Ned Sparks
Acting • Born 1883-11-18 – Died 1957-04-03
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
Filmography
79 credits
42nd Street
Movie • 1933
Barry
Gold Diggers of 1933
Movie • 1933
Barney
Alice in Wonderland
Movie • 1933
Caterpillar
Lady for a Day
Movie • 1933
Happy McGuire
Blessed Event
Movie • 1932
George Moxley
Sweet Adeline
Movie • 1934
Dan Herzig
In Search of a Sinner
Movie • 1920
Waiter
Imitation of Life
Movie • 1934
Elmer Smith
The Canary Murder Case
Movie • 1929
Tony Skeel
Corsair
Movie • 1931
Slim
Nothing But the Truth
Movie • 1920
The Monocle Man
Love's Blindness
Movie • 1926
Valet
This Way Please
Movie • 1937
Inky Wells
Street Girl
Movie • 1929
Happy Winter
The Bride Walks Out
Movie • 1936
Paul Dodson
One in a Million
Movie • 1937
Danny Simpson
Big City Blues
Movie • 1932
Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse
Marie Galante
Movie • 1934
Plosser
Seven Keys to Baldpate
Movie • 1925
Conspiracy
Movie • 1930
Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering
Sweet Music
Movie • 1935
'Ten Percent' Nelson
George White's 1935 Scandals
Movie • 1935
Elmer
Sing and Like It
Movie • 1934
Toots McGuire
The Wide Open Spaces
Movie • 1931
Sheriff Jack Rancid
Big Dame Hunting
Movie • 1932
Ned
The Bond Boy
Movie • 1923
Cyrus Morgan
Hi, Nellie!
Movie • 1934
Shammy
The Crusader
Movie • 1932
Eddie Crane
Wake Up and Live
Movie • 1937
Steve Cluskey
Love Comes Along
Movie • 1930
Happy
The Fall Guy
Movie • 1930
Danny Walsh
The Star Maker
Movie • 1939
'Speed' King
Down to Their Last Yacht
Movie • 1934
Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts
Magic Town
Movie • 1947
Ike
The Devil's Holiday
Movie • 1930
Charlie Thorne
Too Much Harmony
Movie • 1933
Lem Spawn
Secrets
Movie • 1933
Sunshine
Hawaii Calls
Movie • 1938
Strings
The Miracle Man
Movie • 1932
Harry Evans
The Small Bachelor
Movie • 1927
J. Hamilton Beamish
The Hidden Way
Movie • 1926
Mulligan
When the Wife's Away
Movie • 1926
Going Hollywood
Movie • 1933
Conroy
The Only Thing
Movie • 1925
Gibson
Mike
Movie • 1926
Slinky
Servants' Entrance
Movie • 1934
Hjalmar Gnu
Private Scandal
Movie • 1934
Inspector Riordan
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
Movie • 2006
Self (archive footage)
Kept Husbands
Movie • 1931
Hughie Hanready
Stage Door Canteen
Movie • 1943
Ned Sparks
Double Cross Roads
Movie • 1930
Happy Max
Alias the Lone Wolf
Movie • 1927
Phinuit
Nothing but the Truth
Movie • 1929
Clarence van Dyke
Iron Man
Movie • 1931
Riley
Alias The Deacon
Movie • 1927
Slim Sullivan
Twinkletoes
Movie • 1926
Good References
Movie • 1920
Peter Stearns
The Secret Call
Movie • 1931
Bert Benedict
Faint Perfume
Movie • 1925
Orrin Crumb
His Supreme Moment
Movie • 1925
Adrian
Leathernecking
Movie • 1930
Sparks
Money Talks
Movie • 1926
Lucius Fenton
Collegiate
Movie • 1936
'Scoop' Oakland
The Big Noise
Movie • 1928
William Howard
Bright Lights
Movie • 1925
Barney Gallagher
Strange Cargo
Movie • 1929
Yacht First Mate
The Magnificent Flirt
Movie • 1928
Tim
For Beauty's Sake
Movie • 1941
Jonathan B. Sweet
The Perfect Woman
Movie • 1920
Grimes, the Anarchist
A Temperamental Wife
Movie • 1919
The Hotel Clerk
Two's Company
Movie • 1936
Al
The Little Miss Brown
Movie • 1915
Night Clerk
The Boomerang
Movie • 1925
Bert Hanks
The Law Forbids
Movie • 1924
Clyde Vernon
Soul Mates
Movie • 1925
Tancred's chauffeur
The Auction Block
Movie • 1926
Nat Saluson
A Wide Open Town
Movie • 1922
Si Ryan
The Secret Studio
Movie • 1927
The Plumber
Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse
TV • 1960