I am forever indebted to the late Joe Liles for so much that he shared with me about Jim as I researched the book. This commercial and some of the early Sgt. Glory commercials are just some of the priceless items he shared with me. From the picture that became the cover of my book, and so much history about Jim that only he knew, Joe was truly invaluable. I'm sorry I was not able to meet him in person before he passed in 2016. | The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney

Jim Varney - Sgt. Glory Commercial for Purity Orange Juice (Early 1970s) | The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney

Before Jim Varney became widely known for the Ernest movies, such as 𝘌𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 and 𝘌𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘪𝘭, the Ernest P. Worrell character had already gained national popularity through a series of extremely successful commercials. This unprecedented phenomenon began years before the idea of making Ernest movies was even on the table. Forty years ago today, and a full three years before the first Ernest movie premiered, Jim Varney and Ernest Director