1997: THOSE WE LOST

   * Paul E. Tsongas, former senator from Massachusetts who rebounded from cancer to briefly become the Democratic presidential front-runner in 1992. Jan. 18. Age 55. Pneumonia.
   * James Dickey, a poet who achieved his greatest fame for the novel and Oscar-nominated movie Deliverance. Jan. 19. Age 73. Complications of lung disease.
   * Curt Flood, the former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder who took on baseball's long-standing rules that prohibited players from choosing what teams they would play for. Jan. 20. Age 59. Throat cancer.
   * ``Col.'' Tom Parker, the flamboyant former carnival barker who helped guide Elvis Presley to stardom. Jan. 21. Age 87. Stroke.
   * Jeane L. Dixon, the astrologer famed for her prediction that President Kennedy would die in office. Jan. 25. Age 79. Cardiopulmonary arrest.
   * Pamela Harriman, the U.S. ambassador to France who was born to the British aristocracy, married to American wealth and then earned her own place as a political doyenne. Feb. 5. Age 76. Stroke.
* Deng Xiaoping, the last of China's Communist revolutionaries, who abandoned Mao's radical policies and pushed the world's most populous nation into the global community with capitalist-style reforms. Feb. 19. Age 92.
   * Lavern Baker, rock 'n' roll hall of famer known for such hits as Tweedle-Dee and Jim Dandy. March 10. Age 67. Diabetes.
   * Willem de Kooning, whose swirls and slashes of color helped define abstract expressionism. March 19. Age 92. Alzheimer's disease.
   * Allen Ginsberg, the poet laureate of the Beat Generation. April 5. Age 70. Heart attack after battling liver cancer.
   * Jack Kent Cooke, the crusty entrepreneur whose Washington Redskins won three Super Bowls. April 6. Age 84. Cardiac arrest.
   * Laura Nyro, singer-songwriter of the '60s and '70s whose unique style influenced many women to follow, writer of such hits as Stoned Soul Picnic and Wedding Bell Blues. April 8. Age 49. Ovarian cancer.
   * Chaim Herzog, who served Israel as diplomat, soldier, spymaster, barrister, author and the nation's longest-serving president. April 17. Age 78. Pneumonia.
   * Mike Royko, the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist whose empathy for the common man captured the gritty essence of Chicago for more than three decades. April 29. Age 64. Aneurysm.
   * Lawrence Payton, a member of the Four Tops who gave the Motown group its distinctive harmonies on hits such as Baby I Need Your Loving and Reach Out (I'll Be There.) June 20. Age 59. Liver cancer.
   * Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X's widow who witnessed his assassination in 1965 and went on to become a noted activist in her own right. June 23. Age 61. Burns suffered in a fire.
   * Brian Keith, the burly actor best known as Uncle Bill on the TV sitcom Family Affair. June 24. Age 75. Suicide; had suffered from cancer and emphysema.
   * Jacques Cousteau, explorer and inventor who shared his undersea adventures with millions of TV viewers worldwide, revealing the enchanting, hidden life that lay beneath the waves. June 25. Age 87. Respiratory and heart problems.
   * Robert Mitchum, the brawny, blunt-spoken actor who starred in more than a hundred movies including The Story of G.I. Joe and Night of the Hunter. July 1. Age 79. Emphysema, cancer.
   * James Stewart, the lanky, aw-shucks star who embodied the small-town values of decency and moral courage in films such as It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. July 2. Age 89. Blood clot on his lung.
   * Charles Kuralt, the avuncular CBS newsman whose ``On the Road'' reports celebrated offbeat America - from unicyclists to horse traders to gasoline-pumping poets. July 4. Age 62. Complications of lupus.
   * Gianni Versace, Italian designer who dressed celebrities the world over in his glamorous, sexy fashions. July 15. Age 50. Murder.
   * William J. Brennan, retired Supreme Court justice whose intellect and charisma made him one of the most influential jurists in America's history. July 24. Age 91.
   * Ben Hogan, the golfer who overcame devastating injuries from a traffic accident to win four U.S. Opens and come closest to capturing professional golf's ``grand slam.'' July 25. Age 84. Cancer, Alzheimer's disease.
   * William S. Burroughs, the stone-faced godfather of the Beat generation whose experimental novel Naked Lunch unleashed an underground world that defied narration. Aug. 2. Age 83. Heart attack.
   * Jeanne Calment of Arles, France, the world's oldest person, who stayed mentally sharp until the end and claimed to have met - and disliked - the struggling artist who posthumously became her hometown's most famous resident, Vincent van Gogh. Aug. 4. Age 122.
   * Brandon Tartikoff, the former NBC programming wizard who transformed primetime television in the 1980s with such landmark shows as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and The Cosby Show. Aug. 27. Age 48. Hodgkin's disease.
   * Diana, Princess of Wales, whose incomparable beauty, common touch and energetic efforts on behalf of AIDS patients and land mine victims made her the ``people's princess'' even after her divorce from Prince Charles. Aug. 31. Age 36. Car crash.
   * Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun revered for her tireless dedication to Calcutta's most wretched and for organizational skills that made her order a force worldwide. Sept. 5. Age 87.
   * Mobutu Sese Seko, the Zairian strongman who was overthrown after nearly 32 years of despotic rule that left his mineral-rich country in shambles. Sept. 7. Age 66. Prostate cancer.
   * Burgess Meredith, supreme character actor who played a crusty old pug in Rocky and waddled with aristocratic elan as the Penguin on TV's Batman. Sept. 9. Age 89. Melanoma, Alzheimer's disease.
   * Richie Ashburn, a classic leadoff hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies and a member of baseball's Hall of Fame. Sept. 9. Age 70. Heart attack.
   * Roy Lichtenstein, a pioneer of the Pop Art movement best known for his oversized comic book-style images, complete with Ben Day dots and inane captions like ``I don't care! I'd rather sink - than call Brad for help!'' Sept. 29. Age 73. Pneumonia.
   * Red Skelton, the gentle clown-comedian who stumbled and bumbled his way through decades of prime-time television skits and more than 30 movies, creating such beloved characters as Clem Kadiddlehopper, Freddie the Freeloader and the Mean Widdle Kid. Sept. 17. Age 84.
   * John Denver, multimillion-selling singer of the 1970s whose love of the outdoors was reflected in hits like Rocky Mountain High and in his environmental activism. Oct. 12. Age 53. Plane crash.
   * Harold Robbins, who wrote a string of steamy best-selling novels including The Carpetbaggers, The Betsy and Never Love a Stranger. Oct. 14. Age 81. Heart failure.
   * James A. Michener, who guided millions of readers from the South Pacific to the fringes of space in giant, best-selling novels. Oct. 16. Age 90. Kidney failure.
   * Roberto C. Goizueta, who fled Communist Cuba and became a kingpin of capitalism as the highly successful chief of the Coca-Cola Co. Oct. 18. Age 65. Lung cancer.
   * Nancy Dickerson, whose 1960 breakthrough as CBS News' first female correspondent helped pave the way for a generation of women. Oct. 18. Age 70. Stroke.
   * Eddie Arcaro, jockey known as ``The Master'' who in a career that stretched from the '30s to the '60s twice rode to Triple Crowns and won the Kentucky Derby five times. Nov. 14. Age 81. Cancer.
   * Coleman A. Young, a tailor's son who overcame racism to become Detroit's first black mayor and presided over the city for an unprecedented five terms. Nov. 29. Age 79. Heart and respiratory problems.
   * Chris Farley, rotund comic known for sweaty, uptight characters on Saturday Night Live and in such films as Tommy Boy. Dec. 18. Age 33.
   * Dawn Steel, first woman to head a major Hollywood studio and a tough movie executive who produced hits such as Top Gun and Fatal Attraction. Dec. 20. Age 51. Brain tumor.