Milestones: Jul. 27, 1981

DIED. Federico De Laurentiis, 26, son of Movie Producer Dino De Laurentiis (The Serpent’s Egg, King Kong) and Italian Actress Silvana Magnano (Bitter Rice, Barabbas) and himself the producer of the 1978 film King of the Gypsies; of injuries received in the mid-air collision of two light planes while he was shooting a documentary on Alaska’s annual fish harvest; over Kvichak Bay, Alaska.

DIED. Harry Chapin, 38, folk-rock singer and composer whose poignant, bittersweet ballads about dashed dreams and broken promises included the hits Taxi (1972), W.O.L.D. (1974) and The Cat’s in the Cradle (1974); of injuries received when his car was struck by a trailer truck; in Jericho, N.Y. The son of Big Band Drummer James Chapin, he performed for a while during the ’60s with a group whose other members were his father and Brothers Tom and Stephen. A social activist and crusader against world hunger, Chapin often organized and appeared in benefit concerts for environmental issues, the arts, and charities like the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

DIED. William Keeler, 53, president of the ARCO Oil & Gas Co., a major subsidiary of the $24 billion Atlantic Richfield Co.; of wounds received when he and his wife were shotgunned to death by their son David, 14; in Dallas. Police speculated that David, an honor student at the exclusive St. Mark’s School of Texas, may have killed his parents during a quarrel over his expulsion from an amusement park the previous day on suspicion of shoplifting.

DIED. Keefe Brasselle, 58, film actor who was best known for playing the title role in The Eddie Cantor Story (1953); of undisclosed causes; in Downey, Calif. Brasselle turned to television producing in 1964, but all three of his series were canceled in their first season. In 1968 he published The Cannibals, a scathing novel of behind-the-scenes intrigue in the television industry.

DIED. Isaac Soyer, 79, Russian-born painter and the youngest of three artist brothers (the others: Raphael and Moses), who shunned abstraction to portray New York street scenes and working-class people in a style of lyrical realism; in New York City.

DIED. Edward Little, 100, former soap salesman who rose through the ranks to become chief executive in 1938 of the Colgate-Palmolive Co., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of soap, detergents and toilet goods; in Memphis. After World War II, Little concentrated on expanding Colgate-Palmolive’s overseas plants and operations until they accounted for half of the company’s revenues. By the time he stepped down in 1960, sales totaled $600 million for such household staples as Colgate toothpaste and Ajax cleanser.