Ned Sparks

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. Sparks was known for his deadpan expression and deep, gravelly voice. Born in Guelph, Ontario, Sparks left home at age 16 and attempted to work as a gold prospector on the Klondike Gold Rush. After running out of money, he won a spot as a singer on a traveling musical company's tour. At age 19, he returned to Canada and briefly attended a Toronto seminary. After leaving the seminary, he worked for the railroad and worked in theater in Toronto. In 1907, he left Toronto for New York City to try his hand in the Broadway theatre, where he appeared in his first show in 1912. While working on Broadway, Sparks developed his trademark deadpan expression while portraying the role of a desk clerk in the play Little Miss Brown. His success on the stage soon caught the attention of MGM's Louis B. Mayer who signed Sparks to a six picture deal. Sparks began appearing in numerous silent films before finally making his "talkie" debut in the 1928 film The Big Noise. In the 1930s, Sparks became known for portraying dour-faced, sarcastic, cigar-chomping characters. He became so associated with the type that, in 1936, The New York Times reported that Sparks had his face insured for USD$100,000 with Lloyd's of London. The market agreed to pay the sum to any photographer who could capture Sparks smiling (Sparks later admitted that the story was a publicity stunt and he was only insured for $10,000). Sparks was also caricatured in cartoons including the Jack-in-the-Box character in the Disney short Broken Toys (1935), and the jester in Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938), a hermit crab in both Tex Avery's Fresh Fish (1939) and Bob Clampett's Goofy Groceries (1941), a chicken in Bob Clampett's Slap Happy Pappy (1940), Friz Freleng's Warner Bros. cartoon Malibu Beach Party (1940), and Tex Avery's Hollywood Steps Out (1940). Sparks also voiced the cartoon characters Heckle and Jeckle from 1947 to 1951. Sparks appeared in ten stage productions on Broadway and over 80 films. He retired from films in 1947, saying that everyone should retire at 65

Known For

Barry

42nd Street

Barney

Gold Diggers of 1933

Caterpillar

Alice in Wonderland

Happy McGuire

Lady for a Day

George Moxley

Blessed Event

Dan Herzig

Sweet Adeline

Waiter

In Search of a Sinner

Elmer Smith

Imitation of Life

Tony Skeel

The Canary Murder Case

Slim

Corsair

The Monocle Man

Nothing But the Truth

Valet

Love's Blindness

Inky Wells

This Way Please

Happy Winter

Street Girl

Paul Dodson

The Bride Walks Out

Danny Simpson

One in a Million

Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse

Big City Blues

Plosser

Marie Galante

Seven Keys to Baldpate

Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering

Conspiracy

'Ten Percent' Nelson

Sweet Music

Elmer

George White's 1935 Scandals

Toots McGuire

Sing and Like It

Sheriff Jack Rancid

The Wide Open Spaces

Ned

Big Dame Hunting

Cyrus Morgan

The Bond Boy

Shammy

Hi, Nellie!

Eddie Crane

The Crusader

Steve Cluskey

Wake Up and Live

Happy

Love Comes Along

'Speed' King

The Star Maker

Danny Walsh

The Fall Guy

Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts

Down to Their Last Yacht

Charlie Thorne

The Devil's Holiday

Ike

Magic Town

Lem Spawn

Too Much Harmony

Sunshine

Secrets

Strings

Hawaii Calls

Harry Evans

The Miracle Man

J. Hamilton Beamish

The Small Bachelor

Mulligan

The Hidden Way

When the Wife's Away

Conroy

Going Hollywood

Gibson

The Only Thing

Slinky

Mike

Hjalmar Gnu

Servants' Entrance

Inspector Riordan

Private Scandal

Self (archive footage)

Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound

Hughie Hanready

Kept Husbands

Ned Sparks

Stage Door Canteen

Happy Max

Double Cross Roads

Phinuit

Alias the Lone Wolf

Clarence van Dyke

Nothing But the Truth

Riley

Iron Man

Slim Sullivan

Alias The Deacon

Twinkletoes

Peter Stearns

Good References

Bert Benedict

The Secret Call

Orrin Crumb

Faint Perfume

Adrian

His Supreme Moment

Sparks

Leathernecking

Lucius Fenton

Money Talks

'Scoop' Oakland

Collegiate

William Howard

The Big Noise

Barney Gallagher

Bright Lights

Yacht First Mate

Strange Cargo

Tim

The Magnificent Flirt

Jonathan B. Sweet

For Beauty's Sake

The Hotel Clerk

A Temperamental Wife

Grimes, the Anarchist

The Perfect Woman

Al

Two's Company

Night Clerk

The Little Miss Brown

Bert Hanks

The Boomerang

Clyde Vernon

The Law Forbids

Tancred's chauffeur

Soul Mates

Nat Saluson

The Auction Block