Chuck Dauphin and Chris Gadd

In 1987, anyone in the country who wasn’t already familiar with “KnowhutImean?” certainly knew “Ernest P. Worrell” and his catch phrase by the summer of that year.

“Ernest Goes To Camp” was a hit when the movie starring Jim Varney, who had previously appeared as Ernest on TV commercials, was released 30 years ago. Many people nationwide in their 30s and 40s can recall fondly that first Ernest movie, with seven more being made into the mid-1990s.

Dickson County is the site of a 30th anniversary event, Ernest Day, on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. with the movie shown on a large screen about 8:30 p.m., said event organizer — and “Ernest Goes To Camp” superfan — Ranger Geoffrey Ransford.

Dickson County folks knew about the movie earlier than the rest of the country. The film about camp handyman Ernest working with a group of juvenile delinquents to save the camp, was largely filmed in 1986 at Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson County. Some locals appeared as extras including local Boy Scouts.

Jody Barrett, of Dickson, was among those local Boy Scouts who spent a few weeks at the park for various scenes. Barrett said some days all the Boy Scout “extras” would be needed for a scene, other times only a handful.

He points to a couple examples of scenes filled with Dickson County kids: When the bus arrives at camp and the campers are unloaded, and a shot when campers are swimming in the park.

“Those are all Dickson County Boy Scouts,” said Barrett, now a Dickson attorney.

When asked, Barrett said “it’s pretty easy to see me in a couple of spots.”

“When that Coke machine falls (on Ernest), I am the first kid to the right of the machine,” Barrett said.

Though many Dickson County people who helped out on the movie are likely to show up for Ernest Day, actress Victoria Racimo, who played “Nurse St. Cloud,” is traveling to be at the event Saturday, Ransford said.

‘Mr. Tipton’

Another actor in the movie, Larry Black, known today for his role on the RFD-TV series “Larry’s Country Diner” and “Country’s Family Reunion,” said it was the beginning of a whole new career.

“It was the first movie I ever did. I was doing mornings at WSM-AM. Betty Clark asked me to come audition for this movie,” Black said. “So, I went over and auditioned.

“As I recall, I had shorts and tennis shoes on. I didn’t even know how to audition,” Black said. “So, I read (part of the script). I didn’t act. I read it.”

Much to Black’s surprise, he got the part – though he notes that his thespian talents weren’t the chief reason he won the role of Mr. Tipton, the counselor at the fictitious Camp Kikakee.

“There was somebody that they wanted to bring in from LA to do another part, and if they could save money by getting ‘Mr. Tipton’ locally, they could afford to bring in the guy from LA. It was economics to begin with, but I also happened to look like the plumber next door who happened to like kids,” he said.

The movie was a learning experience for Black, who has gone on to act in 42 films, as well as three episodes of the “In The Heat Of The Night” series.

“I had not met Jim (Varney) prior to that, and he was just a funny guy with a great sense of humor,” Black said. “He would just sit around and talk with everybody. The kids were primarily the local Boy Scouts, with a couple of Hollywood types, but that was it.”

When asked about his favorite memories of filming, Black said the golf cart that was used prominently in the film provided some behind-the-scenes mayhem.

“The cart would run through scenes with nobody driving it,” Black recalled with wonder. “We were down at the bottom of the hill at Montgomery Bell, and there was Iron Eyes Cody, the Indian, in the film. He was standing out in the open, and I was standing with him, Ernest was climbing on top of a big pole.”

The cart was supposed to go by with none of them seeing it.

“Sure enough, they start rolling tape, and over the hill, way off in the distance, you hear people say ‘look out,’ and here comes the golf cart over the ridge,” Black said. “Nobody was in control of it. The guy who was trying to was trying to get into range so he could turn it.”

Black said the cart headed directly for them, but suddenly takes a hard right, jumps a ditch and the road and stops at “the bottom of the cliff.”

“There’s a line I said in the film that every time something happens, my character says ‘Well, at least nobody got hurt.’ That guy said that into the walkie-talkie, and cracked everybody up,” Black said.

The filming of Ernest took six weeks to complete, and Black recalls it was nothing but fun.

“In a situation like that, there’s almost no such things as kids and adults. Everyone is just trying to do your lines, and do your thing,” Black said. “In this case, there were no egos. You wanted the kids to be successful, and you wanted to be successful. They were having fun.”

Varney and Lyle Alzado

Former football star and 80s bad boy Lyle Alzado was the bullying foreman in the movie, “Brock Stinson” who bloodies Ernest’s face during a fight scene.

Barrett said locals knew that some actors were staying at Dickson hotels during the shoot. Barrett lived in Ravenwood subdivision, near the interstate along Highway 46.

“Of course, back then it was not a big deal to ride your bicycle down to the store or one of the hotels down there...to swim in the pool or something like that,” said Barrett, laughing.

“I remember going down to the old Holiday Inn and hanging out with Lyle Alzado at the swimming pool. He was there for however his shoot was...for at least a couple weeks. Just hanging out in Dickson, Tenn. at a Holiday Inn.”

Barrett also recalls hanging out with the man himself, Jim Varney.

“There were maybe six or 10 of us. (The actors) were having a break,” Barrett said.

Varney had a sling, using it shoot rocks. He let the Dickson boys all have a try shooting the rocks.

“He had a his (Ernest) costume on,” said Barrett about the pop culture iconic jean vest and tan ballcap. “But he was a normal guy.”

“He was a cool dude,” Barrett added. “Real nice guy.”

Varney died Feb. 10, 2000 from lung cancer. He was 50 years old.

Ernest Day activities will include an Ernest look-a-like contest, “turtle catapult,” hikes, crafts, archery, face painting, and more.

For more information, call 615-797-9052.