Bill Byrge, who was best known as the star of the “Ernest” movies, has died at 92.
His cousin, Sharon Chapman, announced the news on her Facebook page on Thursday.
“My cousin, Bill Byrge, passed away in the Nashville area today at 12pm. He was a beautiful soul who made people laugh without even trying,” she wrote.
“He was the “Bobby” character in several Ernest movies with Jim Varney. I always teased him of being a ‘star’ in our family,” she continued.
“He deserved it as raised poor, but his momma taught him love, respect, and faith which he showed to everyone,” she concluded. “Heaven gained a sweet soul today. Love you, Billy. See you soon!”
Chapman didn’t state the cause of death.
Byrge is best known for starring on the 1980s children’s “Ernest” franchise, which included a show and eight spinoff movies, like “Ernest Goes to Jail, ”Ernest Goes to School” and “Ernest Saves Christmas.”
Chapman told TMZ that Byrge was discovered walking down the sidewalk, before he got cast in 1985’s “Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam.” That eventually led to the “Ernest” franchise, which starred Jim Varney as Ernest, a happy-go-lucky handyman who frequently made mistakes but had a heart of gold. He was surrounded by recurring characters such as Bobby.
Byrge was also in Varney’s Saturday morning show “Hey Vern, It’s Ernest” in the ’80s.
Born and raised in Tennessee, Byrge was a librarian at the Metro Nashville Public Library in Nashville, TN, before he focused on acting full time in the 1990s.
During a 2021 interview on The Appalachian Channel with John Ward, he showed off his collection of hundreds of books about movie stars.
Ward described Byrge as “a little man from nowhere who has lived a big life.”
After Varney died in 2000 of lung cancer at 50, Byrge returned to work at a library, his cousin told TMZ.
Chapman described him as a religious man who treated everyone with respect.
