Jon Arthur

Jonathan Arthur Goerss (1918–1982), known as Jon Arthur, was an American entertainer and the host of the children's radio series Big Jon and Sparkie. Sparkie, voiced by Arthur at a sped-up rate, was a little elf wanting to be a real boy. Born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, to a Lutheran minister and his wife, he was a third-generation German-American. Arthur began his broadcasting career after attending radio school, starting at WJLS in Beckley, West Virginia, in 1939, before moving westward.

In Cincinnati, he began the Big Jon and Sparkie show, which aired daily on ABC stations starting in 1950. His Saturday show, No School Today, attracted 12 million weekly listeners on 275 stations, featuring "Teddy Bears' Picnic" as its theme. Arthur, with scriptwriter Don Kortekamp, developed Sparkie from a character that interrupted him on-air. The program, with Arthur voicing various characters and Kortekamp providing storylines inspired by his childhood, became popular. However, in 1951, the show moved to new studios after WSAI did not renew its contract.

No School Today included Sparkie's recounting of Captain Jupiter's episodic adventures, often referencing his foes and inviting listener participation in the birthday segment, signified by the song "Happy Birthday, Friend." Although the program did not transition successfully to television, it aired on the Family Radio Network for two decades (1962–1982). Kortekamp even considered remarketing the characters in new stories.

The radio program was adapted into the Big Jon and Sparkie comic book, published by Alden Getz for Ziff-Davis, and also inspired The Daily Weekly newspaper giveaway. The characters were parodied in Mad magazine. During the 1960s, Arthur worked at WKRC in Cincinnati, and his life was featured on the radio show Unshackled. Arthur passed away in Alameda County, California, in 1982.