Byrge played a supporting role in the schlocky yet beloved comedy franchise, which emerged out of an ad campaign centered around Jim Varney’s now-iconic character, Ernest P. Worrell. In a Facebook post announcing her cousin’s death,

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.

Worrell series of commercials, in which actor Jim Varney's Ernest character similarly endorsed a variety of products in advertisements. Eventually, in 1988, the two began starring together in the Saturday morning children's show Hey Vern,