Ned Sparks
Age: 73 | From: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Person Details
Birthday: 1883-11-19 16:23:13
Death: 1957-04-03 16:23:13
Aliases: Edward Arthur Sparkman , Ned A. Sparks
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 32
TV Involvements: 0
Most Famous Work
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
Most Famous Work
Imitation of Life
(1934) Elmer Smith
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
(2006) Self (archive footage)
Secrets
(1933) Sunshine
Sweet Music
(1935) 'Ten Percent' Nelson
Kept Husbands
(1931) Hughie Hanready
Love Comes Along
(1930) Happy
Sweet Adeline
(1934) Dan Herzig
His Supreme Moment
(1925) AdrianActing
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Self (archive footage) | |
| 1960 | N/A | |
| 1947 | Ike | |
| 1943 | Ned Sparks | |
| 1941 | Jonathan B. Sweet | |
| 1939 | 'Speed' King | |
| 1938 | Strings | |
| 1937 | Inky Wells | |
| Steve Cluskey | ||
| Danny Simpson | ||
| 1936 | Paul Dodson | |
| 'Scoop' Oakland | ||
| 1935 | Elmer | |
| 'Ten Percent' Nelson | ||
| 1934 | Dan Herzig | |
| Elmer Smith | ||
| Plosser | ||
| Hjalmar Gnu | ||
| Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts | ||
| Inspector Riordan | ||
| Toots McGuire | ||
| Shammy | ||
| 1933 | Conroy | |
| Caterpillar | ||
| Lem Spawn | ||
| Happy McGuire | ||
| Barney Hopkins | ||
| Sunshine | ||
| Thomas Barry | ||
| 1932 | Eddie Crane | |
| Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse | ||
| George Moxley | ||
| Harry Evans | ||
| N/A | ||
| 1931 | Sheriff Jack Rancid | |
| Slim | ||
| Bert Benedict | ||
| Riley | ||
| Hughie Hanready | ||
| 1930 | Sparks | |
| Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering | ||
| Danny Walsh | ||
| Charlie Thorne | ||
| Happy Max | ||
| Happy | ||
| 1929 | Happy Winter | |
| Clarence van Dyke | ||
| Yacht First Mate | ||
| Tony Skeel | ||
| 1928 | Tim | |
| William Howard | ||
| 1927 | J. Hamilton Beamish | |
| Phinuit | ||
| 1926 | Valet | |
| N/A | ||
| N/A | ||
| Mulligan | ||
| Lucius Fenton | ||
| Slinky | ||
| 1925 | Gibson | |
| Barney Gallagher | ||
| N/A | ||
| Orrin Crumb | ||
| Adrian | ||
| 1923 | Cyrus Morgan | |
| 1920 | Peter Stearns | |
| Grimes, the Anarchist | ||
| Waiter | ||
| The Monocle Man | ||
| 1919 | N/A | |
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
