About

Known credits:
74
Birthday:
1883-11-18
Place of birth:
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Website:
N/A

Ned Sparks

Overview

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

Acting
2006 Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound Actor Self (archive footage) 59
Average
1960 Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse Actor 69
Fair
1947 Magic Town Actor Ike 59
Average
1943 Stage Door Canteen Actor Ned Sparks 58
Average
1941 For Beauty's Sake Actor Jonathan B. Sweet N/A
N/A
1939 The Star Maker Actor 'Speed' King N/A
N/A
1938 Hawaii Calls Actor Strings 58
Average
1937 This Way Please Actor Inky Wells 59
Average
1937 Wake Up and Live Actor Steve Cluskey 58
Average
1937 One in a Million Actor Danny Simpson 58
Average
1936 Two's Company Actor Al N/A
N/A
1936 The Bride Walks Out Actor Paul Dodson 58
Average
1936 Collegiate Actor 'Scoop' Oakland N/A
N/A
1935 George White's 1935 Scandals Actor Elmer 59
Average
1935 Sweet Music Actor 'Ten Percent' Nelson 58
Average
1934 Sweet Adeline Actor Dan Herzig 59
Average
1934 Imitation of Life Actor Elmer Smith 60
Fair
1934 Marie Galante Actor Plosser 58
Average
1934 Servants' Entrance Actor Hjalmar Gnu N/A
N/A
1934 Down to Their Last Yacht Actor Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts 59
Average
1934 Private Scandal Actor Inspector Riordan N/A
N/A
1934 Sing and Like it Actor Toots McGuire 58
Average
1934 Hi, Nellie! Actor Shammy 59
Average
1933 Going Hollywood Actor Conroy 58
Average
1933 Alice in Wonderland Actor Caterpillar 59
Average
1933 Too Much Harmony Actor Lem Spawn 59
Average
1933 Lady for a Day Actor Happy McGuire 60
Fair
1933 Gold Diggers of 1933 Actor Barney Hopkins 61
Fair
1933 Secrets Actor Sunshine 58
Average
1933 42nd Street Actor Thomas Barry 61
Fair
1932 The Crusader Actor Eddie Crane 59
Average
1932 Big City Blues Actor Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse 58
Average
1932 Blessed Event Actor George Moxley 59
Average
1932 The Miracle Man Actor Harry Evans 59
Average
1932 Big Dame Hunting Actor Ned N/A
N/A
1931 The Wide Open Spaces Actor Sheriff Jack Rancid N/A
N/A
1931 Corsair Actor Slim 58
Average
1931 The Secret Call Actor Bert Benedict N/A
N/A
1931 Iron Man Actor Riley 58
Average
1931 Kept Husbands Actor Hughie Hanready 58
Average
1930 Leathernecking Actor Sparks N/A
N/A
1930 Conspiracy Actor Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering 58
Average
1930 The Fall Guy Actor Danny Walsh 59
Average
1930 The Devil's Holiday Actor Charlie Thorne 58
Average
1930 Double Cross Roads Actor Happy Max N/A
N/A
1930 Love Comes Along Actor Happy 59
Average
1929 Street Girl Actor Happy Winter 59
Average
1929 Nothing But the Truth Actor Clarence van Dyke 58
Average
1929 Strange Cargo Actor Yacht First Mate 59
Average
1929 The Canary Murder Case Actor Tony Skeel 58
Average
1928 The Magnificent Flirt Actor Tim N/A
N/A
1928 The Big Noise Actor William Howard N/A
N/A
1927 The Small Bachelor Actor J. Hamilton Beamish N/A
N/A
1927 Alias the Lone Wolf Actor Phinuit N/A
N/A
1927 Alias The Deacon Actor Slim Sullivan N/A
N/A
1926 Love's Blindness Actor Valet N/A
N/A
1926 Twinkletoes Actor 59
Average
1926 When the Wife's Away Actor N/A
N/A
1926 The Hidden Way Actor Mulligan N/A
N/A
1926 Mike Actor Slinky N/A
N/A
1926 Money Talks Actor Lucius Fenton N/A
N/A
1925 The Only Thing Actor Gibson 58
Average
1925 Bright Lights Actor Barney Gallagher N/A
N/A
1925 Seven Keys to Baldpate Actor N/A
N/A
1925 Faint Perfume Actor Orrin Crumb N/A
N/A
1925 His Supreme Moment Actor Adrian N/A
N/A
1925 The Boomerang Actor Bert Hanks N/A
N/A
1923 The Bond Boy Actor Cyrus Morgan N/A
N/A
1920 Good References Actor Peter Stearns 58
Average
1920 The Perfect Woman Actor Grimes, the Anarchist N/A
N/A
1920 In Search of a Sinner Actor Waiter N/A
N/A
1920 Nothing But the Truth Actor The Monocle Man N/A
N/A
1919 A Temperamental Wife Actor The Hotel Clerk 58
Average
1915 The Little Miss Brown Actor Night Clerk N/A
N/A