Ned Sparks
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 18, 1883
- Died
- April 3, 1957
- Birthplace
- Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound 2006
as Self (archive footage)
King Tut's Tomb 1950
as Heckle / Jeckle (voice)
Magic Town 1947
as Ike
Stage Door Canteen 1943
as Ned Sparks
For Beauty's Sake 1941
as Jonathan B. Sweet
The Star Maker 1939
as 'Speed' King
Hawaii Calls 1938
as Strings
This Way Please 1937
as Inky Wells
Wake Up and Live 1937
as Steve Cluskey
One in a Million 1937
as Danny Simpson
Two's Company 1936
as Al
The Bride Walks Out 1936
as Paul Dodson
Collegiate 1935
as 'Scoop' Oakland
George White's 1935 Scandals 1935
as Elmer
Sweet Music 1935
as 'Ten Percent' Nelson
Sweet Adeline 1934
as Dan Herzig
Imitation of Life 1934
as Elmer Smith
Marie Galante 1934
as Plosser
Servants' Entrance 1934
as Hjalmar Gnu
Down to Their Last Yacht 1934
as Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts
Private Scandal 1934
as Inspector Riordan
Sing and Like It 1934
as Toots McGuire
Hi, Nellie! 1934
as Shammy
Going Hollywood 1933
as Conroy
Alice in Wonderland 1933
as Caterpillar
Too Much Harmony 1933
as Lem Spawn
Lady for a Day 1933
as Happy McGuire
Gold Diggers of 1933 1933
as Barney
Secrets 1933
as Sunshine
42nd Street 1933
as Barry
- The Crusader
The Crusader 1932
as Eddie Crane
Big City Blues 1932
as Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse
Blessed Event 1932
as George Moxley
The Miracle Man 1932
as Harry Evans
- Big Dame Hunting
Big Dame Hunting 1932
as Ned
The Wide Open Spaces 1931
as Sheriff Jack Rancid
Corsair 1931
as Slim
- The Way of All Fish
The Way of All Fish 1931
as Ned
The Secret Call 1931
as Bert Benedict
Iron Man 1931
as Riley
Kept Husbands 1931
as Hughie Hanready
Leathernecking 1930
as Sparks
Conspiracy 1930
as Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering
The Fall Guy 1930
as Danny Walsh
The Devil's Holiday 1930
as Charlie Thorne
Double Cross Roads 1930
as Happy Max
Love Comes Along 1930
as Happy
Street Girl 1929
as Happy Winter
Nothing but the Truth 1929
as Clarence van Dyke
Strange Cargo 1929
as Yacht First Mate
The Canary Murder Case 1929
as Tony Skeel
The Magnificent Flirt 1928
as Tim
The Big Noise 1928
as William Howard
The Small Bachelor 1927
as J. Hamilton Beamish
Alias the Lone Wolf 1927
as Phinuit
Alias The Deacon 1927
as Slim Sullivan
The Secret Studio 1927
as The Plumber
Love's Blindness 1926
as Valet
Twinkletoes 1926
Actor
- When the Wife's Away
When the Wife's Away 1926
Actor
The Hidden Way 1926
as Mulligan
The Auction Block 1926
as Nat Saluson
Money Talks 1926
as Lucius Fenton
- Mike
Mike 1926
as Slinky
The Only Thing 1925
as Gibson
Bright Lights 1925
as Barney Gallagher
Seven Keys to Baldpate 1925
Actor
Faint Perfume 1925
as Orrin Crumb
Soul Mates 1925
as Tancred's chauffeur
His Supreme Moment 1925
as Adrian
The Boomerang 1925
as Bert Hanks
The Law Forbids 1924
as Clyde Vernon
The Bond Boy 1923
as Cyrus Morgan
A Wide Open Town 1922
as Si Ryan
Good References 1920
as Peter Stearns
The Perfect Woman 1920
as Grimes, the Anarchist
In Search of a Sinner 1920
as Waiter
Nothing But the Truth 1920
as The Monocle Man
A Virtuous Vamp 1919
as Mr. Bell
A Temperamental Wife 1919
as The Hotel Clerk
- The Little Miss Brown
The Little Miss Brown 1915
as Night Clerk
Credits from TMDB.