Born on June 15, 1949, Jim Varney always wanted to act. He began his acting career in high school, and won a number of state level competitions for drama. He finally made it to television when he was asked to do a commercial for Ernest, a character created by John Cherry. Ernest advertised products like Braums, Dairy Products, Potato Chips, Trucks, Sprite and Mello Yellow. Then he landed the role of Evens Wyatt on The Rousters, that lasted for 2 years. He played on Pink Jeff and Ladies and then finally went to the big screen as Ernest with Ernest Goes to Camp. He also starred in Hey Vern It\'s Ernest. in 1988. The series was cancelled after 13 episodes. He continued to work as Ernest and eventually graduated to movies like The Beverly Hillbillies, Wilder Napalm, Toy Story, Three Ninjas, High Noon at Mega Mountain, Snowboard Academy, and Treehouse Hostage . He had a gruff voice because he was a heavy smoker. He started smoking when he saw a James Bond movie on the silver screen. In 1999, he found out he had lung cancer. He threw his cigarettes out, but the doctors told him he that the cancer was already at the terminal stage. The treatment options were over. He died peacefully in his sleep, February 10, 2000, around 4:45 A.M. He made millions laugh and thousands smile. No one can ever forget Ernest...