'Ernest' Actor Jim Varney Dies At 50
08:16 PM ET 02/10/00
By JOE EDWARDS, AP
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Jim Varney, the rubbernecked comic who
portrayed his rube character ``Ernest'' from hundreds of television
commercials to a series of movies, died Thursday. He was 50. Varney died of lung cancer at his home in White House, Tenn.,
about 20 miles north of Nashville, said his attorney Hoot Gibson.
Varney became a cult figure in the 1980s in a series of regional
commercials, portraying Ernest P. Worrell, a know-it-all good
ol' boy whose best-known phrase was ``Know-what-I-mean?'' and who
addressed a character known as ``Vern.'' His last film role was in
the 1999 film ``Daddy and Them,'' directed by Billy Bob Thornton. ``Any of us who knew Jim well, know that the world will never
exactly know what a great talent and extraordinary human being we
have lost,'' Thornton said in a statement. ``I loved him dearly.'' In the Ernest commercials, he got his fingers slammed in a house
window, fell off a ladder and got electrically shocked fooling with
a broken TV set. He plugged a variety of sponsors, including dairy
products, car dealerships, pizza and radio stations.
``Ernest is a neighbor or relative that we've all had at one
time,'' he once said. ``He's abrasive, but he doesn't mean to be.
He gets excited and ends up standing on your toes. I try to make
him clownish and I don't want him too low key; and he's physically
funny.''
``It's been my biggest sounding board. I've grown to know him
well.''
Between 1987 and 1990, he was in four ``Ernest'' movies for
Disney. Five more Ernest films were released independently, mainly
for the video and television markets.
Varney also was the voice of Slinky Dog in ``Toy Story'' and Toy
Story II.''
His movie credits included ``Ernest Goes to Camp''; ``Ernest
Rides Again''; ``Ernest Saves Christmas''; ``Ernest Goes to Jail'';
``Ernest Scared Stupid''; ``Ernest Goes to School''; ''100 Proof,''
an independent film; ``The Beverly Hillbillies'' (as Jed
Clampett); and ``Treehouse Hostage.''
His TV credits included ``Hey Vern, It's Ernest,'' ``Roseanne,''
``The Simpsons,'' ``The Rousters,'' ``Alice,'' ``Operation Petticoat,''
``Fernwood 2-Night'' and ``Pop Goes the Country.'' Ernest usually was dressed in a baseball cap, T-shirt, blue
denim vest and blue jeans. He had a generous nose. He was hapless
and harmless.
About his outfit, he told The Associated Press in 1984, ``It's a
lovely outfit that can be worn gracefully six days a week.'' Born in Lexington, Ky., Varney began acting in local theater at
8. By the age of 16 he was playing Shakespeare in a professional
theater, though he didn't tell his teachers. He sought his acting
fortune in New York at 18 and slogged through off-Broadway, dinner
theaters and comedy clubs.
``That's a rough department, stand-up comedy,'' he remarked. ``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, etc. You
could play it one night and knock'em over. The next night you could
play the same material _ nothing.''
Varney got the cancer diagnosis in August 1998, and within
months it had spread to his brain. The cancer appeared to be in
remission in late 1999 though radiation had left him bald. Despite
his illness, in 1999 he filmed the movie ``Daddy and Them'' starring Billy Bob Thornton.
``Everybody likes Ernest unless they're too cool,'' Varney said
in a 1990 interview with The Associated Press. ``The people who like sports cars and sunglasses are not our
audience. They like that action-adventure, tough-guy stuff,'' he
said. ``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.''
___
Mesothelioma attorneys have been fighting for the rights of mesothelioma victims for nearly three decades. Many of the coutnry's mesothelioma law suits are against asbestos manufacturers and these law firms that fights for the rights of people and families affected by mesothelioma.
