James Albert Varney was an actor, comedian and writer, known for his role as Ernest P. Worrell. This character was used in many TV commercials, advertising campaigns and films. He gained further popularity for playing Jed Clampett in the film version of “The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)” and providing the voice of Slinky Dog in “Toy Story (1995)” and “Toy Story 2 (1999)”.
In 1980, the first commercial featuring Varney as “Ernest” was on aired. The character was franchised for use in markets all over the country and was often used by dairies to advertise milk products. Varney also created another famous character “Sgt. Glory”, a humorless drill instructor who harangued cows of the client dairy into producing better milk. Varney also appeared in several Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores commercials throughout the 1980s.
Varney was diagnosed with lung cancer; he was a chain smoker. He went through chemotherapy but, failed to beat the disease. Varney died on February 10, 2000, at his home in Tennessee.
