History Film / ErnestPWorrell

* VocalEvolution: A rather unfortunate, RealLife example, given Jim Varney's habit of heavy smoking over the years; when listening to Ernest's voice in one of his earlier commercials from TheEighties, compared to his voice in one of his later movies, you can sadly hear quite a difference.

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Ernest-o had a habit-o of adding "o"s after word-os (a la [[GratuitousSpanish Español]]) in order to sound "cultured-o" and "wordly-o", [[VerbalTic comprendo]]?

** In some commercials in which Ernest hawks sweet acidophilus milk, the combination of his accent and mannerisms of speech lead many a viewer to hear him say, "Sweet ass dophilus".

* TheAllegedCar: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6AUiIPBFOg One commercial for John L. Sullivan Chevrolet]] saw Ernest mocking the "one of these little foreign jobbies" that Vern had purchased (and was presently sitting in). Ernest laughs so hard at him he ends up having to kneel next to a tree.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Read the titles of the Ernest movies above. Any guesses as to what they're about?.

* IconicOutfit: Khaki baseball cap, blue denim vest, grey t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown work shoes. The hat and vest tend to stay on even when Ernest is showering and in the swimming pool.
* IronButtMonkey: Ernest wrote the book on this. At least once a movie he endures some ridiculous accident that would kill any living human. In ''Ernest Rides Again'' he [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges this]] by saying that he's "''This'' close to being an actual cartoon."

* LethallyStupid: Ernest is this in the movies, though nobody's died around him, he's completely oblivious to the harm he does to both himself and others, and he never admits fault, even when another character would really like him to.

* NegativeContinuity: Every movie finds Ernest in a new place, with a new job and new friends, and no one acknowledges the (remarkable) events of Ernest's past (though Ernest does mention [[Film/ErnestGoesToCamp being a camp councilor once]] in ''Ernest in the Army'').

* NeverSayDie: From the Billy Boogey Worrell segment from ''Hey, Vern! It's My Family Album'', Billy Boogey coaxes an elderly couple onto the Scrambler, but the lady resists, citing she and especially her husband have heart conditions. When we keep cutting back to the elderly couple, we see at one point the two of them are freaking out during the ride, another cut shows the lady using electric paddles to revive her husband, then finally we see both of them flopping around lifelessly in their seats.
** Ernest likes to evade the word "die," preferring instead to launch into several colorful metaphors instead. An episode of "Hey Vern It's..." is the closest he ever came, when he told a butterfly-collecting Vern that "THIS Honey-Wunny ain't gonna be Deady-Weddy for your Collection-Wection."

* OverlyLongGag: Many of the sight gags in the movies are like this, at first it was the result of doing slapstick on a Disney budget, but it followed Ernest into the direct-to-video films as well.

** Chuck disappears after ''Ernest Goes to Jail'', for seemingly no reason, while Bobby continues to be paired with other, somewhat similar, characters for at least two more movies.

** Likewise, in the original commercials and TV series, Ernest lives in a typical ranch-style home ([[RealLife Jim Varney's real home doubled for Ernest's]]), with a only a few toys and childlike items placed on shelves as set decorations; in the movies, Ernest's house seems, as pointed out by Nostalgia Critic, "On loan from Pee-wee".

* TheSilentBob: Bobby for the original commercials, and TV series, though he usually gets at least a line or two in the movies.

!Ernest films:

!Ernest TV Series:

!Tropes present:

-->'''Ernest:''' What's that for?
-->'''High Priest:''' Fertility rites.
-->'''Ernest:''' (Eye widened) Uh... oh, I already had that operation... when I was really little!
-->'''High Priest:''' Think of it as a booster shot.

''Hey Vern! I got my very own trope page!

I'mma let the tropers take it from here, knowhutimean?''

Hey Vern! I got my very own trope page!

I'mma let the tropers take it from here, knowhutimean?

Hey Vern! I got my very own trope page! I'mma let the tropers take it from here, knowhutimean?

Hey Vern! It's the Ernest P. Worrell TVTropes page! I'mma let the tropers take it from here, knowhutimean?

* {{Malaproper}}: Ernest, being the not-quite-quick-witted fellow that he is, tends to do this often. Examples include him calling himself an "entremanure" (entrepreneur), him giving titles to poems and such "infectionately" (affectionately), and -- most famously -- referring to the catalytic converter in Vern's car as a "catastrophic converter".

* AMistakeIsBorn: ''Hey, Vern! It's My Family Album!'' parodies this in a segment about Ernest's mean Uncle Lloyd Worrell, who has a dimwitted son, [[ADogNamedDog whose name actually is Mistake]], and even unsuccessfully tries to mess with Mistake's mind with psychological torment.

* GeniusDitz: Whatever Ernest's job or hobby was at the start of the movie, it becomes his greatest asset later on. Like the box turtle in ''Camp'', the taxi in ''Saves Christmas'', the floor buffer in ''Jail'', the garbage truck in ''scared stupid'', the yo-yo in ''Africa'', and the golf cart in ''Army.''

** Admittedly, the doll is [[http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Vern-Talking-Ernest-Doll/dp/B0048UCUWO not easy on the eyes]], but it did get a Music/KimyaDawson song written about it.

* FollowTheLeader: "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" was due to the success of ''Series/PeeWeesPlayhouse''

* CreepyDoll: When ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' came out, ''Disney Adventures'' interviewed Varney (he played Slinky Dog). When asked if he ever had nightmares about toys, he said: "Never...until they made the Ernest doll. It's eerie to have a doll that looks like you. I have one at my house...I keep him tied up."

[[caption-width-right:200:[[CatchPhrase Knowhutimean]]?]]

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Ernest-o had a habit-o of adding "o"s after word-os (a la [[GratuitousSpanish Español]]) in order to sound "cultured-o" and "wordly-o", [[VerbalTic comprendo?]]

* CountingToPotato: In ''Hey Vern, It's Ernest'' while preparing for a baking contest, Ernest reminds Vern of three basic principles (while holding up four fingers): "Number one - always use plenty of sauce. B - always squeeze yer tomaters. And three - don't forget to thump your melons, knowwhutImean?"

* IronButtmonkey: Ernest wrote the book on this. At least once a movie he endures some ridiculous accident that would kill any living human. In ''Ernest Rides Again'' he [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges this]] by saying that he's "''This'' close to being an actual cartoon."

* NiceHat: Ernest is always wearing that baseball cap. Yes, even in the shower. Lampshaded in ''Ernest Rides Again'' by the [[SignatureSoundEffect cork-popping noise]] it would make whenever he took it off, and it was an actual plot point in both ''Ernest Goes To Jail'' ([[spoiler:[[CriminalDoppelganger Felix Nash]] [[SomethingTheyWouldNeverSay refused to wear it]]]]) and ''Ernest Rides Again'' ([[spoiler:it's abandoned by his kidnappers while the Crown of England was stuck on his head]]). [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfOfc9c_WpY One particular Ernest commercial]] saw Ernest dabble in "fencing"[[note]]painting a fence while acting like it's fencing[[/note]], and even dons a fencing mask... that has ''another'' one of his hats on it.

* ShoutOut: To ''[[TheAndyGriffithShow Andy Griffith Show]]'' character Ernest T. Bass (similar names and wardrobes).

** ''Gaddily-bob-howdy!''

* WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs: Chuck (Gailard Sartain) and especially Bobby (Bill Byrge). But even Ernest fits this description, having been a camp maintenance man, a camp counselor, a taxi driver, a bank clerk, a garbage man, the King of England (for several seconds), a basketball player, a golf-ball collector at a country club, and five or six varieties of janitor.[[note]]He also would have been a pirate, but he passed on before that could happen.[[/note]]