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Chicago Tribune
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Jay North, TV's mischievous Dennis the Menace, dies at 73
LAKE BUTLER, Fla. — Jay North, who starred as the towheaded mischief maker on TV's 'Dennis the Menace' for four seasons starting in 1959, has died. He was 73. North died Sunday at his home in Lake Butler, Florida, and had colon cancer, said Laurie Jacobson, a longtime friend, and Bonnie Vent, who was his booking agent. 'He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply. He called us frequently and ended every conversation with 'I love you with all my heart,'' Jacobson wrote in a tribute on Facebook. North was 6 when he was cast as the smiling troublemaker in the CBS sitcom adaptation of Hank Ketcham's popular comic strip that took place in an idyllic American suburb. Often wearing a striped shirt and overalls, Dennis' mischievous antics frequently frustrated his retired next-door neighbor George Wilson, played by Joseph Kearns. After Kearns died, Gale Gordon played Wilson's brother. Dennis' patient parents were played by Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry. The show ran on Sunday nights until it was canceled in 1963. After that it was a fixture for decades in syndication. Later, North appeared on TV in shows including 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,' 'The Lucy Show,' 'My Three Sons,' 'Lassie' and 'The Simpsons,' and in movies like 'Maya' (1966), 'The Teacher' (1974) and 'Dickie Robert: Former Child Star' (2003). North is survived by his third wife, Cindy, and three stepdaughters.
The Independent
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Jay North, TV's original Dennis the Menace, dies aged 73
Jay North, a former child actor who starred as the towheaded mischief maker on Dennis the Menace, has died. He was 73. North died at his home in Lake Butler, Florida, on Sunday after battling colon cancer, according to his booking agent Bonnie Vent and longtime friend Laurie Jacobson. 'Our dear friend Jay North has been fighting cancer for a number of years and this morning at noon EST, Jay passed peacefully at home,' Jacobson wrote in a tribute on Facebook after speaking to his Dennis the Menace co-star Jeannie Russell. 'As many of his fans know, he had a difficult journey in Hollywood and after…but he did not let it define his life. 'He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply. He called us frequently and ended every conversation with 'I love you with all my heart.' And we loved him with all of ours. 'A life-long friend of Jon's, a brother to Jeanne and a dear friend to me, we will miss him terribly. He is out of pain now. His suffering is over. At last, he is at peace.' North was 6 when he was cast as the smiling troublemaker in the CBS sitcom adaptation of Hank Ketcham's popular comic strip that took place in an idyllic American suburb. He starred in four seasons from 1959. Often wearing a striped shirt and overalls, Dennis' mischievous antics frequently frustrated his retired next-door neighbor George Wilson, played by Joseph Kearns. Dennis' patient parents were played by Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry. The show ran on Sunday nights until it was canceled in 1963. After that, it was a fixture for decades in syndication. Later, North appeared on TV in shows including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Lucy Show, My Three Sons, Lassie and The Simpsons, and in movies like Maya (1966), The Teacher (1974) and Dickie Robert: Former Child Star (2003). North is survived by his third wife, Cindy, and three stepdaughters.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Original Dennis the Menace star Jay North dies aged 73
Jay North has died at the age of 73. The former child star shot to fame in the title role of the 1959 TV series 'Dennis the Menace' and continued to appear on screen in various roles until the late 1980s but passed away on Sunday (06.04.25) following a battle with cancer. A post shared on Facebook written on behalf of Jeannie Russell - who played Margaret in 'Dennis the Menace' - read: "Jeanne Russell just called us with terribly sad, but not unexpected news. Our dear friend JAY NORTH has been fighting cancer for a number of years and this morning at noon EST, Jay passed peacefully at home." Following his rise to fame, Jay - who is survived by his wife Cindy Hackney and his three stepdaughters - appeared on programmes such as 'My Three Sons ' and 'The Lucy Show'. He also appeared on 'Here Comes the Grump' and voiced the character of Bamm-Bamm Rubble on 'The Flintstones' for a period of time but retired from acting altogether after more dramatic roles failed to materialise. In 1990, he learned that fellow former child star Paul Petersen had taken his own life so sought therapy over the abuse he had suffered as a child in Hollywood, and joined the organisation A Minor Consideration. Three years later, the release of the 'Dennis the Menace' film prompted media interest in what became of Jay and he eventually opened up about the difficulties he had faced. The post continued: "As many of his fans know, he had a difficult journey in Hollywood and he did not let it define his life. He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply. He called us frequently and ended every conversation with "I love you with all my heart." And we loved him with all of ours. A life-long friend of Jon [Provost], a brother to Jeanne and a dear friend to me, we will miss him terribly. He is out of pain now. His suffering is over. At last he is at peace." Jay made his final credited appearance in a 1999 episode of 'The Simpsons' and moved to Florida, where he started up a new career as a correctional officer but still made appearances at various events to meet with fans. In 1999, he reflected to E! News: "I am so happy that I was able to have such a positive impact on people's lives. I'm going to write my autobiography and then I'm just going to live a contented, happy life here in Lake Butler with the people I love, and kind of just vanish into the mists of time."
CNN
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Jay North, TV's mischievous Dennis the Menace, dies at 73
Jay North, who starred as the towheaded mischief maker on TV's 'Dennis the Menace' for four seasons starting in 1959, has died. He was 73. North died Sunday at his home in Lake Butler, Florida, after battling colon cancer, said Laurie Jacobson, a longtime friend, and Bonnie Vent, who was his booking agent. 'He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply. He called us frequently and ended every conversation with 'I love you with all my heart,'' Jacobson wrote in a tribute on Facebook. North was 6 when he was cast as the smiling troublemaker in the CBS sitcom adaptation of Hank Ketcham's popular comic strip that took place in an idyllic American suburb. Often wearing a striped shirt and overalls, Dennis' mischievous antics frequently frustrated his retired next-door neighbor George Wilson, played by Joseph Kearns. Dennis' patient parents were played by Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry. The show ran on Sunday nights until it was canceled in 1963. After that it was a fixture for decades in syndication. Later, North appeared on TV in shows including 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,' 'The Lucy Show,' 'My Three Sons,' 'Lassie' and 'The Simpsons,' and in movies such as 'Maya' (1966), 'The Teacher' (1974) and 'Dickie Robert: Former Child Star' (2003). North is survived by his third wife, Cindy, and three stepdaughters.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jay North, Star of Original ‘Dennis the Menace' TV Show, Dies at 73
Jay North, who played Dennis Mitchell in the original 1959 'Dennis the Menace' TV series, died Sunday after a battle with cancer, his long-time friend Laurie Jacobson confirmed in a social media post. He was 73. 'Our dear friend JAY NORTH has been fighting cancer for a number of years and this morning at noon EST, Jay passed peacefully at home,' Jacobson wrote. 'As many of his fans know, he had a difficult journey in Hollywood and after…but he did not let it define his life. He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply. He called us frequently and ended every conversation with 'I love you with all my heart.' And we loved him with all of ours. A life-long friend of Jon's, a brother to Jeanne and a dear friend to me, we will miss him terribly. He is out of pain now. His suffering is over. At last he is at peace.' 'Dennis the Menace,' based on Hank Ketcham's comic strip of the same name, ran for 146 episodes across four seasons. The show followed North's Dennis 'the menace' Mitchell, a young troublemaker who terrorizes his aging neighbor Mr. Geroge Wilson (Joseph Kearns) through a never-ending series of mischievous deeds. Other cast members include Herbert Anderson, Gloria Henry, Billy Booth, Sylvia Field and Gale Gordon. After the series ended in 1963, North went on to appear in several one-off roles on TV shows like 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,' 'The Lucy Show,' 'My Three Sons' and 'Jericho.' He also did voice work for series like 'Arabian Knights,' 'Here Comes the Grumps,' 'The Banana Splits Adventure Hour' and 'The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.' His last starring role was in the 1974 erotic thriller 'The Teacher.' North, a Hollywood native, was born Aug. 3, 1951, and was a fan of television from a young age. He started his career acting in commercials and appearing in small roles on variety shows like 'The Eddie Fisher Show' and 'The Milton Berle Show.' By the time he was six years old, he had landed the starring role in 'Dennis the Menace.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
