Home >

Ned Sparks

Ned Sparks

Birthday: 1883-11-19 | Place of Birth: 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

...

Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1947
Magic Town

as    Ike

1939
The Star Maker

as    'Speed' King

1937
One in a Million

as    Danny Simpson

1937
Wake Up and Live

as    Steve Cluskey

1936
The Bride Walks Out

as    Paul Dodson

1934
Down to Their Last Yacht

as    Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts

1934
Sweet Adeline

as    Dan Herzig

1934
Imitation of Life

as    Elmer Smith

1934
Marie Galante

as    Plosser

1934
Hi, Nellie!

as    Shammy

1933
Gold Diggers of 1933

as    Barney Hopkins

1933
Going Hollywood

as    Conroy

1933
Lady for a Day

as    Happy McGuire

1933
Too Much Harmony

as    Lem Spawn

1933
Secrets

as    Sunshine

1933
42nd Street

as    Thomas Barry

1932
Blessed Event

as    George Moxley

1932
Big City Blues

as    Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse

1931
Corsair

as    Slim

1930
The Devil's Holiday

as    Charlie Thorne

1930
Love Comes Along

as    Happy

1930
Conspiracy

as    Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering

1929
Street Girl

as    Happy Winter

1929
The Canary Murder Case

as    Tony Skeel

1927
The Small Bachelor

as    J. Hamilton Beamish

1927
Alias the Lone Wolf

as    Phinuit

1925
The Only Thing

as    Gibson