Paul Anthony Sorvino (April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022)

Actor, opera singer, businessman, writer, and sculptor Paul
Sorvinor often portrayed authority figures on both sides of
the law and was known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, based         
on Paul Vario,  in the 1990 gangster film Goodfellas, and             
NYPD Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the TV series Law & Order.                  

Sorvino died from natural causes at the Mayo Clinic in
Jacksonville, Florida. He was 83.
 

Paul Sorvino in Goodfellas.

On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the world’s first baby to be conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) was born at Oldham and
District General Hospital in Manchester, England, to parents
Lesley and Peter Brown. The healthy baby was delivered shortly
before midnight by caesarean section and weighed in at five
pounds, 12 ounces.

DALLAS (AP) — Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from his
1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight title fight was sold
at auction on Sunday for $6.18 million.

The winner of the competition for the belt was Indianapolis
Colts owner Jim Irsay, according to Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

In a tweet Sunday, Irsay confirmed he acquired the belt for his
collection of rock music, American history and pop culture
memorabilia that is currently touring the country.

The belt will be displayed on Aug. 2 at Chicago’s Navy Pier and
on Sept. 9 in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

Referee Zack Clayton, right, steps in after challenger
Muhammad Ali, second from right, knocked down
defending heavyweight champion George Foreman,
bottom, in the eighth round of their championship
bout on Oct. 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire. (AP Photo/File)

On July 24, 1998, the director Steven Spielberg’s World War II
epic, Saving Private Ryan, was released in theaters across the
U.S. The film, which starred Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, was
praised for its authentic portrayal of war and was nominated
for 11 Academy Awards. It took home five Oscars, for Best
Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing
and Best Sound Effects Editing.

The film’s lengthy opening scene was a bloody re-enactment of
American troops landing at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France,
on June 6, 1944.

Bob Rafelson (February 21, 1933 – July 23, 2022)

(Hollywood Reporter) – Bob Rafelson, the writer, director,
producer and maverick who set the tone for the swinging,
psychedelic 1960s with The Monkees, then was a pioneer
in one of the most influential eras of independent film, 
history has died.

Rafelson, who collaborated with Jack Nicholson on seven
features, including the classics Easy Rider (1969), Five
Easy Pieces (1970) and The King of Marvin Gardens (1972),
died Saturday night of natural causes at his home in Aspen,
Colorado.

Rafelson (far right) with The Monkees.