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Jim Varney Filmography
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Jim Varney (June 15, 1949 - February 10, 2000) was an American actor best known for his character Ernest P. Worrell, originally created by a Tennessee advertising agency (John Cherry Productions) in the 1980s. The character was used in numerous television commercial campaigns in the following years.
Varney had previously created a different character for the same agency, "Sgt. Glory", a humourless drill instructor who harrangued 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.
His character Ernest P. Worrell proved so popular that it was spun off into a television series Hey Vern, It's Ernest! and a series of movies in the 1980s and 90s. Ernest Goes to Camp earned Varney a nomination for "Worst New Star" in the 1987 Golden Raspberry Awards (he lost). Other Ernest movies included Ernest Saves Christmas
, and Ernest Goes to Jail
. He is also known for his role as "Slinky Dog" in Toy Story
. He also played the part of Jed Clampett in the 1993 film production of The Beverly Hillbillies
. In addition to his "Ernest Goes to..." series of films, he starred in several smaller films for John Cherry Productions 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.
Varney was married twice. He was married to Jackie Varney from 1976 to 1983 and then to Jane Varney from 1988 to 1991.
Varney died as the movie Ernest the Pirate neared completion. He died of lung cancer in his home in White House, Tennessee.
In a sad case of irony, Varney, who started smoking at the age of 15, once filmed an anti-smoking public service spot as Ernest. The spot involved Ernest trying to convince "Vern" (Ernest's unseen friend) to quit smoking, thus avoiding "The Big 'C'-Cancer. Chemotherapy City." The spot was included in a 1986 home video collection of Ernest commercials.
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