Ned Sparks
Ned Sparks | |
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Born | Edward Arthur Sparkman November 19, 1883 |
Died | April 3, 1957 | (aged 73)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1912[1]-1956 |
Spouse | Mercedes Cabalerro (1931-1936) |
Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman,[2] 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.
Life and career
Sparks was born in Guelph, Ontario, but moved to St. Thomas, Ontario, where he grew up. 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,[3] where he appeared in his first show in 1912.[1]
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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head 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.[4]
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).[5] 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),[6] 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 (1941). Sparks also voiced the cartoon characters Heckle and Jeckle from 1947 to 1951.
Sparks appeared in ten stage productions on Broadway[1] and over 80 films. He retired from films in 1947, saying that everyone should retire at 65.
Death
On April 3, 1957, Sparks died of an intestinal blockage in Victorville, California.[7]
Complete filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1915 | The Little Miss Brown | Night clerk | Short |
1919 | The Social Pirate | Harry Barnes | |
1919 | A Temperamental Wife | The Hotel Clerk | |
1919 | A Virtuous Vamp | Mr. Bell | |
1920 | Nothing But the Truth | The Monocle Man | |
1920 | In Search of a Sinner | Waiter | |
1920 | The Perfect Woman | Grimes, the Anarchist | |
1920 | Good References | Peter Stearns | |
1922 | A Wide Open Town | Si Ryan | |
1922 | The Bond Boy | Cyrus Morgan | |
1923 | Easter Bonnets | Short | |
1924 | One Night It Rained | Short | |
1924 | The Law Forbids | Clyde Vernon | |
1925 | Asleep in the Deep | Short | |
1925 | The Boomerang | Bert Hanks | |
1925 | His Supreme Moment | Adrian | |
1925 | Faint Perfume | Orrin Crumb | |
1925 | Seven Keys to Baldpate | Bland | |
1925 | Bright Lights | Barney Gallagher | |
1925 | The Only Thing | Gibson | Alternative title: Four Flaming Days |
1925 | Soul Mates | Tancred's chauffeur | |
1926 | Mike | Slinky | |
1926 | The Auction Block | Nat Saluson | |
1926 | Money Talks | Lucius Fenton | |
1926 | The Hidden Way | Mulligan | |
1926 | When the Wife's Away | ||
1926 | Love's Blindness | Valet | |
1926 | Oh, What a Night! | "Slickry" Benton | |
1926 | Twinkletoes | ||
1927 | The Secret Studio | The Plumber | |
1927 | Alias the Deacon | "Slim" Sullivan | |
1927 | Alias the Lone Wolf | Phinuit | |
1927 | The Small Bachelor | J. Hamilton Beamish | |
1928 | On to Reno | Herbert Holmes | |
1928 | The Big Noise | William Howard | |
1928 | Alias the Deacon | Slim Sullivan | |
1928 | The Magnificent Flirt | Tim | |
1929 | The Canary Murder Case | Tony Sheel | |
1929 | Strange Cargo | Yacht First Mate | |
1929 | Nothing But the Truth | Clarence van Dyke | |
1929 | Street Girl | Happy Winter | |
1929 | Love Comes Along | Happy | |
1930 | Double Cross Roads | Happy Max | |
1930 | The Devil's Holiday | Charlie Thorne | |
1930 | The Fall Guy | Dan Walsh | |
1930 | Conspiracy | Winthrop Clavering | |
1930 | Leathernecking | Sparks | |
1931 | Kept Husbands | Hughie Hanready | |
1931 | Iron Man | Riley | |
1931 | The Secret Call | Bert Benedict | |
1931 | The Way of All Fish | Ned | Short |
1931 | Strife of the Party | Short | |
1931 | Corsair | Slim | |
1931 | The Wide Open Spaces | Sheriff Jack Rancid | Short |
1932 | Big Dame Hunting | Ned | Short |
1932 | The Miracle Man | Harry Evans | |
1932 | Blessed Event | George Moxley | |
1932 | Big City Blues | "Stacky" Stackhouse | |
1932 | The Crusader | Eddie Crane | |
1933 | 42nd Street | Barry | |
1933 | Secrets | Sunshine | |
1933 | Gold Diggers of 1933 | Barney Hopkins | |
1933 | Lady for a Day | Happy McGuire | |
1933 | Too Much Harmony | Lem Spawn | |
1933 | Alice in Wonderland | The Caterpillar | |
1933 | Going Hollywood | Bert Conroy | Alternative title: Cinderella's Fella |
1934 | Hi, Nellie! | Shammy | |
1934 | Sing and Like It | Toots McGuire | |
1934 | Private Scandal | Inspector Riordan | |
1934 | Down to Their Last Yacht | Captain "Sunny Jim" Roberts | |
1934 | Servants' Entrance | Hjalmar Gnu | |
1934 | Marie Galante | Plosser | |
1934 | Imitation of Life | Elmer Smith | |
1934 | Sweet Adeline | Dan Herzig | |
1935 | Sweet Music | "Ten Percent" Nelson | |
1935 | George White's 1935 Scandals | Elmer White | |
1936 | Collegiate | "Scoop" Oakland | |
1936 | Two's Company | Al | |
1936 | The Bride Walks Out | Paul Dodson | |
1937 | One in a Million | Daniel "Danny" Simpson | |
1937 | Wake Up and Live | Steve Cluskey | |
1937 | This Way Please | Inky Wells | |
1938 | Hawaii Calls | Strings | |
1939 | The Star Maker | Speed King | |
1941 | For Beauty's Sake | Jonathan B. Sweet | |
1943 | Stage Door Canteen | Cameo as himself | |
1947 | Magic Town | Ike |
References
- Notes
- ^ a b c Ned Sparks at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Kear, Lynn; King, James (2012). Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood’s Lady Crook. McFarland. p. 207. ISBN 978-0786454686. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
- ^ Foster (2003), pp.971-972
- ^ Foster (2003). pp.973, 977
- ^ Foster (2003), p.980
- ^ Lucas, Ralph. "Ned Sparks". northernstars.ca. Archived from the original on June 6, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- ^ "Milestones". Time. April 15, 1957. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- Bibliography
- Foster, Charles (2003). Once Upon a Time in Paradise: Canadians in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1550024647.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Ned Sparks at IMDb
- Ned Sparks at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ned Sparks at Find a Grave
- 1883 births
- 1957 deaths
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian male stage actors
- Canadian male silent film actors
- Canadian people of Swedish descent
- Canadian people of English descent
- Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States
- Vaudeville performers
- People from Guelph
- Male actors from Ontario
- 20th-century Canadian male actors