DECEMBER 27, 1999 VOL. 154 NO. 25

Milestones
By HANNAH BEECH

DIED. JOSEPH HELLER, 76, absurdist American author whose 1961 novel Catch-22 introduced the no-win expression into the English lexicon and became a touchstone for anti-Vietnam War activists; in East Hampton, New York. Heller's darkly comic novel, based on his stint as a World War II bombardier, was rich with characters who became classics of modern fiction: Major Major, the elusive officer who allows visitors only when he isn't there; Milo Minderbinder, the über-capitalist war profiteer; and John Yossarian, a bombardier who tries to escape from flying missions by getting himself declared crazy--except that his attempt to shirk combat proves his sanity.

DIED. DOUGLAS LEIGH, 92, illuminating American advertising guru who lit up Broadway with splashy billboards and pioneered the idea of festooning skyscrapers with glittering lights; in New York. Among Leigh's most enduring creations were a Camel cigarette sign that wafted real smoke rings for 26 years, a Bromo-Seltzer billboard that fizzed and a 37-m Pepsi-Cola waterfall.

DIED. JILL CRAIGIE, 85, pioneering British documentarian and socialist who entered record books as the nation's first female movie director; in London. Craigie believed that the silver screen should not be limited to the adventures of glamorous jet-setters, and her epochal 1940s documentaries Blue Scar and The Way We Live chronicled the struggles of working-class poor in Britain. A born campaigner who was married to Labour Party leader Michael Foot, Craigie also helped guide post-war, left-wing politics.

FINED. KNOCK YOKOYAMA, 67, Japanese stand-up comic turned Governor of Osaka, $107,000 in damages to a college student he allegedly fondled in the back of a campaign van in April; by the Osaka District Court. Although sexual harassment plagues workplaces and social settings in Japan, few women press charges. Feminists hope the high-profile ruling, plus an anti-harassment law that was enforced for the first time in April, will encourage more victims to come forward.

ARRESTED. ALEXAN ARUTUNIAN, Armenian top presidential aide, in connection with an armed raid on the nation's parliament building that left Prime Minister Robert Kocharian and six government officials dead; in the capital, Yerevan. During the October standoff, the five gunmen asked for Arutunian to serve as negotiator, raising suspicion that he was in league with the coup instigators. The former Soviet republic gained independence in 1991, but political instability and autocratic leadership have roiled attempts at democracy-making since then.

SENTENCED. JUSTIN VOLPE, 27, disgraced New York City police officer who sexually tortured Haitian immigrant Abner Louima in 1997, to 30 years' imprisonment, by federal district judge Eugene Nickerson; in New York. The assault of Louima in a Brooklyn precinct station bathroom tarnished public trust in New York's police force, especially among the city's minority communities.