Jim Varney

Jim Varney Headshot

Actor • Comedian

Birth Name: James Albert Varney Jr.

Birth Date: June 15, 1949

Death Date: February 10, 2000

Birth Place: Lexington, Kentucky

A staggering array of more than 4,000 television commercial appearances as motormouthed pitchman Ernest P. Worrell helped to boost actor Jim Varney from television comedian to starring roles in "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993) and "Toy Story" (1995) before his untimely death in 2000. Born James Albert Varney, Jr. on June 15, 1949 in Lexington, Kentucky, his ability to memorize long poems and fiction passages, as well as a knack for imitating voices on cartoons, led to enrollment in children's theater. He soon established himself as a talented performer, winning local drama competitions and working the nightclub circuit in his teenaged years, which soon led to roles in summer stock theater and at the famed Opryland USA theme park. Performances at the Comedy Store helped Varney earn a route into television, first as a sketch player on "Johnny Cash and Friends" (CBS, 1976) and later, as various rural types on episodic series, including mechanic-turned-daredevil Virgil Simms on "Fernwood 2-Night" (syndicated, 1977) and hardluck sailor "Doom and Gloom" Broom on "Operation Petticoat" (ABC, 1977-1979). However, Varney's path to fame would come via an unlikely source: regional television commercials. Having played a tough drill instructor, Sgt. Glory, in a series of ads for the Southern Dairy Commission, Varney was tapped by advertising executives John Cherry III and Jerry Carden to play Ernest P. Worrell, a rubber-faced yokel who harangued an off-screen neighbor named Vern to try various products. After making his debut appearance in a commercial for an amusement park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cherry and Carden licensed Ernest for use in promotional campaigns throughout the South, including Laclede Gas, Braum's Ice Cream and countless auto dealerships. Ernest's influence soon expanded to California and the Mid-Atlantic states, which prompted Varney and Cherry to compile a collection of comedy video shorts for the direct-to-video release "Knowwhutimean? Hey Vern, It's My Family Album" (1983). To the surprise of many, it proved exceedingly popular, as did Ernest's first theatrical feature, "Ernest Goes to Camp" (1987). Ernest was soon a near-ubiquitous presence in American media, with eight features, all overseen by Cherry and four issued by Walt Disney Pictures, unspooling between 1988 and 1998, a short-lived television series, "Hey, Vern, It's Ernest!" (CBS, 1988), which earned Varney a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performing in a Children's Series, as well as a seemingly ceaseless string of television commercials. As with all pop culture fads, Ernest's popularity began to wilt in the early '90s: his features no longer earned theatrical release, but by that time, Varney had begun to escape his chatterbox screen persona. He gave a well-regarded turn as Jed Clampett in a big-screen adaptation of "The Beverly Hillbillies," and endeared himself to a new generation of young children as the voice of the faithful Slinky Dog in "Toy Story" and its 1999 sequel. In interviews, Varney hoped to step into serious roles - he had performed Shakespeare in summer stock - but harmless, kid-friendly features and television proved to be his most consistent showcase. He would never have the opportunity to display his classical talents: Varney was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1998, but continued to act while undergoing chemotherapy to combat the disease. He experienced a brief remission, and made what would be his final screen appearance in the Billy Bob Thornton comedy "Daddy and Them" (2001). He died before its release on February 10, 2000.

Credits

Daddy and Them

Actor
Hazel Montgomery
Movie
2001

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Voice
Cookie
Movie
2001

Tree House Hostage

Actor
Carl Banks
Movie
1999

Treehouse Hostage

Actor
Carl Banks
Movie
1999

Toy Story 2Stream

Voice
Slinky Dog
Movie
1999
100%

Existo

Actor
Marcel Horowitz
Movie
1999

3 Ninjas: Medianoche en la Mega Montaña

Actor
Movie
1998

Ernest en el Ejército

Actor
Movie
1998

Ernest in the Army

Actor
Ernest
Movie
1998

3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain

Actor
Lothar Zogg
Movie
1998

Annabelle's Wish

Voice
Show
1997

Snowboard Academy

Actor
Rudy James
Movie
1997

Ernest Goes to Africa

Actor
Ernest P. Worrel/Hey You, the Hindu/Auntie Nelda/African Woman Dancer
Movie
1997

100 Proof

Actor
Rae's Father
Movie
1997

Slam Dunk Ernest

Actor
Ernest
Movie
1995

Toy StoryStream

Voice
Slinky Dog
Movie
1995
100%

Ernest va à l'ecole

Actor
Movie
1994

Ernesto Va al Colegio

Actor
Movie
1994

The Expert

Actor
Snake
Movie
1994

Ernest Goes to School

Actor
Ernest
Movie
1994

Ernest Ataca de Nuevo

Actor
Movie
1993

La Nueva Aventura de Ernest

Actor
Movie
1993

Wilder Napalm

Actor
Rex
Movie
1993

The Beverly Hillbillies

Actor
Jedidiah 'Jed' Clampett
Movie
1993

Ernest Rides Again

Actor
Ernest
Movie
1993

Ernest's Greatest Hits: Volume 2

Actor
Show
1992

Ernest Scared Stupid

Actor
Ernest
Movie
1991

Ernest Va a la Cárcel

Actor
Movie
1990

Ernest Goes to Jail

Actor
Ernest P. Worrell/Mr. Felix Nash/Auntie Nelda
Movie
1990

The SimpsonsStream

Guest Voice
Cooder
Series
1989
85%

Fast Food

Actor
Wrangler Bob Bundy
Movie
1989

Comida Basura

Actor
Movie
1989

Ernest et le Père Noël

Actor
Movie
1989

RoseanneStream

Guest Star
Prince Carlos
Series
1988
76%

Hey Vern, It's Ernest!Stream

Actor
Ernest P. Worrell
Series
1988

Ernest Saves ChristmasStream

Actor
Ernest P. Worrel/Aster Clement, the governor's student/Auntie Nelda ('Mrs. Brock, Marty's Mother')/The Snake Guy
Movie
1988
36%

Ernesto Rescata la Navidad

Actor
Movie
1988

Ernest Goes to Camp

Actor
Ernest P. Worrell
Movie
1987

Ernest et les joyeuses colonies

Actor
Movie
1987

The Ernest Film Festival

Actor
Show
1986

Ernest's Greatest Hits Volume 1

Actor
Show
1986

Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam

Actor
Dr. Otto/Rudd Hardtact/Laughin' Jack/Guy Dandy/Auntie Nelda/Ernest P. Worrell
Movie
1986

The Rousters

Actor
Evan Earp
Show
1983

The Rousters

Actor
Evan Earp
Movie
1983

The Comedy ShopStream

Guest
Series
1978

Operation Petticoat

Actor
Seaman 'Doom & Gloom' Broom
Show
1977

Operation Petticoat

Actor
Seaman "Doom & Gloom" Broom
Movie
1977

AliceStream

Guest Star
Series
1976

Pop! Goes the Country

Host
Show
1974