Ron E Sparks
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-->Ron E Sparks is a well known Australian radio personality and voice talent.Sparks was born and raised in Brisbane, and worked in several regional radio stations as a youngster before he realised that the real fame and money was in Sydney. He managed to score a role on air at the then top rating AM station 2SM, and quickly rose to fame as one of Sydney's most respected announcers. He interviewed a host of huge stars and became a household name.
After leaving 2SM Sparks became program director of another Sydney AM station 2UW, but he was lusting for something more, a new challenge. When FM radio broke into the market in 1980, Sparks was hungry for a piece of it. After leaving 2UW he worked on top rating FM station Triple M for many years before being lured to rival station 2Day FM. He rated well for many years as morning/afternoon announcer at 2Day FM, as most Sydneysiders related to his infectious and warm on air presence. Many came to rely on him being on the radio at certain times.
Sparks has also made a name as a television voice artist, and has provided voice overs for several Australian television shows, such as Wheel of Fortune and Hot Streak.
As 2Day FM grew more corporatised, and entered into the duopoly arrangement with Triple M, Sparks grew increasingly frustrated with group politics and had a hard time dealing with the huge egos of young network 'upstarts' who were given endless rope to play with. For some young 'stars' it seemed that they could do no wrong, and management always made excuses for them.
One particular gripe he had was with the night team (Kyle and Jackie O) smoking in the studio. This had been going on for some time, and despite being illegal (2Day was in a high rise building, and smoking in the workplace is against Australian law) the general manager failed to take any action. One morning in 2002 Sparks arrived for his morning shift to find the studio smelling of stale smoke, and littered with used butts, some of which were floating in glasses of water. He cracked, and took a marker pen and wrote "No Fucking Smoking" on every physical object he could find in the studio.
Unfortunately he had used permanent marker which destroyed several hundred dollars worth of equipment, and he was sacked immediately following his shift that day. He refused media interviews, even though the large majority agreed with him and applauded his actions. He toyed with the idea of legal action against 2Day but decided against it, in the interest of saving his career.
He was only out of work for a day or two before being wooed by rival FM station 2WS. He is currently still with 2WS and presents the afternoon shift around the ARN network.
Ron E Sparks is married with one son, Michael and lives in the north sydney suburb of Cammeray.
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