Vince Barnett

Vince Barnett was a former vaudevillian who earned a solid reputation as a practical joker and master of insult, second only to Groucho Marx. He was frequently hired by celebrity hosts to perform gags and pranks at their lavish parties, where he insulted guests and caused mayhem. He often impersonated heavily-accented journalists with names like 'Timothy Glutzspiegel'. Among those who fell victim to his pranks were Winston Churchill, Charles A. Lindbergh, Henry Ford, and Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen. Clark Gable nearly punched him during a party hosted by Joan Crawford. Barnett greeted Greta Garbo with "Good Morning, Miss Hepburn," and, as 'sound expert' Dr. Hoffman, told Richard Barthelmess to take voice lessons from Texas Guinan or quit acting. On a trip to New York, he confronted Mae West, posing as a member of the vice squad and threatening to close down her show, "Diamond Lil," unless she cut some of her bawdy dialogue. When West agreed, the fake inspector ordered her to burn the play and take the next train out of town. Even Jack L. Warner was not immune, being told by 'foreign producer' Barnett to learn the basics of filmmaking.

The rotund, mustachioed, bald-headed Barnett followed in the footsteps of his father, Luke, who had performed similar pranks for thirty years in his hometown of Pittsburgh. After studying at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Vince, an avid amateur pilot, flew mail planes for a few years before making his stage debut with "Earl Carroll's Vanities" in 1926. The following year, he acted on Broadway in "George White's Scandals." Movie roles soon followed.

From 1930, Vince appeared, usually as comedy relief, in films and on television in a career spanning 45 years. Among his best-regarded early roles were in *Scarface* (1932), as a dim-witted gangster; *The Big Cage* (1933); *Thirty Day Princess* (1934); and, in a perfectly-suited Runyonesque part, *Princess O'Hara* (1935). In later years, he often abandoned his comedy image, appearing in numerous small roles as careworn little men, undertakers, janitors, bartenders, and drunks in films ranging from noir like *The Killers* (1946) to westerns such as *Springfield Rifle* (1952).

In one of his last public appearances, Vince showcased his unique brand of humor with a monologue at Madison Square Garden in the vaudeville revue *The Big Show of 1936*. It was a source of lasting regret that he never had the opportunity to match wits (and insults) with his illustrious Irish contemporary, George Bernard Shaw.