Vince Vaughan was an affable, charming, natural-born storyteller, raconteur and spinner of yarns with an innate flair for comedy. So, it’s not surprising he was intrigued and enticed to be involved at Beaumaris Theatre when his daughter’s Jo and Nicole were cast in our 2003 production of Bugsy Malone.
He was invited to be involved with Return to the Forbidden Planet in 2003 working on specialist lighting design, special effects and set construction and he was hooked.
Vince was an IT expert and had a passion and fascination for all things technological and he was always on the lookout for gadgets and he if he couldn’t find the implement he was looking for, he would invent it. Vince’s talents were in demand and he delighted in constantly learning new skills. His versatility and resourcefulness behind the scenes meant he was highly sought after for roles as lighting and sound operator and designer; IT set up and monitoring; set construction; special effects; audiovisual technician; stage crew and even plumbing (!)
As a ‘techie’ he was part of the all-important crews for Smiley- the Musical; The Long Gone Lonesome Cowgirls; Anonymous Theatre; Steel Magnolias; Black Adder; Dreamchild- Alice’s Musical Adventures; Closer; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Charlotte’s Web; Once More With Feeling- Christmas Revue; Day of the Triffids; Bedside Manners; Anne of Green Gables; Little Women; A Streetcar Named Desire; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; An Evening at Beaumaris Theatre; Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella; Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon; To Kill a Mockingbird; Still Life & The Bowman’s; Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; The Vicar of Dibley; The Odd Couple; Set Build; Happy Days- a New Musical; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; The Great Gatsby; Blood Brothers; 13- A New Musical; The Little Mermaid JR; Une Belle Farce; Sweeney Todd- the Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Fawlty Towers; Grease; A Chorus Line; A Night of Dark Intent; August: Osage County; Death By Fatal Murder; Chicago; Buddy-the Buddy Holly Story and They Came From Mars and Landed Outside the Farndale Avenue Church.
Away from the theatre, Vince started working as an ‘extra’ which lead to more lucrative roles in ads, TV shows and movies and as a result, he was lured onto the stage and made his debut in 2012 as Walter Cunningham in To Kill a Mockingbird. This was followed by the role of Frank Pickle in The Vicar of Dibley, Mike in Set Build, Arnold Delvecchio in Happy Days- a New Musical and cameo roles as Kerr, a Laundry Man and Mr Mann in Fawlty Towers in 2015. Vince took to acting like a duck to water and it was second nature to him, but even with all his instinctive talent, he worked meticulously at his craft, wanting to be absolutely the best he could be and a first-rate character actor. He took classes, he practised diligently at home, he researched and created realistic backstories for the characters he portrayed. Nothing was ever too much trouble and he always aimed to please. When asked by a director to shave off his trademark moustache that he’d had for forty years, it was no problem. When asked to don a fake nose, he did not complain. When asked to roller skate across the stage to get a laugh, he obliged, even though skating was certainly not his forte. He was a consummate professional and would do whatever he needed to do for the sake of the betterment of a scene or the show as a whole.
Vince was a delightful asset to every production he worked on whether onstage or off and he was adored by everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him and working alongside him. He was always quick with a joke and his favourite catchphrases were ‘Ohh, did you hear...’ or ‘did I tell you about…’ When asked how he was, he would most usually reply, ‘all the better for seeing you’. The word ‘no’ was simply not part of his vocabulary and if he was asked could he or would he do something he’d always respond with ‘yes’ and a confident nod, then he’d work it out and find out how to carry out the request later and do so with aplomb.
Vince’s happy-go-lucky outlook endeared him to all and he was a popular choice and worthy recipient of the Beaumaris Theatre President’s Award in 2007. He was awarded four Talbot Awards for his lighting or sound design efforts. He loved the Talbots, which was our own night of nights and he was our resident audio and audio-visual coordinator from 2004-2017 and proudly arranged our beloved event to be held at his Black Rock Tennis Club in 2008-2010. He was honoured to oversee and implement the lighting and sound for our Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea annual fundraiser for nine years plus countless other fundraisers, social events and movie screenings.
Vince was instrumental in overhauling our audio infrastructure to ensure we kept up with modern advancements and systems. He was in his element pottering with cords and leads in the bio box and would often be found up a ladder, possibly blaspheming (which he never made sound offensive), or happily whistling. Sharing the bio box with Vince was an entertaining, colourful, ‘sensory’ and lasting experience for his fellow techies, especially young protégés who looked up to him as a masterful and fun mentor.
He was a connoisseur of fine wines and gladly researched and purchased very good wines at bargain prices for us for our front of house bar for many years.
In 2018 Vince was both surprised and chuffed to be awarded Life Membership of Beaumaris Theatre Inc. for his continuous, meritorious, loyal and outstanding service and contribution to our Theatre.
Vince was a charismatic, complete all-rounder and an all-around good guy who was the life of any party and great fun to be around. He had a huge heart and a giving and generous spirit. We loved him wholeheartedly and will miss him dearly but we know how very blessed we were to count him as a friend and he’s left an indelible imprint in our memories and our lives have been enriched by being part of his.
Our sincerest condolences to Rhonda, Jo, Nicole, Tim, Dan & Jess.