Ned Sparks
79 movies · 1 TV show
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Nov 18, 1883
- Died
- Apr 3, 1957 (age 73)
- Place of birth
- Guelph, Ontario, Canada
- Also known as
- Edward Arthur Sparkman · Ned A. 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.
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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
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Ned Sparks: movies and TV shows
Acting (80)
- 1960
- 1950 King Tut's Tomb
as Heckle / Jeckle (voice)
- 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 This Way Please
as Inky Wells
- 1937 Wake Up and Live
as Steve Cluskey
- 1937 One in a Million
as Danny Simpson
- 1936 Two's Company
as Al
- 1936 The Bride Walks Out
as Paul Dodson
- 1935 Collegiate
as 'Scoop' Oakland
- 1935 George White's 1935 Scandals
as Elmer
- 1935 Sweet Music
as 'Ten Percent' Nelson
- 1934 Sweet Adeline
as Dan Herzig
- 1934 Imitation of Life
as Elmer Smith
- 1934 Marie Galante
as Plosser
- 1934 Servants' Entrance
as Hjalmar Gnu
- 1934 Down to Their Last Yacht
as Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts
- 1934 Private Scandal
as Inspector Riordan
- 1934 Sing and Like It
as Toots McGuire
- 1934 Hi, Nellie!
as Shammy
- 1933 Going Hollywood
as Conroy
- 1933 Alice in Wonderland
as Caterpillar
- 1933 Too Much Harmony
as Lem Spawn
- 1933 Lady for a Day
as Happy McGuire
- 1933 Gold Diggers of 1933
as Barney
- 1933 Secrets
as Sunshine
- 1933 42nd Street
as Barry
- 1932 The Crusader
as Eddie Crane
- 1932 Big City Blues
as Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse
- 1932 Blessed Event
as George Moxley
- 1932 The Miracle Man
as Harry Evans
- 1932 Big Dame Hunting
as Ned
- 1931 The Wide Open Spaces
as Sheriff Jack Rancid
- 1931 Corsair
as Slim
- 1931 The Secret Call
as Bert Benedict
- 1931 Iron Man
as Riley
- 1931 Kept Husbands
as Hughie Hanready
- 1930 Leathernecking
as Sparks
- 1930 Conspiracy
as Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering
- 1930 The Fall Guy
as Danny Walsh
- 1930 The Devil's Holiday
as Charlie Thorne
- 1930 Double Cross Roads
as Happy Max
- 1930 Love Comes Along
as Happy
- 1929 Street Girl
as Happy Winter
- 1929 Nothing but the Truth
as Clarence van Dyke
- 1929 Strange Cargo
as Yacht First Mate
- 1929 The Canary Murder Case
as Tony Skeel
- 1928 The Magnificent Flirt
as Tim
- 1928 The Big Noise
as William Howard
- 1927 The Small Bachelor
as J. Hamilton Beamish
- 1927 Alias the Lone Wolf
as Phinuit
- 1927 Alias The Deacon
as Slim Sullivan
- 1927 The Secret Studio
as The Plumber
- 1926 Love's Blindness
as Valet
- 1926
- 1926
- 1926 The Hidden Way
as Mulligan
- 1926 The Auction Block
as Nat Saluson
- 1926 Mike
as Slinky
- 1926 Money Talks
as Lucius Fenton
- 1925 The Only Thing
as Gibson
- 1925 Bright Lights
as Barney Gallagher
- 1925
- 1925 Faint Perfume
as Orrin Crumb
- 1925 Soul Mates
as Tancred's chauffeur
- 1925 His Supreme Moment
as Adrian
- 1925 The Boomerang
as Bert Hanks
- 1924 The Law Forbids
as Clyde Vernon
- 1923 The Bond Boy
as Cyrus Morgan
- 1922 A Wide Open Town
as Si Ryan
- 1920 Good References
as Peter Stearns
- 1920 The Perfect Woman
as Grimes, the Anarchist
- 1920 In Search of a Sinner
as Waiter
- 1920 Nothing But the Truth
as The Monocle Man
- 1919 A Virtuous Vamp
as Mr. Bell
- 1919 A Temperamental Wife
as The Hotel Clerk
- 1915 The Little Miss Brown
as Night Clerk
Talk shows and appearances (1)
- 2006