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.
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