Sparky Marcus (born Marcus Issoglio; December 6, 1967) is an American former actor.

Early life

Marcus was born in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

Career

Marcus was well known for playing the role of the precocious child but also worked extensively as a voice actor for Hanna-Barbera throughout the 1980s. He started acting at five playing Shelby on ''

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters ''Sigmund and the Sea Monsters'' is an American children's television series that ran from September 8, 1973 to October 18, 1975, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft and aired on Saturday mornings. It was syndicated by itself from December 1975 to ...

'' (1973–1975). He also appeared on ''

The Nancy Walker Show ''The Nancy Walker Show'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from September 30, 1976, to December 23, 1976. The series, produced by Norman Lear, was a starring vehicle for Nancy Walker after she gained a new-found televisi ...

'' (1976), ''

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...

'' (1976–77) (Marcus played child evangelist Jimmy Joe Jeeter, who died of electrocution in the bathtub), ''

Grandpa Goes to Washington ''Grandpa Goes to Washington'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on NBC on Tuesday nights from September 7, 1978 to January 16, 1979. The series was very short-lived, as it was cancelled after a run of only 11 episodes. Aft ...

'' (1978), ''

The Bad News Bears ''The Bad News Bears'' is a 1976 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Bill Lancaster. It stars Walter Matthau as an alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher who becomes a coach for a youth baseball team known as the Bears. ...

'' and ''

Goodtime Girls ''Goodtime Girls'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from January 22, 1980, until August 29, 1980. It was created by Leonora Thuna, and produced by Thomas L. Miller, Edward K. Milkis and Robert L. Boyett, in association with Garry Marsha ...

'' (1980).

Voice acting

As a voice actor for cartoons, he is probably best known for his role as Richie Rich from the

Hanna Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

series '' Richie Rich'' (1980–1982). He later had regular roles as a voice actor on ''

Shirt Tales ''Shirt Tales'' are characters that were created in 1980 by greeting card designer Janet Elizabeth Manco and were featured on Hallmark Cards greeting cards. The characters were adapted into a 1982-1985 animated series for television, by Hanna-Bar ...

'' (1982–1984), ''

Space Stars ''Space Stars'' is a 60-minute Saturday morning animated program block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 12, 1981, to January 8, 1982. ''Space Stars'' was narrated by Keene Curtis and featured five carto ...

'' (1981), ''

Saturday Supercade ''Saturday Supercade'' is an American animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Ruby-Spears Productions. It ran for two seasons on CBS. Premise Each episode is composed of several shorter segments featuring video game characte ...

'' as the voice of Dexter on ''

Space Ace ''Space Ace'' is a LaserDisc video game produced by Bluth Group, Cinematronics and Advanced Microcomputer Systems (later renamed RDI Video Systems). It was unveiled in October 1983, just four months after the ''Dragon's Lair'' game, followed b ...

'' (1984), ''

Challenge of the GoBots ''Challenge of the GoBots'' (or ''GoBots'' for short) is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the GoBots toyline released from Tonka. The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984, then the show join ...

'' (1984), ''

The Puppy's Further Adventures ''The Puppy's Further Adventures'' (originally titled ''The Puppy's New Adventures'' for season one) is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises (in association with Hanna-Barbera Productions for its first ...

'' (1983), '' The Reluctant Dragon'' (1981), '' Cabbage Patch Kids: First Christmas'' (1984), ''

Banjo the Woodpile Cat ''Banjo the Woodpile Cat'' is a 1979 animated short film directed by Don Bluth. It follows the story of Banjo, an overly curious and rebellious kitten who, after getting into trouble for falling from a house to see if he could land on his feet, run ...

'' (1979), ''

CBS Library CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

'' (1980–1982) and ''

The Get Along Gang ''The Get Along Gang'' is a group of characters created in 1983 by Tony Byrd, Tom Jacobs, Ralph Shaffer, Linda Edwards, Muriel Fahrion, and Mark Spangler for American Greetings' toy design and licensing division, "Those Characters from Cleveland" ( ...

'' (1984–86).

Television guest appearances

Marcus has also made several TV guest appearances, including ''

Trapper John, M.D. ''Trapper John, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series and spin-off of the film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970). Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, Californ ...

'', ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'', ''

WKRP in Cincinnati ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working ...

'', ''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. Due to other shows being cancelled across the network, and good ratings and reviews from ...

'', '' Maude'', ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...

'', ''

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (re-titled ''The Hardy Boys'' for season three) is an American television mystery series based on the ''Hardy Boys'' and ''Nancy Drew'' juvenile novels. The series, which ran from January 30, 1977, to Janu ...

'', ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a p ...

'', ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

'' and '' Starsky and Hutch.''

Film roles

Marcus also appeared in the feature films ''

Freaky Friday ''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...

'' (1976) and '' The Pinballs'' (1977), as well as in many TV movies, including ''

The Stableboy's Christmas ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' (1978) and ''

Goldie and the Boxer ''Goldie and the Boxer'' is a made-for-television film starring O. J. Simpson. The production was broadcast on the NBC television network on December 30, 1979. While being panned by critics, it was a solid ratings hit and led to a sequel, ''Goldi ...

'' (1979). His last movie role was a brief cameo as a bellboy in the 1983

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

comedy ''

The Man with Two Brains ''The Man with Two Brains'' is a 1983 American science fiction black comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Kathleen Turner. Written by Martin, Reiner and George Gipe and shot in summer 1982 at Laird International St ...

.''

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus, Sparky American male voice actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors 1967 births Living people Male actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles