Jim Varney

A staggering array of more than 4,000 television commercial appearances as motormouthed pitchman Ernest P. Worrell helped to boost actor Jim Varney from television comedian to starring roles in "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993) and "Toy Story" (1995) before his untimely death in 2000. Born James Albert Varney, Jr. on June 15, 1949 in Lexington, Kentucky, his ability to memorize long poems and fiction passages, as well as a knack for imitating voices on cartoons, led to enrollment in children's theater. He soon established himself as a talented performer, winning local drama competitions and working the nightclub circuit in his teenaged years, which soon led to roles in summer stock theater and at the famed Opryland USA theme park. Performances at the Comedy Store helped Varney earn a route into television, first as a sketch player on "Johnny Cash and Friends" (CBS, 1976) and later, as various rural types on episodic series, including mechanic-turned-daredevil Virgil Simms on "Fernwood 2-Night" (syndicated, 1977) and hardluck sailor "Doom and Gloom" Broom on "Operation Petticoat" (ABC, 1977-1979). However, Varney's path to fame would come via an unlikely source: regional television commercials. Having played a tough drill instructor, Sgt. Glory, in a series of ads for the Southern Dairy Commission, Varney was tapped by advertising executives John Cherry III and Jerry Carden to play Ernest P. Worrell, a rubber-faced yokel who harangued an off-screen neighbor named Vern to try various products. After making his debut appearance in a commercial for an amusement park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cherry and Carden licensed Ernest for use in promotional campaigns throughout the South, including Laclede Gas, Braum's Ice Cream and countless auto dealerships. Ernest's influence soon expanded to California and the Mid-Atlantic states, which prompted Varney and Cherry to compile a collection of comedy video shorts for the direct-to-video release "Knowwhutimean? Hey Vern, It's My