Vince Barnett

Early years

Barnett was born July 4, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Luke Barnett, a well-known comedian who specialized in insulting and pulling practical jokes on his audiences. (Luke's professional nickname was "Old Man Ribber" and "the King of Ribbing".)

Barnett graduated from Duquesne University Prep School and Carnegie Institute of Technology. An avid amateur pilot, he flew mail planes for a couple of years.

Ribbing

"Barnett for years [was] known in Hollywood as the 'professional ribber' -- appearing at banquets and parties as a paid 'insulter.'" He would insult the guests in a thick German accent, spill the soup and drop the trays—all to the great delight of hosts who enjoyed watching their friends squirm and mutter "Who hired that jerk?"

"Among the celebrated 'victims' of his practical jokes were President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Bernard Shaw, Henry Ford, and Charles Lindbergh."

Stage

Barnett made his stage debut with 'Earl Carroll's Vanities' in 1926. The following year, he acted on Broadway in 'George White's Scandals'.

Film

Barnett's initial involvement with Hollywood was as a screenwriter, "writing screenplays for the two-reeler movies of the late 1920's." He went on to appear in more than 400 films.

The diminutive, chrome-domed Barnett also appeared in the 1926 edition of Earl Carroll's Vanities. He began appearing in films in 1930, playing hundreds of comedy bits and supporting parts until retiring in 1975. Among his more sizable screen roles was the moronic, illiterate gangster "secretary" in Scarface. From 1930 Barnett appeared, usually as comedy relief, in films and on television in a career spanning 45 years. Among his best-regarded early roles, apart from Scarface, were The Big Cage (1933), Thirty Day Princess (1934) and, in a perfectly suited Runyonesque part, Princess O'Hara (1935). In later years, Vince often relinquished his comedy image and was seen in innumerable small roles, often as careworn little men, undertakers, janitors, bartenders and drunks in pictures ranging from films noir (The Killers, 1946) to westerns (Springfield Rifle, 1952).

Later years

In one of his last public appearances, Vince showcased his unique brand of humour with a monologue, delivered at Madison Square Garden in the vaudeville revue The Big Show of 1936.

Death

Barnett died of heart disease August 10, 1977, at Encino Hospital Medical Center. He was survived by his wife, Kit, a brother and a sister.