Olivier Debre,79, one of France's best-known abstract painters of the post-war era, whose large-format works include the stage curtain at the Comedie Francaise, died in Paris on Tuesday. His form of art, which he described as "opposite to the geometric abstraction of the Cubism of Cezanne and Picasso," involved daring splashes of color applied with thick brush strokes intended to create a poetic and sensual mood.

Ernie Wilkins,79, St. Louis-born composer and saxophonist who played with Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Lionel Hampton, died Saturday in Copenhagen, Denmark. He suffered a stroke, according to his wife.

Pub Date: 6/07/99