Friend Encounters: Paul Sorvino and Troy Babbs at Days of the Dead 2018

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

I met Troy Babbs at one of the Days of the Dead conventions several years back. Troy was a volunteer staffer there. While Troy left the Days team with some other friends last year, it did not end our friendship.
Troy is one of the nicest, most genuine people you could ever meet. He is also a load of fun. I always feel very positive after hanging with Troy anywhere. He has helped me at various conventions and I greatly appreciate his many efforts.
At the last DotD that Troy attended, he met legendary actor Paul Sorvino. With a lengthy resume like Sorvino has, you could pick several big roles, but his work on The Sopranos has to be one of the more notable roles. He also played the lead character in Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way.
Sorvino and Troy would make a great buddy pair for a movie. I could see it now. Troy's humor and Sorvino's tough guy presence would combine for lots of entertainment.

I don't see Troy quite as much since he left DotD, but it's always fun when we catch up. You always have to keep good people in your life somehow and Troy is one of the best.

The next Days of the Dead is October 11-13 in Dallas. Check out DaysoftheDead.com for all of the info and check back here for recurring coverage.

Paul Sorvino and Troy Babbs in Schaumburg, IL-November 2018.

Paul Sorvino at Motor City Comic Con 2016

I occasionally come across oddities at comic cons.  Such was the case with Paul Sorvino at the Motor City Comic Con 2016.

Sorvino is a legendary actor.  His performance in Goodfellas alone would put him on the map and I am not an overzealous fan of that movie either.  His onscreen career spans nearly 50 years.  He has done episodic television like Law & Order, along with movies like Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way.  He even played the father of Bruce Willis on Moonlighting.  On the big screen, his credits include Dick Tracy, Reds and many more.

At the MCCC, Sorvino had a relatively short line and a low price.  It was ridiculous.  I'm not being grumpy old man here.  At the very least, the man's work in Goodfellas merits more attention.

Cuzz's theory is the MCCC had a different crowd.  There might be some validity to that, but not enough.  I've seen far less accomplished actors have longer lines and higher prices.  These weren't just more recent actors either.  This was the bizarro world.

Don't get me wrong, Sorvino probably did well enough and if not, I'm sure he will survive.  It just struck me as odd that there wasn't as much excitement for him as I thought there would be.  I was ecstatic to meet Sorvino, as was Cuzz.

It makes me shake my head to see much less accomplished actors garner long lines even with higher prices.  I never begrudge the actors.  The market truly does set the price.  It just boggles my mind that Sorvino didn't have a super long line.  Maybe I should just be grateful we didn't have to wait in a super long line.

For his part, Srvino was engaging.  I brought up his role as Torre (I always seem to focus on the odd role and not the major one).  Maybe Sorvino was happy to not talk about Goodfellas for one.  Either way, he was a class act and I am glad to have met him.

Paul Sorvino, Cuzz Gekas and me in Novi, MI-May 2016.