Ned Sparks
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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
Credits
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
as Barney
Nothing But the Truth (1920)
as The Monocle Man
42nd Street (1933)
as Barry
Imitation of Life (1934)
as Elmer Smith
Alice in Wonderland (1933)
as Caterpillar
Magic Town (1947)
as Ike
Hi, Nellie! (1934)
as Shammy
Kept Husbands (1931)
as Hughie Hanready
Lady for a Day (1933)
as Happy McGuire
Collegiate (1935)
as 'Scoop' Oakland
Stage Door Canteen (1943)
as Ned Sparks
The Bride Walks Out (1936)
as Paul Dodson
Sing and Like It (1934)
as Toots McGuire
Wake Up and Live (1937)
as Steve Cluskey
Down to Their Last Yacht (1934)
as Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts
Seven Keys to Baldpate (1925)
Actor
The Canary Murder Case (1929)
as Tony Skeel
Private Scandal (1934)
as Inspector Riordan
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound (2006)
as Self (archive footage)
Blessed Event (1932)
as George Moxley
George White's 1935 Scandals (1935)
as Elmer
One in a Million (1937)
as Danny Simpson
The Little Miss Brown (1915)
as Night Clerk
The Devil's Holiday (1930)
as Charlie Thorne
For Beauty's Sake (1941)
as Jonathan B. Sweet
Nothing but the Truth (1929)
as Clarence van Dyke
A Wide Open Town (1922)
as Si Ryan
Alias the Lone Wolf (1927)
as Phinuit
The Wide Open Spaces (1931)
as Sheriff Jack Rancid
The Miracle Man (1932)
as Harry Evans
Big City Blues (1932)
as Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse
Secrets (1933)
as Sunshine
The Star Maker (1939)
as 'Speed' King
When the Wife's Away (1926)
Actor
Marie Galante (1934)
as Plosser
Going Hollywood (1933)
as Conroy
Conspiracy (1930)
as Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering
Love's Blindness (1926)
as Valet
The Fall Guy (1930)
as Danny Walsh
This Way Please (1937)
as Inky Wells
The Magnificent Flirt (1928)
as Tim
Iron Man (1931)
as Riley
The Big Noise (1928)
as William Howard
Too Much Harmony (1933)
as Lem Spawn
Servants' Entrance (1934)
as Hjalmar Gnu
The Secret Studio (1927)
as The Plumber
Sweet Music (1935)
as 'Ten Percent' Nelson
Corsair (1931)
as Slim
The Secret Call (1931)
as Bert Benedict
The Law Forbids (1924)
as Clyde Vernon
The Hidden Way (1926)
as Mulligan
Double Cross Roads (1930)
as Happy Max
King Tut's Tomb (1950)
as Heckle / Jeckle (voice)
Street Girl (1929)
as Happy Winter
Sweet Adeline (1934)
as Dan Herzig
Soul Mates (1925)
as Tancred's chauffeur
The Only Thing (1925)
as Gibson
Strange Cargo (1929)
as Yacht First Mate
Faint Perfume (1925)
as Orrin Crumb
Alias The Deacon (1927)
as Slim Sullivan
Hawaii Calls (1938)
as Strings
Two's Company (1936)
as Al
The Bond Boy (1923)
as Cyrus Morgan
His Supreme Moment (1925)
as Adrian
The Perfect Woman (1920)
as Grimes, the Anarchist
The Auction Block (1926)
as Nat Saluson
Love Comes Along (1930)
as Happy
The Crusader (1932)
as Eddie Crane
A Temperamental Wife (1919)
as The Hotel Clerk
The Boomerang (1925)
as Bert Hanks
Money Talks (1926)
as Lucius Fenton
Mike (1926)
as Slinky
The Small Bachelor (1927)
as J. Hamilton Beamish
Leathernecking (1930)
as Sparks
A Virtuous Vamp (1919)
as Mr. Bell
Big Dame Hunting (1932)
as Ned
Bright Lights (1925)
as Barney Gallagher
Twinkletoes (1926)
Actor
Good References (1920)
as Peter Stearns
In Search of a Sinner (1920)
as Waiter