13 Facts About Ned Sparks

Ned Sparks was known for his deadpan expression and comically nasal, monotone delivery.

Ned Sparks left home at 16 and attempted prospecting in the Klondike Gold Rush.

Ned Sparks then worked for the railway and in theatre in Toronto.

On Broadway, Ned Sparks developed his trademark deadpan expression while portraying a hotel clerk in the play Little Miss Brown.

Ned Sparks appeared in numerous silent films before making his "talkie" debut in The Big Noise.

Ned Sparks 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.

Ned Sparks later admitted the story was a publicity stunt and he was insured for only $10,000.

Ned Sparks is particularly known for the wry, comic characters he portrayed in iconic pre-Code Hollywood pictures, such as Blessed Event, 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933, Lady for a Day, and Sing and Like It.

Ned Sparks was often caricatured in cartoons, including the Jack-in-the-Box character in the Disney short Broken Toys, the jester in Mother Goose Goes Hollywood, a hermit crab in both Tex Avery's Fresh Fish and Bob Clampett's Goofy Groceries, a chicken in Bob Clampett's Slap Happy Pappy, Friz Freleng's Warner Bros.

Ned Sparks voiced the cartoon characters Heckle and Jeckle from 1947 to 1951.

Ned Sparks appeared in ten Broadway productions and over 80 films.

Ned Sparks retired from films in 1947, saying that everyone should retire at 65.

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