Jay North, the beloved face behind TV’s authentic mischievous child, Dennis the Menace, has died on the age of 73.
The previous youngster star, who spent his early years charming audiences with slingshots and troublemaking grins, handed away peacefully at dwelling after battling most cancers for a number of years.
His shut good friend, producer and author Laurie Jacobson, shared the heartbreaking information in a Fb put up on April 6.
“[North’s Dennis the Menace costar] Jeanne Russell simply known as us with terribly unhappy, however not surprising information,” Jacobson wrote.
“Our expensive good friend JAY NORTH has been combating most cancers for quite a few years and this morning at midday EST, Jay handed peacefully at dwelling.”
Jacobson paid tribute to North’s resilience and big-hearted nature, reflecting on his difficult path after his early fame.
“As a lot of his followers know, he had a tough journey in Hollywood and after…however he didn’t let it outline his life,” she added. “He had a coronary heart as massive as a mountain, cherished his associates deeply.”
She additionally recalled how North by no means ended a name with out saying, “I really like you with all my coronary heart.”
Jacobson added, “And we cherished him with all of ours. A life-long good friend of Jon’s, a brother to Jeanne and a pricey good friend to me, we are going to miss him terribly. He’s out of ache now. His struggling is over. Ultimately he’s at peace.”
North shot to fame within the late Nineteen Fifties because the spirited Dennis Mitchell within the Dennis the Menace sitcom, a job that outlined his early profession from 1959 to 1963.
He later made a profitable leap to the large display, starring in Zebra within the Kitchen and Maya, and even reprised his position within the tv spin-off of the latter.
As his profession developed, North discovered a brand new groove behind the mic.
He lent his voice to a number of animated classics, together with Arabian Knights, Right here Comes the Grump, The Pebbles and Bam-Bam Present, and The Flintstones Comedy Hour.
Followers with a eager ear would possibly nonetheless hear echoes of Dennis in these Saturday morning cartoons.
North made his ultimate on-screen look in 2003’s Dickie Roberts: Former Youngster Star, a becoming nod to his legacy in Hollywood’s youngster star corridor of fame.
Jay North is survived by his spouse, Cindy Hackney, and three stepdaughters. Although the curtain has fallen, the laughter and reminiscences he sparked in a technology of followers will stay on — slingshot and all.
