Bill Byrge, a mainstay of the Ernest movies who played the lovably quirky and virtually mute character of Bobby, has died. He was 86.
As Bobby, Bill Byrge was most memorable alongside Gailard Sartain’s Chuck, who put himself in the position of leader of the duo even though both were hilariously inept. Byrge really got his start with Sartain in ads, working for the Nashville-based company who was also producing the Ernest P. Worrell series of commercials.
With that, Bill Byrge got his first onscreen credit in Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam. But it would be Ernest Saves Christmas that he and Sartain broke out as the oddball brothers Bobby and Chuck, who have the duty of interpreting packages that contain helper elves (or is it elmes?). Outside of the short-lived series Hey Vern, It’s Ernest!, their other most notable pairing together was in Ernest Goes to Jail playing security guards. Byrge and Sartain would go separate ways for Halloween favorite Ernest Scared Stupid, with Byrge teaming up instead with John Cadenhead. He would appear in one more Ernest movie, Ernest Goes to School, in 1994.
The news of Bill Byrge’s passing was shared by his cousin online, posting in part, “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. He was the ‘Bobby’ character in several Ernest movies with Jim Varney. I always teased him of being a ‘star’ in our family. He deserved it as raised poor, but his momma taught him love, respect, and faith which he showed to everyone.”
Bill Byrge was far from being a household name, but if you grew up watching Jim Varney’s Ernest movies like I did, his work added so much to the affable charm of the series. Byrge was well into retirement at the time of his death — his last credit was 2010’s Billy & Bobby the Whacky Duo on Vacation! — but his supporting roles in those movies will always be reserved, especially come the holiday season, as his strange outing in Ernest Saves Christmas is one of that movie’s greatest assets.
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