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Bill Byrge | |
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| Born | July 16, 1932 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1985–2010 |
| Notable work | Bobby in the Ernest franchise |
Bill Byrge (born July 16, 1932) is an American character actor and comedian, best known for his work as Bobby in various Ernest P. Worrell projects.
Bill was born in Campbell County, Tennessee, to Martha Bunch. Being born during the Great Depression meant limited food and as a child he was diagnosed with rickets due to a lack of a well rounded diet.[ citation needed ] Byrge currently resides in Nashville; his brother, Charlie, and sister, Naomi, are now deceased. He does not drive, as living downtown everything is within walking distance, and because of his sentiments that people of Tennessee don't know how to drive.[ citation needed ]
In 1986, Byrge began appearing alongside longtime co-star Gailard Sartain in a series of "Me and My Brother Bobby" commercials, produced by the Nashville advertising company Carden and Cherry, the same company responsible for the Ernest P. Worrell commercials with Jim Varney. Basic premise was Sartain and Byrge were, "Twin brothers who didn't look anything alike", while the schtick was loud-mouth Chuck (Sartain) would endorse a certain product, and in some cases, would bungle something in the process, while his quiet and collected twin brother Bobby (Byrge) would mostly agree with whatever Chuck's sentiments were with a simple, yet enthusiastic nod.[ citation needed ]
Later in 1988, the actors would reprise their roles in their own recurring sketches on the Saturday morning children's show, Hey Vern, It's Ernest! , where, depending on the episode's specific theme, the brothers would usually get involved with whatever situation that Ernest was involving himself in, such as a bake sale or a talent show, for example. Later still, the characters were also featured in a number of the theatrical Ernest movies, in a variety of odd jobs, such as airline cargo attendants in Ernest Saves Christmas and security guards in Ernest Goes to Jail ; it is also revealed in the Ernest movies that Chuck and Bobby are Ernest's next-door neighbors. Afterwards, Sartain was absent from remaining Ernest films, but Byrge continued to portray Bobby, and was paired with somewhat similar characters, including a younger brother Tom (Dallas native John Cadenhead) in Ernest Scared Stupid , and alongside Linda Kash's character Gerta in Ernest Goes to School which was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the original commercials and Ernest TV series, Bobby never speaks, but will occasionally mouth what he is trying to say, or even hold up a sign with his thoughts written on it; in the following Ernest movies however, Bobby actually did speak, even if only a line or two.[ citation needed ]
Byrge has done little acting since the demise of the Ernest franchise; however, in later years, he did reprise his role as Bobby once again for an independent DVD movie, alongside Billy Dee (who also is the webmaster of the official Ernest/Jim Varney fansite), entitled Billy and Bobby the Whacky Duo On Vacation. In the movie, buddies Billy and Bobby go on roadtrip, but before they do, Billy needs to teach Bobby how to drive (which reflects Byrge's real-life lack of driving skills); Bobby also has a lot of dialogue in the movie as well. Byrge has also been involved in a number of music videos and theater productions in his hometown of Nashville. [1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam | Gas Station Attendant | |
| 1988 | Ernest Saves Christmas | Bobby | |
| Hey Vern, It's Ernest! | |||
| 1990 | Ernest Goes to Jail | ||
| 1991 | Ernest Scared Stupid | ||
| 1994 | Ernest Goes to School | Final Film Role |
James Albert Varney Jr. was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his comedic role as Ernest P. Worrell, for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award, as well as appearing in films and numerous television commercial advertising campaigns. He played Jed Clampett in a film adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) and also covered a song for the film titled "Hot Rod Lincoln". He voiced Slinky Dog in the first two films of the Toy Story franchise (1995–1999). He died of lung cancer on February 10, 2000, leaving two posthumous releases, Daddy and Them and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Ernest Saves Christmas is a 1988 American Christmas comedy film directed by John Cherry from a screenplay by B. Kline and Ed Turner. It stars Jim Varney, Oliver Clark, Noelle Parker and Douglas Seale. It is the third film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell and the second film in the Ernest series, after Ernest Goes to Camp (1987). The film chronicles Ernest's attempt to help find a replacement for an aging Santa Claus.
Mr. Bill is a clay figurine star of a parody of children's movies shows created by Walter Williams in 1974. The Mr. Bill showing got its start on Saturday Night Live as a series of Super 8 films sent in response to the show's request for home movies during the first season. Mr. Bill's first appearance occurred on the February 28, 1976 episode. After five submitted films, Williams became a full-time writer for the show in 1978 and wrote more than 20 sketches based on Mr. Bill.
Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character that was portrayed by American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials and then later in a television series and a series of feature films.
Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr., was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extensively in films and on television, often in Westerns but also in comedies. He is the father of actor and painter Buck Taylor.
The Volunteer Jam is a sporadically-held concert series headlined by the Charlie Daniels Band, featuring a multitude of musical acts that perform onstage with the band. It was first held on October 4, 1974, at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ernest Goes to Jail is a 1990 American comedy film directed by John Cherry and written by Charlie Cohen. It stars Jim Varney, Gailard Sartain, Barbara Bush, Charles Napier, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Bill Byrge, Barry Scott and Dan Leegant.
Ernest Goes to Camp is a 1987 American comedy film directed by John R. Cherry III that he co-wrote with Coke Sams. It stars Jim Varney, Victoria Racimo, Lyle Alzado, Iron Eyes Cody and John Vernon. It is the second film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell and the first film in the Ernest series.
Hey Vern, It's Ernest! is an American children's television program. It aired on Saturday mornings on CBS for one season in 1988. Each episode involved short sketches on a certain theme or scenario, featuring Ernest P. Worrell, his unseen friend Vern, and various others. The filming locations were in Nashville, Tennessee, and Burbank, California. It was a production of Ernest creator John Cherry's production company, The Emshell Producers' Group, in association with CBS, and was co-produced with DIC Enterprises. The series was later rerun on The Family Channel in the early 1990s.
Ernest Scared Stupid is a 1991 American comedy horror film directed by John Cherry. It stars Jim Varney and Eartha Kitt. It is the fifth film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell, and the fourth film in the Ernest series, after Ernest Goes to Jail (1990). In the film, Ernest unwittingly unleashes an evil troll upon a small town on Halloween night and helps the local children fight back.
John Robert Cherry III was an American film director and screenwriter, most notable for creating the character of Ernest P. Worrell, played by Jim Varney.
Gailard Sartain is a retired American actor who frequently played characters with roots in the South. He was a regular on the country music variety series Hee Haw. He is also known for his roles in three of the Ernest movies and the TV series Hey Vern, It's Ernest!, which ran for one season on CBS in 1988. He is also an accomplished and successful painter and illustrator.
Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam is a 1985 American science fiction comedy film starring Jim Varney. It was written and directed by John Cherry. It is the first film to feature the Ernest P. Worrell character, and has a slightly darker tone than his later films. It was shot in Fall Creek Falls State Park, Boxwell Scout Reservation, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Kenny is a 2006 Australian mockumentary film starring Shane Jacobson as Kenny Smyth, a Melbourne plumber who works for a portable toilet rental company. The film was followed by the television series Kenny's World.
Ernest Goes to School is a 1994 American comedy film directed and co-written by Coke Sams. It stars Jim Varney, Linda Kash and Bill Byrge. It is the seventh film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell, and the sixth film in the Ernest series, after Ernest Rides Again (1993). It is the only Ernest film to not be directed by John Cherry and the first to not have a wide theatrical release.
Robert Valentine Braddock is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry, including 13 number-one hit singles.
Purity Dairies, formerly known as Ezell's Dairy, is a Nashville, Tennessee, United States, based dairy company operated by the Ezell family. It provides products throughout Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky. The company is owned by and operates as a subsidiary of Dean Foods and their products includes milk, cultures, and ice cream, orange juice, lemonade, tea and water, and it is one of the last distributors of the Nutty Buddy ice cream cone. They also once had a partnership deal for home delivery through Plumgood Foods, a now defunct grocery delivery company.
Knowhutimean? Hey Vern, It's My Family Album is an anthology of comedic short subjects directed by John R. Cherry III, and released direct-to-video in 1983. It was filmed in Nashville, Tennessee. As a whole, it is the first film to feature the advertising character Ernest P. Worrell, played by Jim Varney.
Cardinal Valley is a neighborhood in northwestern Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Its boundaries are Versailles Road to the south, Norfolk Southern railroad tracks to the north, Forbes Road to the east, and Cambridge Drive/Oxford Circle to the west.
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