Peter of Hollywood

With the the approaching of the 97th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony next Sunday, March 2nd, I thought it interesting to acknowledge an actor who has been nominated for Oscars many times, but sadly never won. Peter O’Toole enjoyed a 58-year career, scoring eight Oscar nominations, all in the category of Best Lead Actor. 

Peter O’Toole was born on August 2nd, 1932 in Leeds, a city in West Yorkshire England. Acting wasn’t initially in the cards as his father, Patrick, was an Irish metal plater, a bookmaker, and a football player. His mother, Constance, was a Scottish Nurse. He felt inspired to become an actor, however, after he saw Akira Kurosawa’s performances in the films Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954). 

After school, and service as a signaller in the Royal Navy, O’Toole attended RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) on scholarship from 1952 to 1955. Upon graduation, he almost instantly found work as a theatre actor appearing in Shakespearean and other various productions at Bristol Old Vic. He stayed at “The Vic” for two years, appearing in productions of Hamlet and King Lear, along with the role of Henry Higgins in Pygmalion (the play that later became the musical My Fair Lady.) He landed roles in episodes of British-produced television series’, Armchair Theatre (1956-1974) and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950-1959).

Peter O’Toole made his feature film debut in Disney’s Kidnapped (1960), starring opposite James MacArthur, Peter Finch, and Bernard Lee. He was cast in the part of Robin McGregor because director Robert Stevenson was looking for an actor who could play the bagpipes and O’Toole had played the bagpipes in his youth. O’Toole’s “big break” as a leading man didn’t come until two years later, when he was chosen to star as T.E. Lawrence in the epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The film was a blockbuster smash, earning ten Oscar nods, including O’Toole’s first for Best Actor. Although Gregory Peck took home the Best Actor Oscar that year for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), “Arabia” won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for David Lean. (Sir Alec Guinness starred as Prince Faisal in “Arabia.” Guinness had previously worked with David Lean and “Arabia” producer Sam Spiegel The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), which also won the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars, as well as Best Actor for Guinness.)

O’Toole was later re-hired by Sam Spiegel to star in The Night of the Generals (1967), in which he re-teamed with other “Arabia” co-star, Omar Sharif. Although “Generals” was a box-office disappointment, working together on the film led to a close friendship between O’Toole and Sharif, and they remained friends the rest of their lives. O’Toole next starred opposite Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter (1968) earning another Best Actor Oscar Nomination, the same year that Sharif starred opposite Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl (1968). Both Hepburn and Streisand tied for the Best Actress Oscar that year, marking the second time in history two actors have tied for an acting Oscar. (The first being in the year 1932 when Wallace Beery and Frederic March both took home the Best Actor Oscar, Beery The Champ (1931) and Frederic March for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).)

In the ‘70s, he returned to the Bristol Old Vic starring in productions of Uncle Vanya, Plunder, The Apple Cart, and Judgment. In 1982, he scored his sixth Oscar Nomination, starring in The Stunt Man (1981), losing again to Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull (1981). He received his seventh nomination for starring in My Favorite Year (1983) and even reprised the role of Henry Higgins for a British-produced television adaptation of Pygmalion in 1984. The production was later re-adapted for Broadway in 1987 where it ran for 113 performances. His final theatrical appearance was in the play Our Song which he performed at New York’s Apollo Theater in 1992.

Peter O’Toole also had remarkable ventures into the field of voice acting. His first voice-acting roles was uncredited in the Oscar-Winning The Sandpiper (1965), which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, whom O’Toole was also good friends with. (He starred with Burton in the films Becket (1964) and Under the Milk Wood (1972).) O’Toole later voiced Sherlock Holmes in a series of four cartoon television movies of the “Sherlock Holmes,” series produced in Australia. His last feature film to use his voice was Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille (2007), where he voiced the intimidating food critic Anton Ego, who rejects but ultimately believes in Chef Gusteau’s phrase that “anyone can cook.” (“Ratatouille” was written/directed by The Incredibles (2004) director Brad Bird, and just like “Incredibles” “Ratatouille” also took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.) 

It is extremely unfortunate that Peter O’Toole never won an Acting Oscar. He was, however, well-deservedly, awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2003. Nonetheless, he is a much admired, beloved actor whose fans have included movie-goers and actors alike. After nearly six-decades in show business, his work is worthy of every film lover’s respect.

 

 

Cinderella at 75

Walt Disney released his animated adaptation of Cinderella on February 15th, 1950. It was the studio’s biggest hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 13 years earlier, earning both critical and public success. Grossing $182 million dollars, Cinderella also nabbed scoring three Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Best Original Song “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” and Best Music, Scoring of a Motion Picture. In commemoration of Cinderella’s 75th anniversary, I thought we could explore its history and contributions.

“Cinderella,” made history for Disney, thanks to its financial and critical success, but perhaps as more importantly, it film set the stage for other high-production animated films: Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), and Sleeping Beauty (1959). The 50’s was also the decade when the Walt Disney Studios began construction on Disneyland (opening on July 17th, 1955). And furthermore, the success of Cinderella helped to fund live-action feature films, beginning with Treasure Island (1950), and continuing with Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1952) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954).

“Cinderella” has a top-notch voice cast. Ilene Woods voiced the title character, and though her trademark role for the rest of her career would be voicing Cinderella, Woods voiced Snow White on a Disney-produced audiobook released in 1954. Eleanor Audley voiced the Evil Stepmother, also known as Lady Tremaine, and Verna Felton voiced the Fairy Godmother. Both Audley and Felton were legendary at Disney as they both went on to voice other iconic characters: Audley voiced Maleficent in “Sleeping Beauty,” and Madame Leota in Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction and Felton voiced Aunt Sarah in “Lady and the Tramp,” Flora, the red/good fairy in “Sleeping Beauty,” and wide variety of other characters. Verna Felton was Disney’s most-often hired voice-over artist during Walt Disney’s lifetime, even lending her voice to Dumbo (1941), “Alice in Wonderland,” and The Jungle Book (1967). Interestingly, she passed away on the same day that he died, December 15th, 1966.

The music in “Cinderella” is gorgeous too, and is another reason to love the movie. Although “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” was the only song to score an Oscar Nomination, “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heat Makes,” and “The Work Song (We’ll Make A Dress for Cinderellie)” have gone on to be remixed by other artists. Take 6 recorded “The Work Song” for the album Walt Disney Records Presents The Music of Cinderella which was released on September 12th, 1995, which was when the film was re-released on home video. And of course, “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes,” is something of a theme song for Disney, heard throughout the parks. Demi Lovato and Michael Buble recorded it for the Disney Family Singalong Special which aired on the ABC Network in April 2020, and Lily James recorded her own version “Dream Is A Wish” when “Cinderella” was re-adapted for live-action in March 2015. (Helena Bonham Carter, who played the Fairy Godmother in that film, recorded “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” too.)

Walt Disney was once asked by an interviewer if he had a favorite scene of animation that his studio produced, and as he thought about it carefully, he replied the scene in Cinderella where she got her ball gown from her Fairy Godmother. That scene was animated by Marc Davis, who was a member of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men,” who were the top nine animators at the studio during Walt Disney’s lifetime. As Walt Disney became focused on the construction of Disneyland, he left film production to the animators, and it clearly paid off.

It’s surreal to think that it’s been 75 years since Walt Disney Productions produced “Cinderella.” Walt Disney was once quoted as having said “All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them” and “Cinderella” epitomizes that quote. That inspiration, combined with all the aforementioned reasons makes “Cinderella” one of Disney’s best movies.

A Tribute to the Best Animated Feature Oscars

In recognition of the 2025 Oscar nominees announced last Thursday, I would like to acknowledge one of my personal favorite categories: The Best Animated Feature. This first award of this kind was presented at the 74th Annual Academy Awards in 2002, with Dreamworks’ Animation’s Shrek (2001) beating Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. (2001) and DNA Productions’ Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). In today’s blog, I thought I would acknowledge this year’s nominated films, who directed them, and their connections to the Oscars.

• Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 (dir. Kelsey Mann): Kelsey Mann directed the “Monsters, Inc.,” short film Party Central (2013), though he made his feature film debut directing “Inside Out 2.” The first Inside Out (2015), was written and directed by Pete Docter, current CEO of Pixar Animation. He won the Best Animated Feature Oscar for the film and Executive Produced the sequel. (Docter also won Best Animated Feature Oscars for Up (2009) and Soul (2020), and was nominated for “Monsters, Inc.”). Kelsey Mann co-wrote the film with Dave Holstein and Meg LeFauve, who received a Best Original Screenplay Oscar Nomination for writing the first “Inside Out.” The film’s music was composed by Andrea Datzman who composed music for Disney+ “Up-themed” short films Dug Days (2021) and Carl’s Date (2023).
• Netflix’s Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (dirs. Merlin Crossingham and Nick Park): Nick Park first created the British-produced “Wallace and Gromit” series, co-writing and directing the short film A Grand Day Out (1989), which received a Best Animated Short Film Oscar Nomination. Park later co-wrote and directed the Wallace and Gromit short films The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995), (both of which won the Best Animated Short Film Oscar). Park later brought Wallace and Gromit to the big screen in Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), which won the Best Animated Feature Oscar, co-directing with Steve Box. Park received yet another Best Animated Short Film Nomination for the next Wallace and Gromit short film, A Matter of Loaf and Death, released in 2008.
• Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot (dir. Chris Sanders): In addition to Best Animated Feature, “Wild Robot” is also nominated for Best Sound and Best Original Score. “Wild Robot” is directed by Chris Sanders, who previously received Best Animated Feature Oscar Nominations for directing Disney’s Lilo & Stitch (2002), as well as Dreamworks’s How to Train Your Dragon (2002) and The Croods (2014). Sanders also co-wrote “Lilo & Stitch,” voiced Stitch in the movie, and is currently set to reprise the character in Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch to be released May 23rd, 2025. That remake will be directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, who received a Best Animated Feature Oscar Nomination for directing the film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2023).
• Memoir of a Snail (dir. Adam Elliot): “Memoir of a Snail” is the second R-rated animated feature to be nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar. (The first was Anomalisa (2015), which was beaten by “Inside Out.”) It’s written and directed by Adam Elliot who previously wrote and directed the short film Harvie Krumpet (2004), which previously won the Best Animated Short Film Oscar. The film is produced by Madman Entertainment, which also produced this year’s The Substance, Sing Sing, The Apprentice, Black Box Diaries, Soundtrack to a Coup d’stat, and Flow, all of which are Oscar contenders. The film was produced in Australia, takes place in Melbourne, and consists of a voice cast of all Aussie actors including Eric Bana and Two-Time Oscar Nominee Jacki Weaver. If this film wins the Best Animated Feature Oscar, it will be the second time an Australia-produced feature film has won a Best Animated Feature Oscar. The first was Happy Feet (2006), directed by George Miller.
• Flow (dir. Gints Zibalodis): In addition to a nomination for Best Animated Feature, “Flow” is also an Oscar Nominee for Best International Feature Film, having been produced by the country of Latvia. “Flow” was this year’s recipient for the Best Animated Feature Golden Globe and was directed by Gints Zibalodis who previously directed the animated film Away (2019), which was also produced in Latvia. Neither movie had any talking and although “Flow,” consists of cartoon animals, their noises were recorded by real animals. If “Flow” receives the Oscar, it will be the first Oscar win for Zibalodis, as well as the very first Oscar given to Latvian-produced movie. 

2024: Disney Legends in Memoriam

As 2025 begins, it’s a good time to pay tribute to the legendary performers we lost in 2024. This blog post will acknowledge a few of those performers (as well as their contributions to the Walt Disney Company).

1. Glynis Johns (October 5th, 1923-January 4th, 2024). Johns’ most beloved role was the role of Mrs. Winifred Banks, mother of Jane and Michael Banks, in Mary Poppins (1964). Besides “Poppins” she also made The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy for Disney in 1953. Outside Disney, Johns appeared in The Court Jester (1956) opposite Danny Kaye, and she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nomination appearing in the film The Sundowners (1961) with Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr. Johns was also known for originating the role of Desiree Armfeldt, the character who sings “Send In The Clowns.” in Broadway’s Original Production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music in 1973. She won the 1973 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical as a result.
2. Dabney Coleman (January 3rd, 1932-May 16th, 2024). Coleman was best known for playing “bad guys,” like the evil Franklin Hart Jr. in Nine to Five (1980). For Disney, Coleman voiced Principal Peter Prickly in Disney Channel’s Recess (1997-2001) and the movie Recess: School’s Out (2001). He appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie My Date With The President’s Daughter (1998) as well as War Games (1983) and Disney’s Inspector Gadget (1998), both of which starred Matthew Broderick as the main protagonist. In addition, Coleman received an Emmy for his role in the television movie Sworn to Silence (1987), a Golden Globe for The Slap Maxwell Story (1987-1988), and two SAGs (Screen Actors Guilds) for Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014).
3. James Earl Jones (January 17th, 1931-September 9th, 2024). Jones will forever be remembered as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars (1977-present) franchise and Mufasa in Disney’s original The Lion King (1994) and the 2019 remake. But, Jones received a Best Actor Oscar Nomination for The Great White Hope (1971) and acted in two beloved baseball flicks: Oscar-nomianted Field of Dreams (1989) and The Sandlot (1993). Jones also portrayed King Jaffe Joffer in Coming to America (1988) starring Eddie Murphy. He reprised the role of Joffer in the Amazon Prime Sequel Coming 2 America (2021), again starring Murphy, and the film was one of his last two acting credits. The other was voicing Darth Vader in the Disney+ original series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
4. Joan Plowright (October 28th, 1929-January 16th, 2025). Dame Joan Plowright was an undisputed “lady of the theatre” in her British homeland. But her Disney roles included portraying Nanny in Disney’s live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996) and voicing the Brachiosaurus Baylene in Dinosaur (2000). She received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nomination for Enchanted April (1993), and that same year starred as Mrs. Wilson in Dennis the Menace (1993). (Both “Dennis the Menace” and “101 Dalmatians” were written and produced by John Hughes). She also won a Tony for Best Actress in a Play for “A Taste of Honey,” and she won the Laurence Olivier Award (equivalent of Tony Awards in London’s West End) for the play Filumena. (The Olivier awards are, of course, named for her husband, Sir Laurence Olivier, whom she married in 1961.)

There are sadly many more stars that passed away in 2024, but these four actors are nonetheless special—and very special to me personally given their Disney connections. Each lived long lives and built remarkable careers. It’s sad to see them go, but we will always have their excellent work!

And the Best Picture Oscar Goes to...Disney!

Walt Disney was the recipient of 22 Oscars throughout his career, more than any other person who has worked in the entertainment industry. Since his passing in 1966, The Walt Disney Company has continued to receive Oscars for Animated Features and Live-Action Features, though throughout their 102-year-history, they have never won an Oscar for Best Picture, though there have been four films that were nominated. In tribute to the fact that the 97th Oscar Nominations are being announced this Friday, January 17th, 2025, I thought we could acknowledge those four films:

Mary Poppins, released on August 27th, 1964, was the first and only Disney film produced during Walt Disney’s life to receive a Best Picture Oscar Nomination. The film garnered 13 Oscar Nominations, and though it lost Best Picture to My Fair Lady (1964), it won five total, including Best Original Score, Best Original Song “Chim-Chim Cher-ee,” and Julie Andrews as Best Actress for her performance as the magical nanny. This win made Andrews the second actress to receive an Oscar for a Performance in a Disney film. The first was Hayley Mills who won the Juvenile Oscar for her performance in Pollyanna (1960). The Juvenile Oscar went out of existence at the Oscars three years later when Patty Duke was nominated for, and won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Miracle Worker (1962), proving that child actors could compete against adults in the major categories.

Beauty and the Beast, released on November 22nd, 1991, made history for the Walt Disney Company when it became the very first animated feature ever to receive an Oscar Nomination for Best Picture. While it lost the award to The Silence of the Lambs (1991), it received six Oscar Nominations total, and coincidentally just like “Poppins,” it also won the Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song “Beauty and the Beast.” (The movie also got nominations for Best Sound and the songs “Belle” and “Be Our Guest.”) “Beauty and the Beast” being nominated for Best Picture was also special for the Disney Company because Walt Disney had attempted to adapt the story for the screen twice in the ‘30s and the ‘50s, but sadly, neither of his attempts ever came to fruition. “Beauty and the Beast,” did win the Golden Globe for Best Picture Musical or Comedy and later became the very first Disney film to be adapted for the Broadway Stage when it premiered at New York City’s Palace Theatre on April, 18th, 1994.

Up, released on May 29th, 2009, became the very first Pixar Animated Feature to be nominated for Best Picture. It lost that year to the The Hurt Locker (2009), which also won Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow, making Bigelow the first woman every to win an Oscar for Best Director. Despite this, “Up” did receive the Oscars for Best Original Score, which was written by Michael Giacchino and Best Animated Feature for it’s co-screenwriter/co-director, Pete Docter. Docter later won the Best Animated Feature Oscars for writing/directing Inside Out (2015) and Soul (2020), and was also nominated for Monsters, Inc. (2001). Giacchino previously received a Best Original Score Nomination for Ratatouille (2007).

Toy Story 3, released on June 18th, 2010, is the fourth Disney film to be nominated for Best Picture, but once again it was not to be. It lost Best Picture to The King’s Speech (2010). Just like “Up” though, it won the Best Animated Feature Oscar as well as Best Original Song “We Belong Together,” written by Randy Newman. Toy Story 4 (2019), released nine years later, also received the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Fun Fact: All four “Toy Story” films have featured music by Randy Newman, who wrote songs that have been nominated for Best Original Song: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story (1995), “When She Loved Me,” from Toy Story 2 (1999), “We Belong Together,” from “3” and “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” from “4.” 

While it is unfortunate that Disney has never won a Best Picture Oscar, I’m sure we can all agree that these four films won awards in other well-deserved categories. Whether or not there will be a Best Picture Win for Disney remains to be seen. 

 

Review: "Mufasa: The Lion King"

On June 15th, 1994, Walt Disney Productions released “The Lion King.” The film was a critical and commercial success, winning two Oscars: Best Original Score and Best Original Song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight.” It grossed 1 billion dollars at the box office, more than any of the previous animated films Disney released throughout the 90’s: The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992). Since then, Disney has expanded the “King-averse,” creating two direct-to-video sequels: The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004), two original themed-television series: Timon & Pumbaa (1995-1999) and The Lion Guard (2015-2019), and a motion-capture/CGI remake of the original in 2019. The Broadway musical adaptation of “Lion King,” opened in 1997, winning six Tonys, including Best Musical, and is still playing today, totaling 10,653 performances. In honor of the original film’s 30th release, Disney released a prequel film: Mufasa: The Lion King, on December 20th, 2024. Here’s my review:

As a cub, Mufasa was separated from his parents when he accidentally got swept away in a lake near his homeland of Pride Rock. He is rescued by another cub named Taka, and is adopted by Taka’s parents, who are in a tribe of Lions outside of Pride Rock. Becoming adoptive brothers/best friends, Mufasa and Taka mature into adulthood, and one day their tribe becomes threatened by yet another tribe of Lions. While both brothers wish to protect their own tribe, their parents advise them to leave and seek their own futures—learn to protect themselves in the process.

James Earl Jones, who originated the role of Mufasa and reprised it in the 2019 remake, passed away on September 9th, 2024. This film is a love letter to him, as it opens with a recording of him saying one of his lines from the original film. The voice-over role of Mufasa is one of top three most iconic roles of Jones’s career, the other two being the voice of “Darth Vader” in Star Wars (1977-present) and of Mr. Mertle in The Sandlot (1993). (Jones’s last film appearance was reprising the role of King Jaffe Joffer in Coming 2 America (2021), the sequel to Coming to America (1988)). While Jones’s voice can never truthfully be replaced, the beauty and the endearment of the character of Mufasa lives on through the voice-over performance of the incredible Aaron Pierre.

In addition to being a touching tribute to Jones, the film also deepens our appreciation for the character of Mufasa because his journey leads him to discover the value of selflessness on the way to becoming a good leader, or in his case, a king. He learns that when you are unrelentingly kind and always value the well-being of others above your own, you are guaranteed to be loved. 

In addition to Pierre, the film also features the voices of John Kani as Rafiki, Beyonce Knowles-Carter as Nala, Donald Glover as Simba, Billy Eichner as Timon, and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, all of whom voiced their same respective characters in the 2019 remake. Additional voices include Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, Mads Mikkelsen as a new villain, Kiros, and Anika Noni Rose and Keith David as Mufasa’s parents, Afia and Masego. (Both Rose and David previously voiced Tiana and Dr. Facilier in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (2009)). This new file is directed by Barry Jenkins, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Moonlight (2019), and features a script by Jeff Nathanson who wrote the script for the “Lion King” remake, as well as Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) and this year’s Young Woman and the Sea. (Nathanson also wrote Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) as well as Rush Hour 2 and 3 (2001, 2007)). The film also includes new original songs by Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021) composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“Mufasa: The Lion King,” continues the trend from Disney of character development/origin stories, a trend they started with Maleficent (2014), and continued with the sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), and Cruella (2021), though “Mufasa” is different in the sense that it’s a hero origin story whereas the other three were villain origins. If you weren’t fans of the other three, you will be able to rest at ease when you go to see “Mufasa” because it something for everyone to enjoy: breathtaking scenery, beautiful animation, decent storytelling, tip-top voice cast, and of course, feel-good music. 

   

Jim Varney: Even Another Unsung Disney Legend

When Pixar first began assembling the voice cast for Toy Story (1995) in the early 1990s, they cast Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear. After the leads were cast, the studio knew they needed other actors who had exceptional comedy skills to voice all of the supporting characters. Cleverly, they cast John Ratzenberger as Hamm, the late-great Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, and Wallace Shawn as Rex. Let’s not forget they cast another late-great, Jim Varney as Slinky Dog. His story is short, but fascinating:

Jim Varney was born in Lexington Kentucky on June 15th, 1949. As a young boy, he began imitating cartoon voices. When his mother discovered his talent, she enrolled him in children’s theatre. While attending Lafayette High School, he entered drama competitions where he won state titles. This indicated that he had officially found his calling. 

Jim Varney first found work as a performer when he was cast as a regular on the show Johnny Cash and Friends (1976). He also found roles on Operation Petticoat (1977-1978) and Pink Lady (1980). When neither of these shows were big hits, Varney decided to team up with friend/advertising executive John Cherry III to develop the character of Ernest P Worrell, a buffoonish, but tender-hearted character who began his career in commercials. The very first “Ernest” commercial was filmed in 1980, advertising the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who, at the time, were making an appearance near Beech Bend Park which is near Bowling Green, Kentucky. This appearance led to more commercials for Chex Cereal, Coca-Cola, and Taco John’s.

These appearances were so successful, that Varney and Cherry were later hired by the CBS Network to make the series Hey Vern, It’s Ernest (1988). “Vern” was Ernest’s unseen neighbor, who unfortunately doesn’t think particularly highly of him, and always slams his front door in his face, which was a situation originally started on all the Ernest commercials. While Ernest never managed to talk to Vern, whenever he would underscore the value of a product on his commercials, he would say the trademark catchphrase “KnowwhutImean?”

The series was canceled after just 13 episodes. Despite that misfortune, Cherry and Varney both brought Ernest to the big screen multiple times, beginning with Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam in 1985, and Ernest Goes to Camp in 1987, which would be Varney’s very first appearance for Disney, as the film was produced by Touchstone Pictures and released under Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, two subsidiary production companies owned by Disney. The next three “Ernest” films Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), Ernest Goest to Jail (1990), and Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) were all produced by Touchstone and released under Buena Vista. They were all decent money-makers, but critical flops.

Regardless, Pixar knew that Varney had a funny voice and would be a perfect fit for the character of Slinky Dog in “Toy Story,” which was a blockbuster smash hit when it was released on November 22nd, 1995. When he voiced Slinky for the first time, he recorded the catchphrase “Golly bob howdy,” which was a reference to Ernest. Prior to “Toy Story,” Varney also starred in the feature film adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) based on the ‘60s sit-com the same name, which coincidentally was one of Varney’s favorite shows a child. Varney portrayed Jed Clampett, the role originated by Buddy Ebsen in the show.

Jim Varney also made an appearance on Disney’s Hercules (1998-1999) television show and reprised the character of Slinky Dog in Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 2 in 1999. He died of lung cancer on February 10th, 2000 at the age of 50. He had made two films that were released posthumously, Miramax’s drama-comedy Daddy and Them (2001) and Disney’s animated action-adventure Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), in which he voiced the goofy, Jedediah Allardyce “Cookie” Farnsworth. Both movies were dedicated in his memory and “Atlantis,” was also released to theaters on June 15th, 2001, which would have been Varney’s 52nd birthday.

Jim Varney’s career is forever synonymous with the characters of Ernest P. Worrell and Slinky Dog in “Toy Story 1 and 2.” After his passing, Pixar cast Blake Clark as Slinky Dog, who ironically was a close friend of Varney’s. Clark gave a eulogy at his funeral in which he described Varney as “a good man and one of his best friends.” (Since then, Clark has voiced Slinky in Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story 4 (2019) and in all the short films produced in-between.) Fans of Jim Varney wish they could have had more than him.