The classic TV show Dennis the Menace remains a fan favorite to this day.
Millions of fans can still catch reruns of the show which originally aired from 1959-1963.
But now those fans are in mourning as TV’s original Dennis the Menace dies at 73.
Actor Jay North, known best for defining the image of the postwar American child on television’s Dennis the Menace, died on Sunday, April 6.
North was 73.
North got his start in acting at age 6
Laurie Jacobson, a longtime friend and fellow actor on the original TV show, announced his death on Facebook.
She said North died peacefully at home Sunday morning after a valiant yearslong battle with colorectal cancer.
And North’s representative and friend Bonnie Vent confirmed his death in an email.
Authorities where North lived in Union County, Florida, including the local medical examiner, have so far remained silent about the official cause of death.
North began playing the title role on Dennis the Menace at age 6 in 1959.
As the show’s main character, North was often clad in overalls, carrying a slingshot in his back pocket.
And he famously clashed with his neighbor, Mr. Wilson, and kept his patient parents busy trying to deal with the fallout from all of his childish troublesomeness and pranks.
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.”
A tight community of child actors from the era
Butch Patrick, who played child werewolf Eddie Munster in the 1960s show The Munsters, said child actors from the era have formed a tight community.
Patrick said on Facebook that North had found happiness in Florida.
“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 had said that he felt typecast by Dennis the Menace, and after it ended in 1963, he had a difficult time finding work in Hollywood.
In a 2017 interview with The Washington Times, North said the lack of being able to find acting work inspired him to join the military.
North served in the U.S. Navy from 1977-1979 and left with an honorable discharge.
He then went on to work in the health food industry before he became a corrections officer in Florida.
He told the Times that some of the inmates recognized him as TV’s menace.
“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 said North had 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.