashion editor in the movie Funny Face, but her most enduring character was Eloise, an irascible girl whose mischievous exploits while living in New York City's Plaza Hotel Thompson first chronicled in a 1955 book. Originally targeted for adults but beloved by children ever since, Eloise starred in three more best-selling books and a line of merchandise.

DIED. ROY ROGERS, 86, iconic singing cowboy who wore a white hat in more than 90 westerns. Rogers was an uncomplicated hero and one of the most beloved public figures in the decades following World War II. A canny businessman, he also founded the chain of Roy Rogers fast-food outlets. (See EULOGY, below.)