Jay North, TV's original Dennis the Menace, dies at 73
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Dennis Romero
Jay North, known for defining the image of a postwar American child as a trouble magnet on television's "Dennis the Menace," died Sunday. He was 73.
Laurie Jacobson, a longtime friend and fellow actor on the original television show, announced his death on Facebook, saying North died peacefully at home Sunday morning after a yearslong battle with cancer.
Friend and representative Bonnie Vent confirmed his death in an email. Authorities where North lived in Union County, Florida, including the local medical examiner, did not respond to requests for information Sunday.
North started playing the main character on "Dennis the Menace" at age 6 in 1959. The show's title character, often clad in overalls, clashed with a neighbor and kept his patient parents busy managing fallout from his shenanigans.
Jacobson said North eventually got over Hollywood.
"As many of his fans know, he had a difficult journey in Hollywood and after," Jacobson said on Facebook. "But he did not let it define his life."
North in 2013.Bobby Bank / WireImage file
Butch Patrick, who played child werewolf Eddie Munster on the mid-1960s show "The Munsters," said child actors from the era have formed a tight community.
North found happiness in Florida, he said on Facebook.
"The business was tough on Jay," Patrick said. "He seemed happy in Florida and I'm glad he's at peace. I can't imagine the workload that being Dennis put on him. It definitely wasn't a good time. I had a great run but lots of others were damaged goods after. R.I.P. my dearest friend. We had a lotta laughs."
North said he felt typecast by "Dennis the Menace," and after it ended its run 1963, he had a hard time finding work in Hollywood.
In a 2017 interview with The Washington Times, he said the lack of acting work inspired him to join the military and then work in the health food industry before he became a corrections officer in Florida.
Some inmates recognized him as TV's menace, he told the newspaper.
"Lot of the inmates that I've guarded remember the show," he said. "Many of them grew up watching the show. Some the first time out, others in reruns."
Jacobson described North as having a heart "as big as a mountain" and said he "loved his friends deeply."
"He called us frequently and ended every conversation with 'I love you with all my heart,'" she said on Facebook.
North is survived by his third wife, Cindy, and three stepdaughters.
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The bigger problem was that he wasnt a very good actor, even for a kid.
I loved Dennis the Menace because he played it as an 'adorable' kid. But, honestly, even as when I was young, I thought that kid was annoying (in the worst way). To this day, I feel more affection for Bewitched's "Gladys Kravitz" than the role of Dennis the Menace. Over the years, as he fell away from my mind (I never quoted "Dennis" or referred to his enterprising role in the 60's), I am sad to learn that he had such a hard road in life with being type-casted. A real problem for child actors we now know. Thankfully, many get work on Broadway and such (thinking about "The Lord of the Rings" Elijah Wood) who has managed to recreate himself in many film and Broadway roles that resist typecasting. (Once I read he did a role in the nude!)
Anyway, "Dennis" you were and always will be a part of me. . . for to this day. . . I can still see that 'kid' you were, giving "Mr. Wilson" all you had to give in annoyance.
Well done, Jay North. Fond voyage to places yet to be charted by you. . . .
MR WILSON !!