Actor and former child star Jay North, best known for his starring role on the family sitcom “Dennis the Menace,” has died. He was 73.
North’s friend, writer and producer Laurie Jacobson, revealed in a Facebook post that the actor died “peacefully at home” Sunday afternoon following a battle with cancer. Jacobson later confirmed to USA TODAY that North’s family notified her and her husband, actor Jon Provost, of North’s death.
“As many of his fans know, he had a difficult journey in Hollywood and after…but he did not let it define his life,” Jacobson wrote on Facebook. “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.”
North’s “Dennis the Menace” co-star Jeannie Russell told The Hollywood Reporter that North died at his Lake Butler, Florida, residence and that he suffered from colon cancer.
Born in Hollywood in August 1951, North got his start in television at the age of 6 when his mother Dorothy née Cotton, who worked as a secretary at the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, arranged for him to appear on his favorite show, the local children’s series “Cartoon Express.” Talent agent Hazel MacMillan spotted North and offered to represent him.
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Working simultaneously as a child model and actor, North scored small roles on several NBC variety shows during the 1950s, such as “The George Gobel Show,” “The Eddie Fisher Show” and “The Milton Berle Show.” North’s big break came in the summer of 1958 when Screen Gems held a nationwide casting call for a TV adaptation of cartoonist Hank Ketcham’s comic strip “Dennis the Menace.”
Although North’s first audition didn’t go well, a second tryout helped the burgeoning actor land the role of Dennis Mitchell in 1959. Ahead of production on the show’s debut season, North appeared in several series and feature films, including “Wanted: Dead or Alive,” “77 Sunset Strip,” “Rescue 8,” “The Miracle of the Hills” and “The Big Operator.”
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“Dennis the Menace” premiered on CBS in October 1959 and ran for four seasons. Despite the show’s success, North later revealed the emotional turbulence that colored his on-set experience.
In a 1993 interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, North said his aunt Marie Hopper — who served as his guardian when his mother was working — was physically and emotionally abusive.
“If it took me more than one or two takes, I would be threatened and then whacked,” North told the outlet. “Even if a delay wasn’t my fault, she would find a way to blame me and punish me. She was also very possessive and isolated me from the rest of the cast. I couldn’t even eat lunch with everybody else. She made me eat it in the dressing room by myself.”
Following the cancellation of “Dennis the Menace” in 1963, North took to the silver screen with starring roles in the comedies “Zebra in the Kitchen” (1965) and “Maya” (1966). North returned to TV for a short-lived adaptation of “Maya,” which ran for 18 episodes from 1967 to 1968.
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North turned to voiceover work in the late ’60s and early ’70s, appearing in animated series such as “Arabian Knights,” “Here Comes the Grump” and “The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.”
North’s final role was a self-referential appearance in 2003’s “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star,” a child stardom spoof starring David Spade and Alyssa Milano.
