mickeymouseclubfan
10-31-2015, 09:43 PM
How many here remember the Saturday-morning sitcom "Hey Vern, It's Ernest."
For those who DON'T, here's Inside Information.
The character of Ernest P. Worrell was conceived and created in 1980 by John Cherry, a writer from Nashville, Tennessee, for a series of local TV commercials.
To play Ernest in the commercials, John hired a struggling actor named Jim Varney (born on June 15, 1949 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA; died on February 10, 2000 in White House, Tennessee at age 50).
Flash forward to 1985: after viewing "Ernest" commercials, then-new Disney chairmen Mike Eisner & Jeff Katzenberg, on behalf of The Walt Disney Company, bought the rights to do a series of "Ernest" theatrical motion pictures for Disney under the then-infant Touchstone Pictures brand.
The first, "Ernest Goes to Camp," was released theatrically on May 22, 1987 and proved to be a HUGE success for Disney; soon afterwards, John Cherry conceived and created a Saturday-morning sitcom titled "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" for DIC Entertainment (bought by Disney in 1995 and sold in the year 2000, after which it became independent once again before being renamed DHX Media), with the CBS Television Network airing the series for 13 weeks from September 17, 1988 - December 24, 1988.
The sitcom "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" had Jim Varney play, of course, Ernest P. Worrell, the lovable doofus who was well-meaning but inept in his vein attempts to try and do the right thing; CBS canceled "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" after 13 weeks, but despite the cancellation, Disney continued to make "Ernest" films under the Touchstone brand until 1991, among them "Ernest Saves Christmas" (filmed entirely on location in Orlando, Florida, with partial filming at the then-new Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park not open to the public until Spring 1989), "Ernest Goes to Jail" and "Ernest Scared Stupid."
After "Ernest Scared Stupid," Disney ended its association with the character of Ernest P. Worrell, after which 6 more "Ernest" films were released independently by John Cherry's Emshell Producers Group, Inc. on VHS Tape.
In addition to Ernest, Jim Varney played the voice of Slinky Dog in the first 2 "Toy Story" movies for Disney; sadly, in 1998, after a lifetime of heavy smoking, Jim was diagnosed with Lung Cancer; he died at age 50 on February 10, 2000 after a 2-year fight with the disease.
Despite the Lung Cancer diagnosis, Jim felt in November 1999, according to http://www.weeklywire.com/ww/11-15-99/nash_cover.html like he had battled Lung Cancer AND won, but an old back injury soon flared up, and Jim died at age 50 at his home in White House, Tennessee, near Nashville.
Although the Lung Cancer was listed as his Cause of Death in his obituary, based on the Weekly Wire link I FIRMLY believe that it was the complications of his earlier Back Injury that caused Jim Varney's premature death at age 50, and that he had already medically won his fight against Lung Cancer.
Regardless, here's to Jim Varney and his alter ego of Ernest.
06/15/1949 - 02/10/2000
For those who DON'T, here's Inside Information.
The character of Ernest P. Worrell was conceived and created in 1980 by John Cherry, a writer from Nashville, Tennessee, for a series of local TV commercials.
To play Ernest in the commercials, John hired a struggling actor named Jim Varney (born on June 15, 1949 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA; died on February 10, 2000 in White House, Tennessee at age 50).
Flash forward to 1985: after viewing "Ernest" commercials, then-new Disney chairmen Mike Eisner & Jeff Katzenberg, on behalf of The Walt Disney Company, bought the rights to do a series of "Ernest" theatrical motion pictures for Disney under the then-infant Touchstone Pictures brand.
The first, "Ernest Goes to Camp," was released theatrically on May 22, 1987 and proved to be a HUGE success for Disney; soon afterwards, John Cherry conceived and created a Saturday-morning sitcom titled "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" for DIC Entertainment (bought by Disney in 1995 and sold in the year 2000, after which it became independent once again before being renamed DHX Media), with the CBS Television Network airing the series for 13 weeks from September 17, 1988 - December 24, 1988.
The sitcom "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" had Jim Varney play, of course, Ernest P. Worrell, the lovable doofus who was well-meaning but inept in his vein attempts to try and do the right thing; CBS canceled "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" after 13 weeks, but despite the cancellation, Disney continued to make "Ernest" films under the Touchstone brand until 1991, among them "Ernest Saves Christmas" (filmed entirely on location in Orlando, Florida, with partial filming at the then-new Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park not open to the public until Spring 1989), "Ernest Goes to Jail" and "Ernest Scared Stupid."
After "Ernest Scared Stupid," Disney ended its association with the character of Ernest P. Worrell, after which 6 more "Ernest" films were released independently by John Cherry's Emshell Producers Group, Inc. on VHS Tape.
In addition to Ernest, Jim Varney played the voice of Slinky Dog in the first 2 "Toy Story" movies for Disney; sadly, in 1998, after a lifetime of heavy smoking, Jim was diagnosed with Lung Cancer; he died at age 50 on February 10, 2000 after a 2-year fight with the disease.
Despite the Lung Cancer diagnosis, Jim felt in November 1999, according to http://www.weeklywire.com/ww/11-15-99/nash_cover.html like he had battled Lung Cancer AND won, but an old back injury soon flared up, and Jim died at age 50 at his home in White House, Tennessee, near Nashville.
Although the Lung Cancer was listed as his Cause of Death in his obituary, based on the Weekly Wire link I FIRMLY believe that it was the complications of his earlier Back Injury that caused Jim Varney's premature death at age 50, and that he had already medically won his fight against Lung Cancer.
Regardless, here's to Jim Varney and his alter ego of Ernest.
06/15/1949 - 02/10/2000