Most Recent Role: Slinky Dog on The Wonderful World of Disney (1997)
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky
Birthday: 6-15-1949
Birth Name: James Albert Varney, Jr
Date of Death: 2-10-2000
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky
Birthday: 6-15-1949
Birth Name: James Albert Varney, Jr
Date of Death: 2-10-2000
Born on June 15, 1949, Jim Varney always wanted to act. He began his acting career in high school, and won a number of state level competitions for drama. He finally made it to television when he was asked to do a commercial for Ernest, a character created by John Cherry. Ernest advertised products like Braums, Dairy Products, Potato Chips, Trucks, Sprite and Mello Yellow. Then he landed...
Most Recent Appearance
Toy Story 2
Sunday 4 November 2001 on ABC
In "Toy Story 2," the fun and adventure continues when Andy goes off to summer camp and the toys are left to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector kidnaps Woody who unbeknownst to himself is a highly valued collectable. It's now up to Buzz Lightyear and...
Jim Varney was honored by the State Senate of Tennessee, in 1992, for his contributions to the state, especially in the area of children's charities.
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Jim Varney had the ability as a young child to memorize long poems and significant portions of material from books. This came as a delight to family and friends.
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Jim Varney first appeared as the Ernest P. Worrell character in a commercial to advertise an appearance by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders at the Beech Bend Park, near Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1980.
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Jim Varney was 6'1".
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In a sad irony, Jim Varney appeared as his signature character, Ernest P. Worrell in a public service spot in 1986 that had Ernest trying to get his off-screen friend Vern to stop smoking. Varney, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer in 2000.
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Jim Varney: I'd like to do a piece of Shakespeare. Any upcoming Shakespeare film. Just a bit to say I did a classic.
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Jim Varney: I started to do a study on how not to do stand-up comedy. Yeah, it's lonely work. You die, you die alone. It's you, the light, and the audience. You win, you win big. You lose, you lose big time.
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Jim Varney: Everybody likes Ernest unless they are too cool. The people that like sports cars and sunglasses are not our audience. They like the action-adventure, tough-guy stuff. From 14 down and 25 up, we have a huge audience. Older people aren't afraid to laugh at him, and kids aren't self-conscious yet.
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Jim Varney: Yeah, I started in theater. I apprenticed at the Barter Theater in Virginia and did summer stock for a long time before I ever got in front of a camera.
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(Jim Varney on doing his stand up comedy routine.)
Jim Varney: That's a rough department, stand up comedy. At one point I had an act where I could go 30 or 40 minutes, and I knew the material I was going to do, the timing. You could play it one night and knock'em over. The next night you could play the same material and nothing. (edit)
Jim Varney: That's a rough department, stand up comedy. At one point I had an act where I could go 30 or 40 minutes, and I knew the material I was going to do, the timing. You could play it one night and knock'em over. The next night you could play the same material and nothing. (edit)
Other Appearances
| Star | |
|---|---|
|
America 2Night
Virgil Simms |
Fernwood 2Night
Virgil Simms |
|
Hey Vern, It's Ernest!
Ernest P. Worrell / Dr. Otto / Auntie Nelda / Sergant Glory / Various |
Operation Petticoat
Seaman Broom |
|
Pink Lady and Jeff
Various roles |
The Rousters
Evan Earp |
| Recurring Role |
|---|
|
The New Hollywood Squares
Himself |
| Guest Star | |
|---|---|
|
Alice
Better Never Than Late Milo Skinner |
Disneyland
Ernest Goes to Camp (1) Ernest P. Worrell |
|
Disneyland
Ernest Goes to Camp (1) Ernest P. Worrell |
Duckman
You've Come a Wrong Way, Baby Voice of Tobacco CEO |
|
E! True Hollywood Story
Jim Varney Himself (Archive Footage) |
Hee-Haw
Charley Pride / Becky Hobbs / Stonewall Jackson / Jim Varney Himself |
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Community Reviews (0)
|
9.8
"Should have been a bigger star"Superb A Lovely Man.....Gone Much Too Soon! Continue » Posted Jul 15, 2007 7:29 pm PST |
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10.0
"One of the all-time greats"Perfect Jim Varney is great Continue » Posted Jan 22, 2006 3:48 pm PST |
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See all Jim Varney Community Reviews »
Person Vital Stats
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Score: 9.7 Superb 13 votes
Score: 9.7 Superb 13 votes
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Stars In
America 2Night
America 2Night is a talk show parody that ran in syndication in 1978. Produced by Norman Lear, it is actually the second season of "Fernwood 2Night". The locale has been moved to California to... more Fernwood 2Night
By the end of 1976, producer extraordinaire Norman Lear had a crisis on his hands. His cult-favorite sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman imploded when its star, Louise Lasser, went through emotional... more Hey Vern, It's Ernest!
Jim Varney stars in this Saturday Morinig series based on the commercial line. Vern is Ernest best friend. Though Vern does not like him at all! The series had seven episode sent to VHS. ... more Operation Petticoat
Welcome to the Operation Petticoat guide at TV.com. Based on the 1959 movie of the same name, John Astin headed a large ensemble cast - including Jamie Lee Curtis - in this military sitcom... more Pink Lady and Jeff
This short-lived variety series is generally regarded as one of television's all-time worst clunkers. The premise was simple and ill-conceived: take two Japanese pop-singers (Mie and Kei)... more The Rousters
"Tough like the steel of the wheel That turns the world around Stand your ground when you're right, when you fight Just let 'em call your bluff You've got the edge when things get rough ... more
America 2Night is a talk show parody that ran in syndication in 1978. Produced by Norman Lear, it is actually the second season of "Fernwood 2Night". The locale has been moved to California to... more Fernwood 2Night
By the end of 1976, producer extraordinaire Norman Lear had a crisis on his hands. His cult-favorite sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman imploded when its star, Louise Lasser, went through emotional... more Hey Vern, It's Ernest!
Jim Varney stars in this Saturday Morinig series based on the commercial line. Vern is Ernest best friend. Though Vern does not like him at all! The series had seven episode sent to VHS. ... more Operation Petticoat
Welcome to the Operation Petticoat guide at TV.com. Based on the 1959 movie of the same name, John Astin headed a large ensemble cast - including Jamie Lee Curtis - in this military sitcom... more Pink Lady and Jeff
This short-lived variety series is generally regarded as one of television's all-time worst clunkers. The premise was simple and ill-conceived: take two Japanese pop-singers (Mie and Kei)... more The Rousters
"Tough like the steel of the wheel That turns the world around Stand your ground when you're right, when you fight Just let 'em call your bluff You've got the edge when things get rough ... more
