# Ned Sparks

Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. He was known for his deadpan expression and comically nasal, monotone delivery.

## Life and career

Sparks was born in Guelph, Ontario, but moved to St. Thomas, Ontario, where he grew up. He left home at 16 and attempted prospecting in the Klondike Gold Rush. After running out of money, he began performing. Billed as a "Singer of Sweet Southern Songs" and costumed in a straw hat, short pants and bare feet, he won a spot as a singer on a travelling musical company's tour. At 19, he returned to Canada and briefly attended a Toronto seminary. He then worked for the railway and in theatre in Toronto. In 1907, he moved to New York City to try his hand in the Broadway theatre, where he appeared in his first show in 1912.
On Broadway, Sparks developed his trademark deadpan expression while portraying a hotel clerk in the play Little Miss Brown. His success caught the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head Louis B. Mayer, who signed him to a six-picture deal. Sparks appeared in numerous silent films before making his "talkie" debut in The Big Noise (1928). From 1915 to 1947 he appeared in some 90 pictures.
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 $100,000 with Lloyd's of London. Sparks later admitted the story was a publicity stunt and he was insured for only $10,000. In another stunt, the studio offered a reward of $10,000 to anyone who could capture Sparks smiling in a photograph.
Sparks is particularly known for the wry, comic characters he portrayed in iconic pre-Code Hollywood pictures, such as Blessed Event (1932), 42nd Street (1933), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Lady for a Day (1933), and Sing and Like It (1934).
Sparks was often caricatured in cartoons, including the Jack-in-the-Box character in the Disney short Broken Toys (1935), 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 (1941). He also voiced the cartoon characters Heckle and Jeckle from 1947 to 1951.
Sparks appeared in ten Broadway productions and over 80 films. He retired from films in 1947, saying that everyone should retire at 65.
Sparks is a relative of Canadian comedian Ron Sparks.

## Death

Sparks died in Victorville, California, on April 3, 1957, from the effects of an intestinal blockage.

## Complete filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1915 | The Little Miss Brown | Night clerk | Short Lost film |
| 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 | Lost film |
| 1920 | In Search of a Sinner | Waiter | Lost film |
| 1920 | The Perfect Woman | Grimes, the Anarchist | |
| 1920 | Good References | Peter Stearns | |
| 1922 | A Wide Open Town | Si Ryan | Lost film |
| 1922 | The Bond Boy | Cyrus Morgan | Lost film |
| 1923 | Easter Bonnets | | Short Lost film |
| 1924 | One Night It Rained | | Short Lost film |
| 1924 | The Law Forbids | Clyde Vernon | Incomplete film |
| 1925 | Asleep in the Deep | | Short Lost film |
| 1925 | The Boomerang | Bert Hanks | |
| 1925 | His Supreme Moment | Adrian | Lost film |
| 1925 | Faint Perfume | Orrin Crumb | Lost film |
| 1925 | Seven Keys to Baldpate | Bland | Lost film |
| 1925 | Bright Lights | Barney Gallagher | Lost film |
| 1925 | The Only Thing | Gibson | Alternative title: Four Flaming Days |
| 1925 | Soul Mates | Tancred's chauffeur | |
| 1926 | Mike | Slinky | Lost film |
| 1926 | The Auction Block | Nat Saluson | Lost film |
| 1926 | Money Talks | Lucius Fenton | Incomplete film |
| 1926 | The Hidden Way | Mulligan | |
| 1926 | When the Wife's Away | | |
| 1926 | Love's Blindness | Valet | Lost film |
| 1926 | Oh, What a Night! | "Slickry" Benton | Lost film |
| 1926 | Twinkletoes | | |
| 1927 | The Secret Studio | The Plumber | Lost film |
| 1927 | Alias the Deacon | "Slim" Sullivan | |
| 1927 | Alias the Lone Wolf | Phinuit | |
| 1927 | The Small Bachelor | J. Hamilton Beamish | Lost film |
| 1928 | On to Reno | Herbert Holmes | Lost film |
| 1928 | The Big Noise | William Howard | Lost film |
| 1928 | Alias the Deacon | Slim Sullivan | |
| 1928 | The Magnificent Flirt | Tim | Lost film |
| 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 | |