* Samuel Bronston, 85, a film producer whose works included "El Cid," "55 Days at Peking" and "Fall of the Roman Empire," died Wednesday in Sacramento, Calif. In the 1960s, he produced "El Cid," starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren; "The Fall of the Roman Empire," with Ms. Loren; "55 Days at Peking," with Mr. Heston, David Niven and Ava Gardner; and "Circus World" with John Wayne and Rita Hayworth. Earlier films included "Jack London" in 1943, "And Then There Were None" and "Walk In the Sun," in 1945. In the late 1940s, he became the Vatican's official photographer.
* Billie Holder, 77, a former publisher of the Alamogordo Daily News, died Wednesday in Alamogordo, N.M. He purchased the newspaper Jan. 1, 1954. He made the biweekly a daily publication by autumn of that year. After selling the paper July 1, 1983, he co-founded an investment firm.
* David Philip Wilson, 84, who painted the portraits of politicians and astronauts, died Tuesday in Naples, Fla., of an apparent heart attack. He painted portraits of President Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong and Gordon Cooper.