
Ned Sparks
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1883-11-18
Day of Death
1957-04-03 (73 years old)
Place of Birth
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Ned Sparks
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
Known For
Acting
(2006)
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
as Self (archive footage)
(1947)
Magic Town
as Ike
(1943)
Stage Door Canteen
as Ned Sparks
(1941)
For Beauty's Sake
as Jonathan B. Sweet
(1939)
The Star Maker
as 'Speed' King
(1938)
Hawaii Calls
as Strings
(1937)
One in a Million
as Danny Simpson
(1937)
This Way Please
as Inky Wells
(1937)
Wake Up and Live
as Steve Cluskey
(1936)
Collegiate
as 'Scoop' Oakland
(1936)
Two's Company
as Al
(1936)
The Bride Walks Out
as Paul Dodson
(1935)
George White's 1935 Scandals
as Elmer
(1935)
Sweet Music
as 'Ten Percent' Nelson
(1934)
Imitation of Life
as Elmer Smith
(1934)
Servants' Entrance
as Hjalmar Gnu
(1934)
Sweet Adeline
as Dan Herzig
(1934)
Sing and Like It
as Toots McGuire
(1934)
Marie Galante
as Plosser
(1934)
Hi, Nellie!
as Shammy
(1934)
Private Scandal
as Inspector Riordan
(1934)
Down to Their Last Yacht
as Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts
(1933)
Gold Diggers of 1933
as Barney
(1933)
Too Much Harmony
as Lem Spawn
(1933)
Secrets
as Sunshine
(1933)
Going Hollywood
as Conroy
(1933)
42nd Street
as Barry
(1933)
Alice in Wonderland
as Caterpillar
(1933)
Lady for a Day
as Happy McGuire
(1932)
The Miracle Man
as Harry Evans
(1932)
The Crusader
as Eddie Crane
(1932)
Blessed Event
as George Moxley
(1932)
Big City Blues
as Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse
(1932)
Big Dame Hunting
as Ned
(1931)
The Secret Call
as Bert Benedict
(1931)
Iron Man
as Riley
(1931)
The Wide Open Spaces
as Sheriff Jack Rancid
(1931)
Kept Husbands
as Hughie Hanready
(1931)
Corsair
as Slim
(1930)
Love Comes Along
as Happy
(1930)
Leathernecking
as Sparks
(1930)
Conspiracy
as Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering
(1930)
Double Cross Roads
as Happy Max
(1930)
The Fall Guy
as Danny Walsh
(1930)
The Devil's Holiday
as Charlie Thorne
(1929)
The Canary Murder Case
as Tony Skeel
(1929)
Nothing But the Truth
as Clarence van Dyke
(1929)
Strange Cargo
as Yacht First Mate
(1929)
Street Girl
as Happy Winter
(1928)
The Big Noise
as William Howard
(1928)
The Magnificent Flirt
as Tim
(1927)
Alias The Deacon
as Slim Sullivan
(1927)
The Small Bachelor
as J. Hamilton Beamish
(1927)
Alias the Lone Wolf
as Phinuit
(1926)
Money Talks
as Lucius Fenton
(1926)
(1926)
Mike
as Slinky
(1926)
Love's Blindness
as Valet
(1926)
(1926)
The Hidden Way
as Mulligan
(1925)
Soul Mates
as Tancred's chauffeur
(1925)
Faint Perfume
as Orrin Crumb
(1925)
Bright Lights
as Barney Gallagher
(1925)
His Supreme Moment
as Adrian
(1925)
The Only Thing
as Gibson
(1925)
The Boomerang
as Bert Hanks
(1925)
(1924)
The Law Forbids
as Clyde Vernon
(1923)
The Bond Boy
as Cyrus Morgan
(1920)
The Perfect Woman
as Grimes, the Anarchist
(1920)
Nothing But the Truth
as The Monocle Man
(1920)
Good References
as Peter Stearns
(1920)
In Search of a Sinner
as Waiter
(1919)
A Temperamental Wife
as The Hotel Clerk
(1915)
The Little Miss Brown
as Night Clerk