Vince Barnett (July 4, 1902 – August 10, 1977) was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in more than 400 films between 1930 and 1975.
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 the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). An avid amateur pilot, he flew mail planes for a couple of years. The diminutive, chrome-domed Barnett appeared on Broadway in the 1926 edition of Earl Carroll’s Vanities.
Practical jokes
A 1932 newspaper report noted that “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?” Wrote author Ephraim Katz, “Among the celebrated ‘victims’ of his practical jokes were President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Henry Ford, and Charles Lindbergh.”
During the transition from silent films to sound, an employee at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired Barnett to prank Louis B. Mayer. He impersonated a sound expert and went to a sound-stage under construction with Mayer, criticizing the construction and using double-talk to confuse him. He ended his evaluation by proclaiming the whole soundstage needed to be torn down, and Mayer was about to order it done before his co-workers revealed the prank. David Niven, in his 1975 memoir, recalled Barnett posing as an important German director at a testimonial banquet for Samuel Goldwyn. Barnett gave the guest of honor an uncomfortable time, announcing that Goldwyn hired actress Anna Sten only because he “wanted to get into her bloomers.”
Film
Vince Barnett’s initial involvement with Hollywood was as a screenwriter, “writing screenplays for the two-reeler movies of the late 1920s.”
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, Barnett played straight character parts, often as careworn little men, undertakers, janitors, bartenders and drunks in pictures ranging from films noir (The Killers, 1946) to westerns (Springfield Rifle, 1952). He was a welcome presence in “B” comedies and mysteries: as Runyonesque gangsters in Petticoat Larceny (1943), Little Miss Broadway (1947), and Gas House Kids Go West (1947), and notably as Tom Conway’s enthusiastic sidekick in The Falcon’s Alibi (1946). After World War II, with the Hollywood studios making fewer films, Barnett became a familiar face on television.
Later years and death
In one of his last public appearances, Barnett showcased his unique brand of humor with a monologue, delivered at Madison Square Garden in the vaudeville revue The Big Show of 1936.
During the 1950s, Barnett had an eponymous restaurant in Santa Monica at 826 Wilshire Boulevard.
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.
Selected filmography
Wide Open (1930) – Dvorak
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) – Assistant Cook (uncredited)
Night Work (1930) – Headwaiter (uncredited)
Her Man (1930) – Waiter (uncredited)
One Heavenly Night (1931) – Egon, Chauffeur (uncredited)
Scandal Sheet (1931) – Barrett, Convict Reporter (uncredited)
Side Show (1931) – The Great Santini (uncredited)
Scratch-As-Catch-Can (1931, Short)
Scarface (1932) – Angelo
Horse Feathers (1932) – Speakeasy Patron (uncredited)
The Night Mayor (1932) – Louis Mossbaum, Tailor
Tiger Shark (1932) – Fishbone
Heritage of the Desert (1932) – Windy
Rackety Rax (1932) – ‘Dutch’
The Death Kiss (1932) – Officer Gulliver
Flesh (1932) – Waiter
Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933) – Assistant (uncredited)
Fast Workers (1933) – Spike
The Big Cage (1933) – Soupmeat
Made on Broadway (1933) – Snitz Lepedis
The Girl in 419 (1933) – Otto Hoffer
Sunset Pass (1933) – Windy
Tugboat Annie (1933) – Cab Driver (uncredited)
Man of the Forest (1933) – Little
The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933) – Bugsie
The Ninth Guest (1934) – William Jones
Madame Spy (1934) – Peter
Registered Nurse (1934) – Jerry
Thirty-Day Princess (1934) – Count Nicholaus
Now I’ll Tell (1934) – Peppo
The Cat’s-Paw (1934) – Wilks – a Gangster
The Affairs of Cellini (1934) – Ascanio
She Loves Me Not (1934) – Baldy Schultz
Take the Stand (1934) – Tony
Kansas City Princess (1934) – Quincy – Dynamite’s Henchman
Young and Beautiful (1934) – Sammy
No Ransom (1934) – Bullet
Crimson Romance (1934) – The Courier
Hell in the Heavens (1934) – Ace McGurk
The Secret Bride (1934) – Drunk in Diner
Princess O’Hara (1935) – Fingers
Black Fury (1935) – Kubanda
Silk Hat Kid (1935) – Mr. Rabinowitz
Don’t Bet on Blondes (1935) – Chuck aka ‘Brains’
Champagne for Breakfast (1935) – Bennie
Streamline Express (1935) – Mr. Jones
I Live My Life (1935) – Clerk
Riffraff (1936) – Lew
Dancing Feet (1936) – Willoughby
Captain Calamity (1936) – Burp
Down to the Sea (1936) – Hector
San Francisco (1936) – New Year’s Eve Drunk (uncredited)
I Cover Chinatown (1936) – Puss McGaffey – the Bus Driver
Yellow Cargo (1936) – Speedy ‘Bulbs’ Callahan
We’re in the Legion Now! (1936) – Spike Conover
After the Thin Man (1936) – Wrestling Manager at Party (uncredited)
The Woman I Love (1937) – Mathieu
A Star Is Born (1937) – Otto (uncredited)
Bank Alarm (1937) – Clarence ‘Bulb’ Callahan
Boots of Destiny (1937) – Acey Ducey – Sidekick
The Singing Cowgirl (1938) – Kewpie
The Headleys at Home (1938) – Vince Bergson
Sunset Murder Case (1938) – Barney
Water Rustlers (1939) – Mike – the cook
Ride ’em, Cowgirl (1939) – Dan Haggerty
Exile Express (1939) – Deputy Constable
Overland Mail (1939) – Porchy
Heroes of the Saddle (1940) – Night Watchman
East Side Kids (1940) – Whisper
Boys of the City (1940) – Simp
Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) – Cafe Customer (uncredited)
Seven Sinners (1940) – Bartender
A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob (1941) – Bystander with Packages (uncredited)
Mr. District Attorney (1941) – Coroner’s Messenger (uncredited)
Paper Bullets (1941) – Scribbler, a Petty Forger
Blondie in Society (1941) – Mr. Wade (uncredited)
Puddin’ Head (1941) – Otis Tarbell
A Dangerous Game (1941) – Ephriam
Jungle Man (1941) – Buckthorn – ‘Buck’ the Guide
Sierra Sue (1941) – Shooting-Gallery Pitchman (uncredited)
I Killed That Man (1941) – Drunk
Blonde Comet (1941) – Curly
Pardon My Stripes (1942) – Bartender (uncredited)
Girls’ Town (1942) – Dimitri
Klondike Fury (1942) – Alaska
The Corpse Vanishes (1942) – Sandy
Gallant Lady (1942) – Baldy
Stardust on the Sage (1942) – Sam Haskins
My Favorite Spy (1942) – Kay’s 2nd Taxi Driver (uncredited)
The Phantom Plainsmen (1942) – Deputy (uncredited)
Baby Face Morgan (1942) – Lefty Lewis
Foreign Agent (1942) – Drunk
Bowery at Midnight (1942) – Charley
X Marks the Spot (1942) – George
Queen of Broadway (1942) – Schultz
Thundering Trails (1943) – Jailer (uncredited)
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher (1943) – Henchman ‘Gimp’
Kid Dynamite (1943) – Klinkhammer
High Explosive (1943) – Truck Driver (uncredited)
Captive Wild Woman (1943) – Curley
Petticoat Larceny (1943) – Stogie
Danger! Women at Work (1943) – Benny
Tornado (1943) – Albany Alvin (uncredited)
Sweethearts of the U.S.A. (1944) – Clipper – 3rd Robber
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) – Card Game Kibitzer (uncredited)
Leave It to the Irish (1944) – Barney Baker
The Big Show-Off (1945) – Voice Teacher’s Student (uncredited)
High Powered (1945) – Worker at Dance
Thrill of a Romance (1945) – Oscar
River Gang (1945) – Organ Grinder
Sensation Hunters (1945) – Agent
The Falcon’s Alibi (1946) – Goldie Locke
The Virginian (1946) – Baldy
Two Sisters from Boston (1946) – Singing Waiter (uncredited)
Bowery Bombshell (1946) – Street Cleaner
The Killers (1946) – Charleston
No Leave, No Love (1946) – Ben
Swell Guy (1946) – Sam Burns
The Mighty McGurk (1947) – Tailor (uncredited)
My Brother Talks to Horses (1947) – Schuyler (uncredited)
I Cover Big Town (1947) – Louis Murkil
Shoot to Kill (1947) – Charlie Gill
Gas House Kids Go West (1947) – Steve
Little Miss Broadway (1947) – Mack Truck
The Trespasser (1947) – Bartender
Brute Force (1947) – Muggsy – Convict in Kitchen
Joe Palooka in the Knockout (1947) – Russell
The Flame (1947) – Stage Door Attendant (uncredited)
Big Town After Dark (1947) – Louie Snead
High Wall (1947) – Henry Cronner
Big Town Scandal (1948) – Louie Snead
Thunder in the Pines (1948) – Bernard – Bartender
Loaded Pistols (1948) – Sam Gardner
Knock on Any Door (1949) – Carl Swanson – Bartender (uncredited)
Big Jack (1949) – Tom Speed (uncredited)
Deputy Marshall (1949) – Hotel Desk Clerk
Mule Train (1950) – Joe – Barber
Storm Over Wyoming (1950) – Telegraph Clerk (uncredited)
The Second Woman (1950) – Giovanni Strobini (uncredited)
Border Treasure (1950) – Pokey
International Burlesque (1950)
Hunt the Man Down (1950) – Joe (uncredited)
Kentucky Jubilee (1951) – Mugsy
I’ll See You in My Dreams (1951) – Burlesk Comedian (uncredited)
On Dangerous Ground (1951) – George (uncredited)
Red Planet Mars (1952) – Seedy Man Listening to Radio (uncredited)
Carson City (1952) – Henry
Springfield Rifle (1952) – Cook (uncredited)
The Jazz Singer (1952) – Bartender (uncredited)
Ring of Fear (1954) – Vendor (uncredited)
Charade (1954) – Berg
The Human Jungle (1954) – Old Mugging Victim (uncredited)
The Crooked Web (1955) – Ed, Stan’s Partner in Drive-In (uncredited)
The Quiet Gun (1957) – Undertaker
Outlaw Queen (1957) – Gamler
Monkey on My Back (1957) – Mushy – Barney’s Trainer (uncredited)
Girl on the Run (1958) – Janitor
The Rookie (1959) – 1st Janitor
Zebra in the Kitchen (1965) – Man in Manhole
The Family Jewels (1965) – Oil Change Customer (uncredited)
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) – Janitor
Green Acres, ‘The Price of Apples’ (1966, TV Series) – Gus
Andy Griffith Show (1967–1968, TV Series) – Elmo
The Spy in the Green Hat (1967) – ‘Scissors’
The Big Mouth (1967) – Man at Telephone Booth (uncredited)
The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967) – Prescott Townsman (uncredited)
Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1970, TV Series) – Elmo
Summer School Teachers (1974) – Principal Adams
Crazy Mama (1975) – Homer
Sixpack Annie (1975) – Bartender
External Links
Actor Vince Barnett – Wikipedia
