Biography for
Jim Varney

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Date of Birth

15 June 1949, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Date of Death

10 February 2000, Whitehouse, Tennessee, USA (lung cancer)

Birth Name

James Albert Varney Jr.

Height

6' 1" (1.85 m)

Mini Biography

Jim Varney became interested in theater as a teenager, winning state titles in drama competitions while a student at Lafayette High School in Lexington, Kentucky. At age 15 he played Ebeneezer Scrooge in a local children's theater production of "A Christmas Carol", and by 17 was performing professionally in nightclubs and coffee houses. He chose Nashville rather than New York or Los Angeles as a place to pursue his acting career and, with advertising executive John R. Cherry III, turned "Ernest P. Worrell" into a cash cow, making commercials for clients ranging from soft drinks to food stores and, eventually, Disney. Even though Ernest's catchphrase "KnowhutImean?" became a national craze almost immediately, Jim worked in TV and film for more than a decade before his famous alter-ego hit the big screen in Ernest Goes to Camp (1987).

IMDb Mini Biography By: HiLander-4

Spouse

Jane Varney	(1988 - 1991) (divorced)
Jacqueline Drew	(15 June 1977 - 1983) (divorced)

Trivia

Included in a 1986 home video collection of Ernest commercials is a public service spot with Ernest trying to convince "Vern" to quit smoking, thus avoiding "The Big 'C'-Cancer. Chemotherapy City."

Was a heavy smoker and died of lung cancer.

Jim Varney died at about 4:45 am February 10, 2000 at his White House, Tennessee home.

He died the same year that Daddy and Them (2001) were being released, and quite a while before Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) was released.

Lived in Lexington, Kentucky while growing up, and graduated from Lafayette Senior High School with the class of 1968. He listed a former teacher, Thelma Beeler, as being one of the main contributing factors in his becoming an actor.

His final movie, "Ernest the Pirate" (2000) had nearly completed shooting at the time of his death. For that reason, it got canceled, and was never released on VHS, DVD, or as part of an "Ernest" box set on anything.

Known to fans as Ernest P. Worrell, his most famous character, who propelled him to the public eye. Ernest appeared in commercials "alongside" his off-camera friend Vern. Ernest would address the camera as if it was Vern.

Despite his persona as Ernest P. Worrell, he reportedly had a near genius I.Q. level. He was said to be occasionally exasperated with fans who met him and assumed he was exactly like the Worrell character he portrayed.

When he discovered he had lung cancer, he reportedly threw away his cigarettes and quit smoking cold turkey. Unfortunately, it was too late.

He used to do commercials for the Dodge dealership in Henderson, Kentucky, sitting in the Dodge Viper "high in the sky."

As his Ernest P. Worrell persona, he did advertisements for the Southern California auto mall Cerritos Auto Square. After his death, commercials now feature a CGI Ernest.

As Ernest, Jim Varney used to do Purity Dairy commercials which ran in Nashville, TN.

Among one of the companies he portrayed his beloved character, Earnest, was for the Kroger grocery store chain. These aired mainly in the marketing area of Tennessee, parts of Mississippi and Ohio where Kroger grocery store chains are predominate.

Between 1987 and 1990, Disney released four Ernest movies that generated a total of $100 million. Five more Ernest films were released independently, mainly for the video and television markets.

The character of Ernest was actually introduced in a commercial for Bowling Green, Kentucky's Beech Bend Raceway Park.

Along with Robin Williams, Varney was one of Los Angeles' Comedy Store's original alumni.

Standup comedy launched his TV career. His first national appearance came at age 25, when he embarked on the talk show circuit that included "The Merv Griffin Show" and "The Tonight Show."

Studied Shakespeare at the Barter Theatre in Virginia and performed in a folk show during Opryland's first year of operation

When given the chance to have a lifelong dream fulfilled by such groups as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, several hundred terminally ill children have asked to meet Ernest. He never let them down.

Was very good friends with Robin Williams.

Personal Quotes

Life's just a bus stop to somewhere infinitely better.

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