Jim Varney

James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his role as Ernest P. Worrell, who first appeared in a series of commercials popular in the United States, especially Nashville, Tennessee, and then later in a television show called . Disney took notice of the character's popularity and produced a feature film entitled Ernest Goes to Camp, starring Varney as Ernest. Varney's performing abilities led him to many roles both as an actor and voice artist.
For Disney, besides portraying Ernest P. Worrell in the Ernest film media franchise, he was also known for providing the original voice of Slinky Dog in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story franchise. Shortly before work began on Toy Story 2, Varney was diagnosed with lung cancer and died while he was recording lines for Cookie Farnsworth in Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which was released posthumously a year after his death. Since Toy Story 3, his friend Blake Clark took over as the voice of Slinky.
Varney was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Nancy Louise (née Howard), and James Albert Varney Sr.. As a child, he displayed the ability to memorize long poems and significant portions of the material from books, which he used to entertain family and friends. When Varney was a boy, his mother would turn on cartoons for him to watch. His mother discovered that Varney quickly began to imitate the cartoon characters, so she started him in children's theater when he was eight years old. Varney began his interest in theater as a teenager, winning state titles in drama competitions while a student at Lafayette High School (class of 1968) in Lexington.
Varney had an established acting career before his fame as Ernest. In 1976, Varney was a regular cast member of the television show Johnny Cash and Friends. He also played a recurring guest on the faux late-night talk show . From 1977 to 1979, Varney was cast as Seaman "Doom & Gloom" Broom in the television version of . Just prior to his stint as Ernest, he was a cast member on the notorious television flop . In 1978, Varney played Milo Skinner in the CBS sitcom .
==Roles==
Ernest P Worrell.jpg|Ernest P. Worrell(Ernest film franchise)
IMG 6992.jpg|Phineas Worrell(Ernest Scared Stupid)
Slinky Dog.png|Slinky Dog(Toy Story franchise; 1995–1999)
Ephialtes.png|Ephialtes(Hercules TV series)
Atlantis Cookie.jpg|Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth(Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
==Gallery==
Jim Varney and Buddy Ebsen The Beverly Hillbillies premiere.jpg|Jim Varney and Buddy Ebsen at the premiere of in 1993.
Jim Varney Toy Story Behind the scenes.jpg|Jim Varney behind the scenes of Toy Story.
Jim Varney Toy Story Interview 1995.jpg|Jim Varney during an interview for Toy Story & Ernest.
Jim Varney Toy Story 2 premiere.jpg|Jim Varney at the premiere of Toy Story 2 in 1999.
Jim and Robin.jpg|Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell with Robin Williams.
==External links==
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Category:1940s births
Category:2000s deaths
Category:Deceased
Category:Males
Category:American people
Category:People from Kentucky
Category:Actors
Category:Voice actors
Category:Comedians
Category:Musicians
Category:Writers
Category:Pixar actors and actresses
Category:Ernest Films
Category:Toy Story
Category:Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Category:Hercules
Category:Touchstone Pictures
Category:Pixar
Category:ABC
Category:Fox
Category:20th Century Studios
Category:The Simpsons