Absolutely. I’m an 89 baby and he made my childhood more than Disney did.

This statement is %💯 facts

That was cool

@@r3b3lvegan89 He even probably helped Disney with that if you enjoyed Toy Story. Also, why aren't you at your post?

My dad loved that guy. I never got it. I'm starting to now

Not a native of Posh England?

Until he broke into the Ernest character, I didn't realise it was him He would have done well in the original 80's series Brideshead Revisited

Had me thinking he would have been a good Sherlock Holmes.

Well, he was a Shakespearean trained actor

He would have been greate guest starring in an episode of Frasier playing this kind of character

To think, closest we got was "Pink Lady...and Jeff." Woof.

I can see John Belushi Chase and Varney being surprised at their chemistry if they ever got the chance. Agreed

I'm glad he wasn't. They suck

That would have been a serious demotion. SNL hasn't been funny for over 20 years.

He was too good for SNL. Glad he never joined that crappy show

It takes a great actor to play someone dimwitted, daft, dopey, or just clever on their own terms, no doubt about it.

80's kids remember him. I know I do.

The Ernest character was a real life cartoon. Jim's character was absolutely iconic, a masterclass in comedic acting, up there with some of the best work of Laurel and Hardy, Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. He was criminally underrated in his time and should've been a much bigger actor. He was a better actor than Jim Carrey, who while wildly talented, was too out of control of his characters sometimes. Jim brought subtlety and grace to Ernest behind the buffoonery that has made his characters stand up over time. It's such a tragedy that he didn't live longer and have a fuller career. Truly one of the all-time greats.

He was a brilliant Ernest. *Brilliant!*

The concept of Ernest gets better when you realize the character was originally developed for a small local commercial in Tennessee. As more people saw the ad, tapes began to circulate to the point where more business’s in other counties, then other states and eventually national advertisers wanted the character. Then of course a long line of movies, tv show, and stardom came his way. Ernest was a viral hit before the internet was available to the public. That’s how good he really was. Ernest was a literal grass roots movement from a guy who never let it go to his head. Toy Story would have finally broke him out past the Ernest character but we know that story… Yeah, he was that good.

That's hilarious. Thanks for giving some context. RIP Jim Varney.

Chevy Chase show was the WORST talk show.

Wow only 50

@@magicmaker15 cancer sucks

Dustin, as a listener of The Importance of Seeing Ernest, you are intensely welcome (You have a second show? Where have I been???) Had I not recorded it back in the day, I'm sure I wouldn't have remembered it either. Strange how the mind fails us on important things like this, knowhutimean? I'm happy to provide you with this "Classic Varney", should you need it. Thank you (and Derek and Jason) for all your work!

SuedeKnight The second show hasn’t started yet, but we are recording the first two episodes this week. Digging into all the unused scripts and treatments for Ernest movies and letting all the fans hear about what Jim could’ve been up to on the screen. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.

@@dustinwikoff2846 Awesome - I look forward to hearing it!

There are two Ernest podcasts!? Well, you have two new downloads.

I mean, he's still alive. He still can. Christopher Nolan has cast him in a couple roles.

@@tinotsutchie Jim Varney has been dead for over 20 years

You've probably found it if you started looking already, but the "Chekov Does Chekov" sketch is pretty brilliant as well. Some day, I'll round up the episodes of Viva Variety I have scattered around my shelves and post 'em here.

In case you're still looking, somebody out there has apparently put several episodes of Viva Variety up. archive.org/details/viva-variety-s-01e-01

the show ran on comedy central not sure about other stations, was funny but i think people slept on it

He does that so well, which is impressive enough to me, but then to switch gears into Ernest and back again...so amazing! Takes true talent to pull that off so well.

He came from the Appalachians, which has the closest accent to Elizabethan England. That helped him, but he went far beyond!

@@5roundsrapid263 While you aren’t wrong, that wouldn’t really help him with this accent, as between Elizabethan English and Oscar Wilde was the Great Vowel Shift and the introduction of Received Pronunciation, so English would’ve sounded very different over the course of those centuries.

He did plays while he was High School so he learned to pick it up while doing Shakespeare plays.

@@Sabersquirl The dialect is the closest to British English, though.

Wild the things you can find on the internet these days!

I honestly thought this was a deleted State sketch.

He was indeed!

It was all those cigarettes.

Glad you found it here! I'm kind of surprised at how Viva Variety has largely been forgotten over the years, this piece in particular.

I could not agree more!

There were a great many accents he could do, several of which I'm not sure we ever heard in a movie or TV show.

Very welcome! This seemed to sneak under a lot of our radars I guess. I would've forgotten about it if I hadn't taped it.

I have watched this clip a lot, and I still haven't gotten tired of it. My understanding is we have Robert Ben Garant to thank for writing it.

that would have been really Wilde

I think dear Oscar would have approved. The central tone of the play is its batshit craziness. The importance of being Ernest got a cheap/expensive laugh outta me.

Immensely.

I know, right!?

Once I found my copy, I had to share it with the world!

@@SuedeKnight You are saint for that!

@@SuedeKnight thanks , so much good young memories of imagination

Quite welcome!

Thomas Lennon.

Also has Kerri Kenney from Reno. She’s the tall lady in red. She’s the short hair awkward officer in Reno.

You are most welcome! Thank you for everything you've done. I loved your book!

You are quite welcome!

It truly is!

More like The State.

I thought that was Thomas Lennon.. i was like he looks so familiar. I'm glad I'm not the only one to see that.

Ain't it though!

Now you know! :D

Absolutely.

Can definitely see that.

This isn't every one, and there's a few repeats, buuuut...somebody out there has apparently put several episodes up. archive.org/details/viva-variety-s-01e-01

@@SuedeKnight Yup, I've downloaded those. Sadly, about half of them are duplicates. But one of them DOES have the Robert De Niro song, which I have searched for for years.

@@Trilaan I know I have several Season 1 and 2 episodes on tape. Not sure if they're ones that aren't available in that playlist, but one of these days, I'll get around to finding out.

@@SuedeKnight If I can just get the bit where they perform Oedipus Rex in trucker/CB radio lingo my life will be complete.

@@Trilaan Ohhhh I'm sure I have that one .. I'll see if I can dig that up soon.