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