Milestones: Mar. 9, 1981

ENGAGED. Prince Charles, 32, heir to the British throne; and Lady Diana Spencer, 19, the girl next door (see PEOPLE).

DIED. Shep Fields, 70, bandleader who was known during the 1930s and '40s for his Rippling Rhythm, a bubbly blend of light, catchy orchestrations and the sound made by blowing through a straw into a bowl of water near the microphone; of a heart attack; in Los Angeles.

DIED. Michael Maltese, 72, pre-eminent cartoon animator and writer who, starting in 1937, helped create such characters as Henery Hawk, Sylvester Cat and Road Runner, and invented countless comic calamities for them and others, including...

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