James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P. Worrell, who was used in numerous television commercial campaigns and movies in the following years, giving Varney fame worldwide and playing Jed Clampett in the 1993 movie version of The Beverly Hillbillies. Varney was born James Albert Varney, Jr., the fourth child and only son of Louise and James Albert Varney, Sr. , on June 15, 1949 in Lexington, Kentucky, where he grew up. As a child, Varney displayed the ability to memorize long... poems and significant portions of material from books, which he used to entertain family and friends. When Varney was a boy, his mother would put the black and white TV on cartoons for him to watch. His mother discovered that Varney quickly began to imitate the cartoon characters, so she started him in children’s theater when he was 8 years old.
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