Actor and comedian Jim Varney in February 1984. Varney made “KnowhutImean?” part of our pop culture chatter as fast-talking bumpkin Ernest P. Worrell. Before those days, the Lexington native was a regular on Bluegrass stages, including Studio Players and Pioneer Playhouse. With his ‘Hey Vern’ character Ernest P. Worrell, he was featured in an extensive series of regional ads in the 1980s that eventually made Ernest a national presence and provided financial stability for Varney after years of getting by in standup comedy, stage roles and TV character acting. A heavy smoker, Varney died of lung cancer at age 50 on Feb. 10, 2000. By then, he had parlayed his homegrown persona into success on the big screen with Ernest Goes to Jail, and Ernest Scared Stupid, and into roles including Jed Clampett in the big-screen version of The Beverly Hillbillies and as the voice of the slinky dog in Toy Story. Photo by Frank Anderson | Staff