Jay North, an actor who appeared as a child and embodied mischief as” Dennis the Menace,” has passed away. He was 73.
Long-time family friend Laurie Jacobson and his co-star Jeannie Russell confirmed his death on Sunday after decades of battle with colon cancers via his long-awaited social media account. Russell, who played Dennis ‘ friend Margaret Wade on the sitcom set, claimed North died at his apartment in Lake Butler, Florida.
Jay North, a dear friend of ours, has battled cancer for a while, and this morning at noon EST, our dear friend passed away peacefully at home, according to Jacobson, a poet, maker, and actress, on FaceBook Sunday. ” As many of his supporters are aware, he had a hard trip in and out of Hollywood and beyond, but he did not let it define his lifestyle,” he said. He greatly loved his companions, and his heart was as big as a rock. He often called us and said,” I love you with all my heart,” at the end of each conversation. And we cherished him with all of our hearts.
Born on August 3, 1951, in Hollywood, North Carolina, the only child whose father abandoned the family when the son was four, TMZ reports. Before the coalition merged with the , Screen Actors Guild , to become , SAG-AFTRA, and helped find the TV-fascinated teen’s feet in the show-biz door, Mother , Dorothy North , was a director for the , American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
North, who he , caught the attention of talent agent Hazel MacMillan before turning 10 years old, first appearing on the family’s program” Cartoon Express,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. North, who plays the guitar, caught bit parts in “77 Sunset Strip,”” Save 8,” and” The Detectives,” among people.
North was hired in 1959 to play the rascally, towheaded embodiment of Hank Ketcham from the humorous band. Dennis Mitchell was an only child whose good purposes frequently led to mishaps. Between” Lassie” and” The Ed Sullivan Show,” North appeared in all 146 episodes of the CBS and AT&T line that aired on Sunday nights from 1959 to 1963.
According to Forbes, the role earned Northern national identification and was extended to , advertisement he filmed in character for present sponsors , Kellogg’s, cereals, Best Foods sauce, Skippy nut butter, and Bosco milk. In” The Red Skelton Show” and” The Donna Reed Show,” he also made an appearance as Dennis.
Decades later, he would tell being exploited and henpecked by his aunt and uncle, who’d brutally performed throughout the set and left him alone and shaking.
In addition to tours in the defense, the health food market, and the Florida Department of Corrections, North worked on and off in Hollywood and the United States, according to People. Additionally, he co-founded A Minor Consideration, a team to help another former child actors.
As she once told The Hollywood Reporter, Russell called North her “otherwordly nephew.” Jacobson, who is married to Jon Provost, a past” Lassie” child actor, shared the views.
We will miss him dearly, Jacobson wrote in her blog, calling him” a life-long friend of mine, a brother to Jeanne, and a dear friend to me.” He is now no longer in pain. His anguish has ended. He is finally at peace.
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