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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...

Bill Byrge, who showed up as the quiet but feisty Bobby on a kids TV show and in four of the goofy Ernest comedies that starred Jim Varney, has died. He was 86.

Byrge died Thursday in the Nashville area, according to a Facebook post from his friend John Ward, host of the web series The Appalachian Channel.

The rubber-faced Varney made his debut as Ernest P. Worrell, a dim-witted Southerner with an unseen neighbor named Vern, in local commercials for a Nashville advertising agency starting in 1980.

Byrge appeared as a gas station attendant when Varney portrayed Ernest and other characters in the horror spoof Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam (1985), and on the 1988 Saturday morning CBS kids show Hey, Vern, It’s Ernest!, he was Bobby alongside Gailard Sartain as Chuck in a brother shtick.

Byrge returned with Sartain as airport workers in Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) and as...

The same year he was cast to play the iconic character Kramer on the sitcom Seinfeld, Michael Richards could also be seen on the big screen in the comedy Uhf – which was a financial disappointment at the time of its release in the summer of 1989, but has gone on to gather a huge cult following over the years. Musician “Weird Al” Yankovic plays the lead role of George Newman, who is put in charge of the Uhf television channel Channel 62, with Richards in the supporting role of janitor-turned-host Stanley Spadowski… and for a while, it looked like Richards would be playing Stanley while dealing with a case of Bell’s palsy.

As Richards writes in his memoir Entrances and Exits, “Before the Seinfeld pilot, I star in three pilots: Herndon (1983), Help (1984), and Slickers (1985). All three are offered to me. The second pilot, Help, is retooled and called Marblehead Manor, and...

Rank the week of August 23rd’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time: New Releases Blitz

(Blu-ray & DVD | Nr | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #9439

Win Percentage: 51%

Times Ranked: 215

Top-20 Rankings: 5

Directed By: Elliott Lester

Starring: Jason Statham • Paddy Considine • Aidan Gillen • Zawe Ashton • David Morrissey

Genres: Crime • Crime Thriller • Police Detective Film • Thriller

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The Beaver

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #5199

Win Percentage: 52%

Times Ranked: 858

Top-20 Rankings: 6

Directed By: Jodie Foster

Starring: Mel Gibson • Jodie Foster • Anton Yelchin • Jennifer Lawrence • Zachary Booth

Genres: Comedy Drama • Drama • Psychological Drama

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Win Win

(Blu-ray & DVD | Nr | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #2107

Win Percentage: 61%

Times Ranked: 2455

Top-20 Rankings: 6

Directed By: Thomas McCarthy

Starring: Paul Giamatti • Amy Ryan • Bobby Cannavale • Jeffrey Tambor • Burt Young

Genres: Comedy Drama • Drama • Sports Comedy • Sports Drama

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The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #5643

Win Percentage: 49%

Times Ranked: 725

Top-20 Rankings:...