Series Description

The Dennis the Menace TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on CBS about a young boy who constantly got poor Mr. Wilson, his next door neighbor into trouble while trying to be a good boy, hence the nickname, "Menace".

Dennis The Menace Cast

Jay North .... Dennis Mitchell
Herbert Anderson .... Henry Mitchell
Gloria Henry .... Alice Mitchell
Joseph Kearns .... George Wilson
Sylvia Field .... Martha Wilson
Irene Tedrow .... Mrs. Lucy Elkins
Billy Booth .... Tommy Anderson
Jeannie Russell .... Margaret Wade
Willard Waterman .... Mr. Quigley

Dennis The Menace Trivia:

The Dennis the Menace TV show was based upon the comic strip (same name) written by Hank Ketchum.

Dennis' poor next door neighbor, Mr. Wilson, was usually the victim of the "Menace's" troublemaking. Mrs. Wilson simply loved him, probably because the Wilsons never had any children. She would always encourage her husband to spend time with and be nice to the kid. When he did, he always ended out regretting it. And just when he was about to "blow his top" at Dennis, Mrs. Wilson would point out that he might be a menace, but his heart was in the right place.

Joseph Kearns (Mr. Wilson) died in 1962 before filming for the third season of Dennis The Menace was completed. On the show, the Wilsons moved away and George's brother John Wilson moved in to fill the void. Then, for the final season, John's wife appeared to provide the "grandmother" figure for Dennis.

Dennis the menace and his parents lived at 627 Elm Street.

Dennis the Menace ended in July of 1963 on CBS but reruns aired on NBC from October of 1963 to September of 1965. In 1988, an animated version of the show aired on CBS which lasted only nine months. In 1993, CBS aired another animated series titled, "The New Dennis the Menace" and that lasted one season.

Jay North got the part of Dennis the Menace by auditioning along with more than 500 other kids! While starring on the show, Jay was a "hot property", guest-starring on other sitcoms and variety shows. After Dennis the Menace ended, he got the lead role in the movie, "Maya (1966)" and in the short-lived TV show of the same name. Otherwise, his career pretty much came to an end due to his being typecast as Dennis. Jay had a terrible time making this transition from mega-star to "has-been". He supplied the voice for cartoon characters in the late 1960s, perhaps the best-known being "Bamm-Bamm" on "The Flintstones (1960)" but starring roles on television and film disappeared. After a series of divorces, weight gain and drug abuse, he finally recovered and became active in providing other TV and movie child stars with advice and support.