DIED
February 10, 2000

RECENT CREDITS
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (FILM)  Jun. 8, 2001
True Hollywood Story (TV)  Dec. 31, 2000
Toy Story 2 (FILM)  Nov. 24, 1999
Existo (FILM)  Sep. 17, 1999

BIOGRAPHY
Gangling, Kentucky-born actor Jim Varney cut his professional teeth at Virginia's Barter Theater, a summer-stock concern specializing in vintage American melodramas. At his funniest when playing it totally straight,....
Gangling, Kentucky-born actor Jim Varney cut his professional teeth at Virginia's Barter Theater, a summer-stock concern specializing in vintage American melodramas. At his funniest when playing it totally straight, Varney was hired as a comedy-ensemble member of the 1976 TV variety series The Johnny Cash Show. He went on to play Evel Knievel-takeoff Virgil Sims in Norman Lear's syndicated talk show spoofs Fernwood 2-Night (1977) and America 2-Night (1978). He was also seen as Seaman Broom on Operation Petticoat (1977), in another ensemble play on the ill-fated Pink Lady (1980), as host of the 1982-1983 season of the country-western syndie Pop! Goes the Country, and as Evan Earp, a very distant descendant of Wyatt, on The Rousters. While this multitude of TV credits was impressive enough, Varney's true claim to fame rested in his dozens of commercial appearances, first as Sgt. Glory in a series of public service spots for the Southern Dairy Commission, then as dimwitted hayseed Ernest P. Worrell ("Hey, Vern!" "KnowhutImean?") in a variety of ads aimed at regional markets. Varney parlayed the Ernest character into a handful of videocassettes (many of these highlighted by profanity-peppered outtakes), a Saturday morning TV kiddie show titled Hey, Vern, It's Ernest (1988-1989), and seemingly endless series of low-budget, lowbrow film comedies bearing such titles as Ernest Goes to Camp (1987), Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), and Ernest: Scared Stupid (1989). Outside of his by-now standard characterization, Jim Varney was quite effectively cast as mountain patriarch Jed Clampett in the 1993 film version of the old TV sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. His biggest-profile role came with the 1995 blockbuster animated film Toy Story, which found Varney cast as Slinky Dog. Varney reprised the role for the 1999 sequel Toy Story 2, and shortly before the release of the second film, Varney revealed he had been battling life-threatening lung cancer since August 1998. Late in 1999, he had experienced a remission from the cancer, but this was to be short-lived. His final battle lasted barely a couple of months after the sequel's release, with Varney succumbing to the disease in February 2000 at the age of 50.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide


Rovi Data Solutions, Inc.
- Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Data Solutions © 2009 Rovi Data Solutions, Inc.

Headlines

Dec. 7, 1999
Hollywood.saw sharp declines across the board at the box office over the post-Thanksgiving weekend as moviegoing gave way to holiday shopping. Buena Vista/Disney and Pixar's G-rated computer-animated blockbuster "Toy Story 2" held on to first place in its third weekend with a 50% drop that reflected how most films in the marketplace performed. "Toy 2" snapped up a still hefty e...






Advertisement

Recently Worked With...

Existo
Released: Sep. 17, 1999

Hulk Hogan
3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain
Released: Apr. 10, 1998

100 Proof
Released: Sep. 24, 1997

Ernest Goes to Africa
Released: Jul. 29, 1997

Snowboard Academy
Released: Jan. 1, 1997


Fan Sites

Jim Varney Fansites

No fan sites available. Create the first!
Are you the #1 Jim Varney Fan? Sign Up To Create A Website Here.



Top 5 Celebrities

Naomi Watts
September 28, 1968
Shoreham, England

Channing Tatum at the Los Angeles Premiere of 'Sugar'. Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA. 03-18-09
April 26, 1980
Cullman, AL

Angelina Jolie at the Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) 2009 - Arrivals.  London, England - 02/08/09
June 04, 1975
Los Angeles, CA

Rachel McAdams at the premiere of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' - New York, NY - 08/12/09
October 07, 1976
London, Ontario, Canada

Zooey Deschanel
January 17, 1980
Los Angeles, CA



Whats on Hollywood.com

Actors 302,663

Photos 442,128

Videos 12,383

Fan Pages 128,061

Reviews 2,424

Trailers 4,960

TV 129,006

Movies 269,364




Isn't It Time You Went Hollywood ®
©1999-2012 Hollywood.com, LLC