Before Jim Varney became widely known for the Ernest movies, such as 𝘌𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 and 𝘌𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘪𝘭, the Ernest P. Worrell character had already gained national popularity through a series of extremely successful commercials. This unprecedented phenomenon began years before the idea of making Ernest movies was even on the table. Forty years ago today, and a full three years before the first Ernest movie premiered, Jim Varney and Ernest Director

Today marks what would have been Johnny Cash's 92nd birthday. Readers of Jim Varney's biography, The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney will already know that Jim was a special friend to the Cash family. Jim and The Man in Black first met in 1974 when Jim found a small role on Cash's TV special 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯' 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, which is featured in this video. Cash was later "knocked out" by Jim's stand up act at the Ex

Here is a short snippet of the video I recorded on Jim's wedding day (June 11, 1988) at his home in White House, TN. You can see some of his home including his study. At the very end you can catch a glimpse of one of his favorite cars..his black Dodge Conquest parked in the driveway. Enjoy! (And please excuse some of the camera work...I was 15 when I filmed this.) | The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney

Barry Scott speaks at Jim Varney Memorial (Feb 16, 2000) | The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney