Ned Sparks
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
Fotos
Películas (81)
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
2006 · Self (archive footage)
King Tut's Tomb
1950 · Heckle / Jeckle (voice)
Magic Town
1947 · Ike
Stage Door Canteen
1943 · Ned Sparks
For Beauty's Sake
1941 · Jonathan B. Sweet
The Star Maker
1939 · 'Speed' King
Hawaii Calls
1938 · Strings
This Way Please
1937 · Inky Wells
Wake Up and Live
1937 · Steve Cluskey
One in a Million
1937 · Danny Simpson
Two's Company
1936 · Al
The Bride Walks Out
1936 · Paul Dodson
Collegiate
1935 · 'Scoop' Oakland
George White's 1935 Scandals
1935 · Elmer
Sweet Music
1935 · 'Ten Percent' Nelson
Sweet Adeline
1934 · Dan Herzig
Imitation of Life
1934 · Elmer Smith
Marie Galante
1934 · Plosser
Servants' Entrance
1934 · Hjalmar Gnu
Down to Their Last Yacht
1934 · Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts
Private Scandal
1934 · Inspector Riordan
Sing and Like It
1934 · Toots McGuire
Hi, Nellie!
1934 · Shammy
Going Hollywood
1933 · Conroy
Alice in Wonderland
1933 · Caterpillar
Too Much Harmony
1933 · Lem Spawn
Lady for a Day
1933 · Happy McGuire
Gold Diggers of 1933
1933 · Barney
Secrets
1933 · Sunshine
42nd Street
1933 · Barry
The Crusader
1932 · Eddie Crane
Big City Blues
1932 · Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse
Blessed Event
1932 · George Moxley
The Miracle Man
1932 · Harry Evans
Big Dame Hunting
1932 · Ned
The Wide Open Spaces
1931 · Sheriff Jack Rancid
Corsair
1931 · Slim
The Way of All Fish
1931 · Ned
The Secret Call
1931 · Bert Benedict
Iron Man
1931 · Riley
Kept Husbands
1931 · Hughie Hanready
Leathernecking
1930 · Sparks
Conspiracy
1930 · Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering
The Fall Guy
1930 · Danny Walsh
The Devil's Holiday
1930 · Charlie Thorne
Double Cross Roads
1930 · Happy Max
Love Comes Along
1930 · Happy
Street Girl
1929 · Happy Winter
Nothing but the Truth
1929 · Clarence van Dyke
Strange Cargo
1929 · Yacht First Mate
The Canary Murder Case
1929 · Tony Skeel
The Magnificent Flirt
1928 · Tim
The Big Noise
1928 · William Howard
The Small Bachelor
1927 · J. Hamilton Beamish
Alias the Lone Wolf
1927 · Phinuit
Alias The Deacon
1927 · Slim Sullivan
The Secret Studio
1927 · The Plumber
Love's Blindness
1926 · Valet
Twinkletoes
1926
When the Wife's Away
1926
The Hidden Way
1926 · Mulligan
The Auction Block
1926 · Nat Saluson
Mike
1926 · Slinky
Money Talks
1926 · Lucius Fenton
The Only Thing
1925 · Gibson
Bright Lights
1925 · Barney Gallagher
Seven Keys to Baldpate
1925
Faint Perfume
1925 · Orrin Crumb
Soul Mates
1925 · Tancred's chauffeur
His Supreme Moment
1925 · Adrian
The Boomerang
1925 · Bert Hanks
The Law Forbids
1924 · Clyde Vernon
The Bond Boy
1923 · Cyrus Morgan
A Wide Open Town
1922 · Si Ryan
Good References
1920 · Peter Stearns
The Perfect Woman
1920 · Grimes, the Anarchist
In Search of a Sinner
1920 · Waiter
Nothing But the Truth
1920 · The Monocle Man
A Virtuous Vamp
1919 · Mr. Bell
A Temperamental Wife
1919 · The Hotel Clerk
The Little Miss Brown
1915 · Night Clerk
