Jay North, who played the title role of the mischievous boy on the TV series Dennis the Menace for four seasons starting in 1959, has died aged 73.
North died Sunday at his home in Lake Butler, Florida, after a battle with colon cancer, his longtime friend Laurie Jacobson and booking agent Bonnie Vent said.
“He had a heart as big as a mountain and he valued his friends very much. He would call us often and end every conversation with the words, 'I love you with all my heart,'” Jacobson wrote in his tribute on Facebook.
North was just six years old when he was cast as a hilarious troublemaker in the CBS sitcom based on the famous Hank Ketchum comic strip, set in an idealistic American suburb.
Dennis, who often wore a striped shirt and overalls, often irritated his retired neighbor George Wilson, played by Joseph Kearns, with his antics.
Dennis's patient parents were played by Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry.
North subsequently appeared on television in such shows as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Lucy Show, My Three Sons, Lassie, and The Simpsons, and starred in such films as The Mayans (1966), A Teacher (1974), and Dickie Robert: Former Child Star (2003).
North is survived by his third wife, Cindy, and three stepdaughters.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
