Jim Varney, "Ernest Goes To Heaven," 50

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

http://cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/10/varney.obit.ap/

'Ernest' comic Jim Varney dead of lung cancer

February 10, 2000
Web posted at: 5:11 p.m. EST (2211 GMT)

WHITE HOUSE, Tennessee (AP) -- Jim Varney, the rubbernecked comic who played
his rube character Ernest from hundreds of television commercials to a
series of hit movies, died Thursday at his home. He was 50.

Varney died of lung cancer, says his attorney, Hoot Gibson.

Varney became a cult figure in the 1980s in a series of regional
commercials. He played Ernest P. Worrell, a know-it-all good old boy whose
best-known phrase was "KnowhutImean?" and who addressed a character known as
"Vern."

In commercials, Varney was invincible if hapless. He got his fingers slammed
in a house window, fell off a ladder and was shocked while fooling with a
broken TV. 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," he continued. "I've grown to know him
well."

Moviegoers came to know him well, too. Between 1987 and 1990, Varney
appeared in four Ernest films for Disney. Five more Ernest movies were
released independently, mainly for the video and television markets.

Varney voiced Slinky Dog in "Toy Story" (1996) and "Toy Story 2" (1999).

His movie credits include "Ernest Goes to Camp" (1987); "Ernest Rides Again"
(1993); "Ernest Saves Christmas" (1988); "Ernest Goes to Jail" (1990);
"Ernest Scared Stupid" (1991); "Ernest Goes to School" (1994); "100 Proof"
(1994), an independent film; "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993) (as Jed
Clampett); and "Treehouse Hostage" (1999).

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
bluejeans, an ensemble he characterized in a 1984 AP interview as a "lovely
outfit that can be worn gracefully six days a week."

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Varney began acting in local theater at 8. By
age 16, he was playing Shakespeare in a professional company, although 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 recalled.

"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."

Physicians diagnosed Varney with cancer in August 1998, and within months it
had spread to his brain. The disease appeared to be in remission in late
1999, although radiation had left him bald. Despite his illness, in 1999 he
filmed the movie "Daddy and Them" starring Billy Bob Thornton.

Copyright 2000  The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This mailing list is brought to you by Slick.ORG at http://www.slick.org
to remove yourself from the list, send e-mail to majordomo@slick.org
and include the words "unsubscribe deathwatch" in the message (not in the
subject).  For web-based help, go to:

http://www.slick.org/cgi-bin/majordomo

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *