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James Albert Varney Jr. (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000), better known as Jim Varney, was an American actor. He was best known for his character Ernest P. Worrell, originally created by Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry in the 1980s. The character was used in numerous television commercial campaigns and movies in the following years. He is best known for his slapstick style and his portrayal of "redneck" stereotypes in a friendly, approachable way.
FilmographyFilms-Actor
Television-Actor
Early lifeVarney was born in Lexington, Kentucky, where he grew up. He began his interest in theater as a teenager, winning state titles in drama competitions while a student at Lafayette High School (which he graduated from with the class of 1968) in Lexington. At the age of 15, he portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in a local children's theater production, and by 17, he was performing professionally in nightclubs and coffee houses. He listed a former teacher, Thelma Beeler, as being one of the main contributing factors in his becoming an actor. Television commercial career
For the same agency, Varney created a different character, "Sgt. Glory", a humorless drill instructor who harangued cows of the client's dairy into producing better milk. In another spot, Glory's home was shown as he had a date, and was so heavily decorated with the products of the sponsor and advertising specialty items for it that it was essentially devoid of any other decor. Varney also starred as Ernest in a series of commercials that ran in the New Orleans area, and throughout the Gulf South, as a spokesman for natural gas utilities. In one, he is seen kneeling down in front of Vern's desk under a lamp hanging from the ceiling, stating "Natural gas, Vern; it's hot, fast and cheap. Hot, fast, cheap; kinda like your first wife, Vern, you know, the pretty one!?" Vern then knocked the lamp into Ernest's head, knocking him down. Those same TV ads were also featured on TV channels in the St. Louis area for Laclede Gas, during the mid-1980s. He was also noted for doing commercials for car dealerships across the country, most notably Cerritos Auto Square in Cerritos, California. Another favorite Ernest vehicle was promotions for various TV stations around the nation, including the news team and the weather departments.
An interesting fact about the commercials is how universal they were. For example, the dairy spots would be the same situation and script, changing only the name of the dairy. The same situations would be used (varying the script for the product, but resulting in the same punchline) for countless other products. The end result was that a finite number of commercials could sell a wide variety of products. However, all the commercials were not based on those cookie cutter premises, and original commercials were shot for specific products/sponsors. Ernest's popularityVarney's character Ernest P. Worrell proved so popular that it was spun off into a TV series, Hey Vern, It's Ernest! and a series of movies in the 1980s and 1990s. Ernest Goes to Camp earned Varney a nomination for "Worst New Star" at the 1987 Golden Raspberry Awards (he "lost"). Other Ernest movies included Ernest Saves Christmas, Slam Dunk Ernest, Ernest Goes to Jail, Ernest Goes to Africa, Ernest Goes to School, Ernest Scared Stupid, and Ernest in the Army. The Walt Disney World Resort's Epcot theme park featured Ernest. Epcot's Cranium Command attraction used the Ernest character in its preshow as an example of a "lovable but not the brightest person on the planet" type of person. And in addition to his Ernest Goes to... series, he starred as Ernest in several smaller movies for Carden & Cherry such as Ernest P. Worrell's Family Album, Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam, and Your World as I See It, all of which showcased his great facility with assuming a wide variety of characters and accents. Non-"Ernest" workHe also lent his voice to the character "Slinky Dog" in Disney's Toy Story film series, and to the character "Cookie" Farnsworth, from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which was released the year after his death. Varney provided the guest voice for the carny character "Cooder" for "Bart Carny" episode of The Simpsons. Varney played the prince that Roseanne's sister Jackie started dating near the end of the 1990s television series Roseanne. Varney played the villain Lothar Zogg in the 1998 film 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain. Varney also played the part of Jed Clampett in the 1993 production of The Beverly Hillbillies. Varney also played the entertainer/watch guard Rudy James in the movie "Snowboard Academy" He also has a small part in an independent production 100 Proof. Just prior to his stint as Ernest P. Worrell, Varney was a cast member on the notorious television flop Pink Lady and Jeff. Personal lifeVarney was married twice, to Jackie Varney (1976-1983), and Jane Varney (1988-1991). Both marriages ended in divorce, though he remained friends with Jane until his death. DeathVarney died of lung cancer on February 10, 2000 at 4:45 a.m. at a Nashville area hospital as the movie Ernest the Pirate neared completion and when Atlantis: The Lost Empire was still in production. When he discovered he had lung cancer, he reportedly threw away his cigarettes and quit smoking cold turkey.[citation needed] Doctors reportedly told him it was too late, despite their combined efforts.[citation needed] Varney, who started smoking at age 15 (after seeing a James Bond movie), once filmed an anti-smoking public service spot as Ernest.[citation needed] The spot involved Ernest trying to convince Vern, Ernest's unseen friend, to quit smoking, thus avoiding "The Big 'C'": cancer. The spot was included in a 1986 home video collection of Ernest commercials.
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