All Movies List
Magic Town

as Ike

1947
The Star Maker

as 'Speed' King

1939
One in a Million

as Danny Simpson

1937
Wake Up and Live

as Steve Cluskey

1937
The Bride Walks Out

as Paul Dodson

1936
Sweet Adeline

as Dan Herzig

1934
Imitation of Life

as Elmer Smith

1934
Marie Galante

as Plosser

1934
Hi, Nellie!

as Shammy

1934
Down to Their Last Yacht

as Captain 'Sunny Jim' Roberts

1934
42nd Street

as Thomas Barry

1933
Gold Diggers of 1933

as Barney Hopkins

1933
Going Hollywood

as Conroy

1933
Lady for a Day

as Happy McGuire

1933
Secrets

as Sunshine

1933
Too Much Harmony

as Lem Spawn

1933
Blessed Event

as George Moxley

1932
Big City Blues

as Mr. 'Stacky' Stackhouse

1932
Corsair

as Slim

1931
The Devil's Holiday

as Charlie Thorne

1930
Conspiracy

as Winthrop 'Little Nemo' Clavering

1930
Love Comes Along

as Happy

1930
The Canary Murder Case

as Tony Skeel

1929
Street Girl

as Happy Winter

1929
The Small Bachelor

as J. Hamilton Beamish

1927
Alias the Lone Wolf

as Phinuit

1927
The Only Thing

as Gibson

1925
Ned Sparks Ned Sparks

Birthday

1883-11-19

Place of Birth

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

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
AD

WATCH FREE FOR 30 DAYS

All Prime Video
Cancel anytime
Watch Now