Dennis the Menace' actor Jay North dies at 73

[Nathan]

Never liked the show Dennis the Menace but I didn't hold it against Jay North.
RIP Jay.
Jay_North

 

[MarkD]

Maybe the lesson here is don't be a menace? I remember that show. Television used to be soooooo bad.

 

[Paco Dennis]

For this 1950's kid, growing up in a neighborhood like his, being the same age almost, I somehow picked up this nickname among the neighbors wives.

R.I.P.

 

[Paladin1950]

The show ran from 1959-1963. I don't recall watching it much at all as a kid.

But R.I.P. another child star is gone.

 

[papa tiger]

OK Ladies you are even with that lil terd now! ... ...

I don't have to give any examples of how hard your live must have become.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I still watch Dennis the Menace on Antenna TV.

 

[911]

I never watched the show, but then again, I never have watched much TV.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

He was the cute little boy. I did watch the show. I hadn't seen the news but my BFF just told me. May he R.I.P.

 

[CallMeKate]

Goodbye, Dennis. R.I.P, Jay.

 

[WhatInThe]

Never heard or saw much about him in the news as an adult which is good thing.

Maybe he never experienced the fame and fortune of Hollywood but seems he was able to live a normal life and even worked as a prison guard for 20 years. He understood and accepted his childhood fame wasn't going to parlay into adult success. He moved on

RIP

 

[OneEyedDiva]

Never heard or saw much about him in the news as an adult which is good thing.

Maybe he never experienced the fame and fortune of Hollywood but seems he was able to life a normal life and even worked as a prison guard for 20 years. He understood and accepted his childhood fame wasn't going to parlay into adult success. He moved on

RIP

Wow. I never heard that about him. But a big deal was made about "Elvin" (Cosby show) being mocked for working at Trader Joe's a few years back. The viral post got him acting jobs. Jay North was a pretty boy. I wouldn't have guessed prison guard for him. He had done voice over work and appeared in shows and movies over the years, with the last being the film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star in 2003. He had also joined the navy.

"Over the next several years, North held onto the hope of being rediscovered by Hollywood and continued to take acting classes, but by early 1977, disillusioned with his career in show business, he left acting and enlisted in the U.S. Navy.[3][5][8][10][43] In January 1977, he reported to Navy boot camp at NTC Orlando. He was assigned to the USS Iwo Jima, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, as a seaman recruit boatswain's mate, the Navy's lowest rank.[4][7][8]

He received good evaluations for his work, but was unprepared for the harsh treatment he received from his shipmates and superiors for being a former child star.[4][8] Within a year, he wanted out of the Navy. He then began his administrative process and was temporarily assigned on board the destroyer tender USS Dixie stationed in Long Beach, California.[44] On August 10, 1979, he left the Dixie and the Navy with an honorable discharge and returned to Los Angeles.[4][8]"

According to a news report I read, Jay died from colon cancer.

 

[SeaBreeze]

Rest is peace Jay.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I was 14+ when "Denice, the Menace" was on TV, but my kid brother watched the show religiously. I was amazed that a kid was the principle actor in a show.