Jim Varney Tops Mickey Mouse at the Indy 500 and Michael Eisner gives Ernest a Job.
In this episode of Synergy Loves Company, host Eric takes you on a nostalgic journey exploring the fascinating connections between Disney and the beloved character Ernest P. Worrell, created by Jim Varney and John Cherry. Eric uncovers the surprising Disney synergy behind Ernest's rise to fame, his multi-movie deal with Disney's Touchstone Pictures, and his presence in theme park attractions. Explore how Ernest's popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s led to Disney-themed TV specials and the character's lasting legacy, including Jim Varney's additional work with Disney, such as voicing Slinky Dog in Pixar's Toy Story. Join Eric for a walk down memory lane and discover how the unlikely connection between Ernest and Disney unfolded, all while highlighting Varney's significant contributions to the world of entertainment.
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00:04 --> 27:32 Synergy loves company. Know what I mean, Vern? We have this coterie of rich franchises, the company now that people want to engage with. I came here to try and continue what Walt Disney and his associates set in motion 50 years ago, which is to experiment with every new and innovative kind of entertainment possible. It's what they hope to do here, to really develop something that, well, just more than an entertainment enterprise, it's something that contributes in many other ways to some people. Disney gets a reputation for being a consumerist capitalistic organization. It is a company, after all. Disney's beloved characters are just trying to take our money. And I'm not going to lie, the company does get a good amount of my money. But the truth is Mickey is more of a company symbol and not a pitch man just trying to sell us products. I mean, he's trying to sell us Disney but not other people's products. Well, there was that one time in the 50s where that angular Mickey tried to sell us all a Nash Rambler, but Walt didn't like it and he shut that down. He didn't want Disney characters peddling other companies wares. Today, Disney characters have strict guidelines of how they can be used by other companies and advertisements. If a license is even approved, the characters can't use the product that they're advertising. They can't talk about the product, or they can't even think about the product. The characters are not even to be aware of the selling message of the product or the company that the advertisement is for. Mickey will not promote your product. He is not selling. But that's okay because there are plenty of other non Disney characters out there who have been willing to sell plenty of product products. And anyway, sometimes those corporate shill advertising characters can become just as beloved as our favorite Disney characters. The 1980s was full of them. It was a golden age for beloved pitch characters like the California Raisins, Max Headroom, Chester Cheetah, the seven Up Spot, the Noid. Avoid the Noid. And sometimes those characters became even more beloved than Mickey Mouse. You know what I mean, Vern? Hey, this is Synergy Loves Company where we explore how Disney connects to everything. So you can connect to Disney when you can't be at the parks. I'm Eric and I just got back from a trip to Nashville and on previous episodes, whenever I have visited somewhere, traveled to a different city, I usually like to point out the Disney connections to that place. And there are quite a few for Nashville. I could have gone on with any sort of, you know, country music, country bears, Miley Cyrus. But there was one that really caught my eye. It stopped me right in my tracks. A character who had a whirlwind fame in the 1980s and early 90s, and he started out in Nashville, Tennessee, and his fame caught the attention of the Walt Disney Company when he just for a moment, outshined Mickey Mouse. That character is Jim Varney's Ernest P. Worl. The character of Ernest goes back to Nashville, Tennessee and the advertising company Carden and Cherry. Nashville is Music City, the country music capital of the world. And centers for media like this tend to attract the full service of businesses aligned to media and promotion. So in 1972, Jerry Cardin and John Cherry decided that this would be the place to start their shared namesake advertising company. Both Cardin and Cherry had some experience in media advertising and a long history in Nashville. John Cherry, a Nashville native, had studied commercial art at Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, which he turned into a career working in advertising. Jerry Cardin began his career in television at Nashville's WSM TV station. The Nashville market wasn't New York or Los Angeles, so there wasn't as much competition from the big advertising agencies. But Nashville wasn't New York or la, so clients also tended to be more local to Tennessee and the neighboring states. But that would all change when they met a new partner for advertising, Kentucky born actor Jim Varney. As a young boy, Jim's family noticed that he was able to memorize poems in entire sections of books very quickly, and that he had a knack for imitating his favorite cartoon characters on tv. By the time he was a teenager, he took on roles in high school productions and in local community theater. The acting bug had bit and he couldn't get enough of being on stage and he was really good at it. And while he was still a teen, he got his first professional stage acting jobs, including a show at the now defunct Opryland theme park in Nashville. In his 20s, he studied Shakespeare in Virginia. And Jim Varney was shaping up to be a well rounded serious actor. He could do anything. So in the late 1970s, he started work as a TV actor. He showed up on some variety shows like Johnny Cash and Friends and sitcoms like Alice. But his big break came in the form of a television commercial. While Jim was working at Opryland theme park in Nashville, his girlfriend at the time asked him to accompany her to an audition at the Cardin and Cherry ad agency. When he showed up, they thought he had an interesting look and they asked him to read For a part of a drill sergeant character that they had been working on casting. Nashville's Carden and Cherry hired Jim Varney for the part of Sergeant Glory. Jim's Sergeant Glory character was used in a commercial to sell dairy products for Purity dairies based in Nashville. In the ad, Sergeant Glory is talking to some ladies off screen. He tells them that they have to be the best. He talks them up like a drill sergeant would. And then at the end of the commercial, we see that the ladies are actually cows who are giving their milk to Purity dairy. It's kind of like he plays it real serious and then we get the gag payoff at the end. This character was a pretty big hit, Enough so that Carden and Cherry asked Jim back to do another character, this one completely different from the drill sergeant. In 1980, when Beach Bend Amusement park in Bowling Green, Kentucky approached Cardon and Cherry to make a commercial about their new renovations for the upcoming season, the ad execs quickly realized their wasn't much they could show because the park was under construction. Instead, they switched it up and they decided to use more of a pitch man character talking directly to the camera. Ernest P. Wuerl was developed by Jim Varney and John Cherry. The P, by the way, is for power tools. The idea was that he would be a gruff but lovable know it all, sounding like he had a mouthful of marbles with words just falling out. The character of Ernest dressed in his signature denim vest and baseball hat and would talk about Beach Bend park. And Ernest talked directly to the camera in a one sided conversation with someone named Verne. The commercial was a big hit and set the standard for what an earnest commercial would be. When Purity dairy saw the local commercial for Beach Bend, they recognized their sergeant Glory and they asked Carden and Cherry if they could get a dairy commercial starring Jim Varney as Ernest. They knew that Ernest had mass appeal and he would surely get the attention of kids, the demographic the dairy company wanted to reach in the United States. Dairy companies are regional and rarely compete with each other. So Purity's local earnest commercial was syndicated to other dairy suppliers across the country. And soon enough, major national brands and international brands were calling up Cardon and Cherry for one of those sweet, sweet, earnest commercials. Earnest started out in local commercials, but he was also featured in commercials for gas companies, Coca Cola brands like Mellow yellow and Sprite, the United Way, Chex cereal and taco jobs nationwide. By 1985, Ernest was pretty much a household known character around the United States. And Ernest was asked to attend the iconic Indianapolis 500 race in Indianapolis. He would also take part in the kickoff parade event at the beginning of the Indy 500 festivities. The theme for the kickoff event that year was the Wonderful World of Disney. You heard that right. You knew it was coming. This is a Disney show. Michael Eisner arranged to have Disney be part of the Indy 500 because he knew he and Frank Wells were just brought on board to help bolster the Disney brand in the 1980s after years of struggling to capture the magic the company had under Walt Disney. To show you how much the Disney brand was flailing at this time, during the Disney themed parade, Ernest P. Worl received a warmer welcome and bigger crowd response than even the grand marshal of the Disney themed parade, Mickey Mouse Michael Eisner. He noticed he didn't even know who this Earnest character was, but he knew this character was someone to watch. And you know what they say, if you can't beat them, sign them to a movie deal. And of course, that's what Michael Eisner did. Eisner signed Jim Varney and Carden and Cherry and their character Ernest to a multi movie deal for Touchstone Pictures in 1987. The first of these movies would be realized as Ernest Goes to Camp. Ernest Goes to Camp is a family comedy starring Jim Varney as Ernest as a bumbling but well meaning handyman at Camp Kikakee who dreams of becoming a camp counselor. When he's finally given the chance to mentor a group of troubled juvenile delinquents, he struggles at first, but eventually wins them over with his Goofy charm. However, when a greedy mining company threatens to take over the camp, Ernest and the kids must band together to save it. The film is packed with slapstick humor, heartwarming moments, and Ernest's signature catchphrases. The movie was filmed in Nashville and all around Tennessee, with most of the camp scenes filmed at Montgomery State park in Burns, Tennessee, just outside the Nashville area. It was made for just under $4 million and brought in six times that in box office revenue. Ernest was a hit, a big hit on the big screen. And what's weird is after this big hit movie, Earnest had a TV show on CBS called Hey Vern. It's Earnest and it wasn't affiliated with Disney. You would have thought that Disney would have snapped up the TV rights as well as the movie rights, but they didn't. They let Card and Cherry do their own thing with cbs. Hey Vern, It's Earnest was made by John Cherry's production company, M. Shell, in collaboration with Deke A Company that was known for its Saturday morning cartoons. Another strange thing is that Disney would one day own Deke, the company that made hey Vern, its Ernest, but not when it was producing the show. That seems like a great future episode of Synergy Loves Company. Are you subscribed? I'll give you a moment to click subscribe. So if you get an episode like that in the future, you won't miss it. But let's get back to the Ernest movies the following year in 1988. That same year that Ernest launched his TV show, he also showed up in his most successful movie ever for Disney's Touchstone Ernest Saves Christmas. And if you couldn't tell, it's a holiday comedy featuring Ernest. This time, Ernest finds himself helping none other than Santa Claus, who has arrived in Florida to pass on his role to a new unsuspecting successor. When Santa's plans go awry, Ernest teams up with a rebellious teenage runaway to save Christmas and ensure the world doesn't wake up to a holiday without Santa. It's full of wacky antics, heartfelt moments and and Ernest's signature goofy charm. The film is a fun and festive adventure. Now again, this movie filmed a little in Nashville, but it also filmed so, so much all around Orlando, Florida, including places like the Orlando train station, the Orlando Science center. And because they were in Florida, you know, they had to film some of it at Disney's MGM studios that was slated to open as a theme park the next year. Disney wasn't going to let them make a movie in Orlando and not film at MGM studios. So at this point, we're halfway through the Disney Touchstone Ernest films and I think it's time to get into some of the real synergy with Disney and Ernest. In 1989, Disneyland was opening its brand new Splash Mountain attraction in Critter country just outside of New Orleans Square. And to synergize the launch of the attraction, Michael Eisner of course needed a wonderful World of Disney special all about Splash mountain. And in 1989, Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain premiered on TV. In the special, Ernest gets selected to be the first ever splastronaut, or the first person to ride Splash Mountain. The whole premise of this special is a mockumentary that follows his preparation and training for Ernest's historic run on Splash Mountain. Ernest didn't single handedly secure the popularity of Splash Mountain, but Disney must have thought that he had been a great TV special guest because he got invited to come back and make an appearance on Disneyland's 35th anniversary TV special in 1990. In this one though, he has a shorter role, but it was a star studded event featuring muppets, Star Wars, C3PO, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. And don't forget the top build star, Tony Danza. But that was all at Disneyland. Let's go back over to the Orlando parks. Because Ernest around this time was being incorporated into attractions. Not just on TV either. Ernest made a cameo in Cranium Command's pre show. The bit goes like this. When Buzzy is getting prepared to command his own cranium, he's shown a picture of Albert Einstein as an example of a successfully run brain. And then the failure example is Ernest. In the late 80s and early 90s, Ernest was in the pop culture zeitgeist to the point where he could be used right alongside Albert Einstein to get an audience response. Everyone knew who he was. In 1990, the same year Disneyland was celebrating its 35th anniversary, the third Disney Touchstone Ernest film dropped with Ernest Goes to Jail. Once again, it's a slapstick comedy with Ernest taking on the role of a bumbling janitor who's working at a bank and unexpectedly gets summoned for jury duty through a case of mistaken identity. He ends up switching places with a hardened criminal who looks just like him. While the real criminal takes over Ernest's life on the outside, Ernest finds himself stuck in prison, struggling to escape and prove his innocence. With his usual mix of goofy antics and over the top physical comedy and endearing charm, Ernest must outwit the bad guys and clear his name. Ernest Goes to Jail, left the Florida locale and headed back to the original Tennessee setting. And it filmed all around Nashville, home turf for Ernest and Carden and Cherry. All right, for a while in this episode now I have been referring to Ernest, Ernest, Ernest, but not Jim Varney. That's kind of what happened to Jim. People knew him as Earnest and only Earnest. The character got so big that people started to recognize Jim as Ernest and expected him to always be in character. And like that was his real life, that he was actually Earnest. And that could take a toll on an actor. His performance in Ernest Goes to Jail was actually one of his first opportunities in a while to show his acting range. Because he play both Ernest and the polar opposite doppelganger villain character in the film, John Cherry. And Jim Varney would only get to do one more Ernest film with Disney Touchstone Ernest Scared stupid, released in 1991. This time Ernest accidentally unleashes an ancient evil troll in his small town Just before Halloween, the troll, which turns children into wooden dolls, begins wreaking havoc and it's up to Ernest, along with a group of kids and an eccentric old woman played by Eartha Kitt, to stop the creature before it's too late. Once again, it's packed with goofy humor, but this time it's got spooky but family friendly frights and earnest trademark antics. The film is kind of a cult favorite for fans of fun Halloween movies. Ernest Scared Stupid Once again returned to film, mostly around Nashville After Ernest Scared Stupid, Jim Varney was ready to take on some non earnest roles and Disney had had enough of the character deciding not to renew the contract for more movies. At the beginning with Ernest Goes to Camp, the budget was low compared to the box office returns being so great. But as the movies continued on, their budgets crept up and after Ernest Saved Christmas, the box office numbers started to decline. Even though Jim went on to do other roles like Jed Clampett and Beverly Hillbillies for 20th Century Fox and even some more serious roles, he wasn't completely done with Ernest. John Cherry's M. Shell Productions continued to independently make Ernest films with Jim Varney going into the future, but these would be more direct to video releases, titles like Ernest Rides Again, Ernest Goes to Africa, and Slam Dunk Ernest. What I find interesting about this is even though Jim Varney had become so intertwined with the earnest character, he didn't totally write it off when he went for other roles. Many other actors would have, and actually have in the past totally distance themselves from a character like this if they wanted to be known for something more than just one character. A single note. Jim Varney understood the important place that the character had played in his career, and he continued to play Ernest for the rest of his life. In looking for those other roles, Jim did work with Disney again. In 1995, he voiced Slinky Dog in Disney Pixar's Toy Story. I do love me some Ernest, but I really think that Slinky Dog is probably my favorite Jim Varney character. He also reprised the role of Slinky Dog in Toy Story 2. In addition to Slinky Dog, he voiced another character in the Hercules TV series that spun off from the theatrical film in 1998, and probably the most Disney project on his filmography list is Atlantis the Lost Empire. Jim Varney gave his voice to the character of Jebediah Cookie Farnsworth on Milo's quest to find Atlantis aboard the Ulysses submarine. Cookie is, well, the cook on board and he's part of the crew and along for that journey and adventure. Atlantis wrapped up Voice production in 2000 for a 2001 release date. Unfortunately, after recording his voice for the project, but before he would get a chance to see Atlantis premiere in theaters, Jim Varney passed away due to his ongoing battle with lung cancer. The Lost Empire would be Jim Varney's last Disney project and his very last theatrical release. The movie even featured a dedication to Jim at the end. And for me, I'll always remember watching Ernest movies in the early 90s with my best friend Mike. We were the perfect age for these movies to just hit the right way. So when I connected Ernest to Disney while I was prepping for my trip to Nashville, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to find Ernest and Jim Varney's connections to Disney. And if you want to stream some Earnest on Disney, I got some news for you. The only one streaming right now is Earnest Saves Christmas. And it seems that they only like to put one Earnest on at a time, and usually just the holiday ones. Early on, they only had Ernest scared stupid. That was. It was around Halloween time, I guess. That's great. And now they only got Ernest Saves Christmas. They probably put it up right before Christmas. Come on, Disney, you got to give us some more earnest. Thanks for joining me for this look into Ernest, Jim Varney and Disney. Now, you listened to this podcast, didn't you? You made it here to the end. So you're my kind of person. So I wanted to invite you to something new and exciting with Synergy Loves Company. You might know I also do a video version of this show on YouTube. It's. It's basically the same show, except it has visuals that go along with the audio. My YouTube channel has been growing and I'm about to hit 1 subscribers. I might even be there by the time that you hear this. Once I hit that milestone to celebrate, I am going to host a live stream. It'll have a different format, but there will be still tons of Disney connections and it'll give you the chance to interact with me in real time. 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And it would be great if you brought a friend of yours, a family member, a co worker who loves Disney just as much as we do. Think about how much they would love this show. Wouldn't they love it? Come on. Tell that Disney fan person about the show the next time you see them. Or post what you love about the show and send that friend a link on social media. Definitely tag me in it so I can say hi. Or tell them to visit synergylovescompany.com now. A word from our sponsors. Synergy Love's company doesn't have commercials. We're sponsored by viewers like you. Check out the link in the show notes if you want to give back to the show, you can support the show with any amount on Ko Fi. It's a great way to show that you appreciate the work I do to put this show out. If you give to the show, it helps me keep innovating and evolving the show to make a better program for you. Add those things like the live stream and more video content. No matter how you decide to support the show. I really appreciate you and the time that you spent with me today. Thanks again for joining me on this adventure. And remember, Disney magic isn't just in the parks. It's all around us. So go out into the world and keep discovering the magic in everything.