Jay North
Encyclopedia
Jay North is an American
actor
. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor
at the age of six, North became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS
situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip
created by Hank Ketcham
.
As a teen, North moved on to roles in the MGM feature films, Zebra in the Kitchen
and Maya
, as well as starring in the NBC
television series adaptation of the film, also titled Maya
. As an adult, North turned to voice acting
work for animated television series, voicing the roles of Prince Turhan in Arabian Knights
and a teenage Bamm-Bamm Rubble
on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
.
After leaving show business and disclosing the truth of a troubled childhood as a child actor, North began working with fellow former child star, Paul Petersen
and the organization, A Minor Consideration, using his own experiences as a child performer to counsel other children working within the entertainment industry.
) to support herself and Jay.
From a young age, North was a fan of television and, at the age of six, his mother used her connections at AFTRA to arrange for him to appear on his favorite television program, local Los Angeles
children's show, Cartoon Express
hosted by beloved children's show host of the time, "Engineer Bill". This appearance caught the attention of prominent Hollywood talent agent
, Hazel MacMillan who, impressed with his photogenic looks, contacted young North's mother the following day offering to represent him. Mrs. North, who was aware of the stories of troubled former child stars, had reservations, but finally gave her approval.
, hosted by Jack Bailey. He continued to land work as a child model and actor
in commercials, as well as landing small parts on a number of popular NBC
variety shows of the 1950s, such as The George Gobel Show, The Eddie Fisher Show
and The Milton Berle Show, before auditioning for the role that would eventually make him a star.
In June 1958, Columbia Pictures'
television division, Screen Gems was holding a nationwide search for a boy to play the title character in their television adaptation of the popular Dennis the Menace comic strip
created by Hank Ketcham
, and six-year-old North was brought in to audition. After receiving news that his first audition hadn't gone well, agent Hazel MacMillan pressed the studio to see him again. The studio agreed, and was impressed with his second audition. After seeing hundreds of boys for the role, North was asked back to screen test
with Herbert Anderson
, Gloria Henry
, and Joseph Kearns
, and a pilot
was filmed later that summer.
The summer passed and North heard nothing more from Screen Gems, but continued to work, appearing on an episode of the show Wanted: Dead or Alive, where he played a young boy who pays a bounty hunter
(played by Steve McQueen
) 8 cents to find Santa Claus
. Over the next several months, North continued to make television appearances on such shows as 77 Sunset Strip
, Rescue 8
, Cheyenne, Bronco
, Colt .45
, and Sugarfoot
, as well as breaking into feature films with roles in The Miracle of the Hills and The Big Operator
until, in the spring of 1959, almost a year after he'd first auditioned, MacMillan contacted North's mother to tell her young North had been chosen to play the role of Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell.
on Sunday October 4, 1959 and quickly became a hit with audiences. North was paid $500 per episode, his strawberry red hair was bleached platinum blonde for the role, and the 8-year-old was instructed to "shave" a year off his age when speaking with the press
. North's mother continued to work at AFTRA full-time to support the two of them, and hired business managers to invest North's earnings for him. In a 1993 interview with Filmfax magazine, North spoke highly of his mother, saying - "I want to make it very clear about one thing. I never supported my mother during (Dennis the Menace). She earned her own money from AFTRA. She never lived off my earnings. I know that sometimes happens with child actors, but it was not true in my situation."
While Mrs. North worked, her sister Marie Hopper and husband Hal Hopper served as young North's on-set guardians during filming for Dennis The Menace. In addition to filming the series, North appeared as Dennis in commercials for the show's sponsors, Kellogg's cereals, Best Foods mayonnaise
, Skippy peanut butter, and Bosco chocolate milk
and regularly traveled around the country with his aunt and uncle on the weekends to promote the show. These obligations combined with the required 3 hours a day of school, began to take their toll on North, and by the end of the first season, the 8-year-old had begun to feel the pressures of being the lead star of a popular show.
In the fall of 1960, the second season of the series was ranked among TV's top 20 shows, and North's portrayal of Dennis had become a beloved pop culture icon
. North made crossover
guest appearances as Dennis on such television shows as The Donna Reed Show
and The Red Skelton Hour as well as appearing as Dennis in the feature film Pépé
. That same year, North recorded "The Misadventures of Dennis the Menace" soundtrack stories on LP
as well as releasing an LP album of songs titled "Jay North - Look who's singing!". With the success of the series, North's guardians, Marie and Hal Hopper had become strict taskmasters and stern disciplinarians. He wasn't allowed to socialize with other cast members on the set and missed being around children his own age. His only opportunity to relax was the occasional "free day" when he could play baseball
with other children, or when his uncle would take him to see horror film
s. His favorite films at the time being The Pit and the Pendulum
and Village of the Damned
.
By the fall of 1961, the series was in its third season and North was making $2,500 an episode. The show remained in the top 20, but North had grown tired and frustrated with the pressures of carrying a hit show and the long work hours. Complicating matters was his relationship with his Aunt Marie. Many years later, North would reveal that his aunt would physically and verbally abuse him when he made mistakes on the set or when he didn't perform to her standards. North's mother, Dorothy and the rest of the Dennis The Menace cast were unaware of the abuse, and young North was always careful to conceal his unhappiness with a smile for fear of retribution from his aunt. In July 2007, North's childhood co-star, Jeannie Russell
, who played Margaret Wade on the series, told radio host, Stu Shostak in a radio interview - "'The show comes first.' This was the ethic that we were raised in. Had I seen any abuse or any horrible upset on Jay's part, I would have noticed. It would have impacted me. It would have upset me terribly."
By the fourth season, North was earning $3,500 an episode, however, by 1962, 11-year-old North had begun to outgrow the childish antics that the character was known for. This, combined with the unexpected loss of Joseph Kearns
at the end of season three, had changed the dynamic of the show. During his interview with Filmfax, North recalled - "Between the pressures of the business and Joe's dying, I became very serious, very morbid and very withdrawn from the world. I was the antithesis of the little kid that I played on the television show." By the end of the fourth season, ratings were down, and in the spring of 1963, much to the relief of its young lead star, Dennis The Menace was cancelled.
, but due to his part-time education while filming Dennis The Menace, combined with not having been allowed to socialize with other children, he struggled to keep up with his studies at his new school and was nervous interacting with the other students. North continued to audition, and in 1964 he appeared in an episode of Wagon Train
, but found himself typecast as the impish Dennis Mitchell and had trouble finding steady work. In 1999, North told the E!
network - "I had to fight the ghost of Dennis the Menace, and I was typecast. I still had the face, and that's what casting directors, producers and directors saw when I would go in to read for a role."
In 1965, North landed the lead role in the MGM family comedy film Zebra in the Kitchen
as Chris Carlyle, a boy who, unhappy with the living conditions he finds at his local zoo, decides to set the animals free, causing chaos throughout the town. Over the next year, he continued to appear in small television roles, guest-starring on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
and reuniting with his former Dennis the Menace co-star, Gale Gordon
on The Lucy Show
. In 1966, North landed the starring role in another MGM family adventure film, Maya
. Filmed on location in India
, North played Terry Bowen, a boy who navigates the Indian jungle with a Hindu
boy, a sacred white elephant
and her baby calf. He continued to appear in small guest starring roles on television shows such as My Three Sons
and Jericho
, and in 1967, NBC
decided to make a television series adaptation of Maya
. North agreed to reprise his role, and was soon back filming on location in India.
The feature film, Maya and subsequent television series made North a popular teen idol
of the era, featured in numerous teen magazines such as Tiger Beat
, 16 Magazine
, Teen Datebook and Flip. While Maya proved popular with teen audiences, the NBC
series struggled in its time-slot against popular shows of the time, CBS
's The Jackie Gleason Show
and ABC
's The Dating Game
and The Newlywed Game
, and was cancelled after one season. Years later, North spoke fondly of his experience on the series, saying - "I can say that I'm really proud of my work on Maya, from a professional standpoint. I got to play an adult role and it was a challenge." North had missed a full year of school while filming Maya in India and after returning home to Hollywood, began a normal life in high school, graduating from Rexford Senior High School in Beverly Hills in 1969.
, Terry Dexter in Here Comes the Grump
, and a teenage Bamm-Bamm Rubble
on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
. In 1971, North decided to leave Hollywood and made the move to Chicago
to work in the theatre
, appearing in several stage productions, including principal roles in Norman, Is That You?
and Butterflies Are Free
. In January 1972, while appearing in Butterflies Are Free
, 20-year-old North met actress Kathleen Brucher who had a 4-year-old son from a previous marriage. The two returned to Los Angeles and were married on July 20, 1973, but the marriage lasted less than a year. The young couple separated in April 1974, and on October 21, 1974, their divorce was finalized.
In 1974, North appeared in what would be his last starring role in the "R" rated coming-of-age suspense thriller, The Teacher
, opposite Angel Tompkins
. While the film's adult themes were branded "vulgar" and "lurid" by some who still thought of North as the pint-sized "menace" he'd played ten years prior, Los Angeles Times
critic, Kevin Thomas
expressed appreciation for North's work in the film, writing - "The plot of "The Teacher" isn't worth outlining, yet it develops a relationship between a 28-year-old woman and an 18-year-old high school boy with sensitivity and credibility unusual for an exploitation film. [...] Avedis displays much concern for his people and allows Miss Tompkins and North plenty of room to give fresh, spontaneous performances."
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, North left acting and enlisted in the US Navy. On January 16, 1977, he was assigned to the USS Iwo Jima
, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia
, as a seaman recruit
bosun's mate, the Navy's lowest rank. North 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. Within a year, North wanted out of the Navy, and on August 10, 1979, he left the Iwo Jima and the Navy with an honorable discharge and returned to Los Angeles.
In 1980, North appeared in a small role in the television movie Scout's Honor
which featured appearances of other former child stars Angela Cartwright
from The Danny Thomas Show
, Lauren Chapin
from Father Knows Best
, and Paul Petersen
from The Donna Reed Show
. In 1982, he landed a week-long stint on the daytime soap
, General Hospital
, but steady work in show business continued to elude him. Financially secure from real estate
investments his mother had made with his earnings from Dennis The Menace, and frustrated by the direction his career had taken, North retreated from public life for the next several years and found work in the health food industry. In 1984, he optioned the book Burn Judy, Burn for $5,000, hoping to play the lead role of executed killer Steven Judy. In his 1999 interview with E!
, North spoke of his desire to play darker roles - "I was ready to play very dramatic, scary type characters. I thought maybe if I played some villains and scared the pants off of people, maybe Hollywood might take me seriously." However, the Steven Judy story never made it to the screen.
In January 1986, North landed a small role in the Yugoslavia
n feature film Dikiy veter (aka Wild Wind). Later that year he read for the role of serial killer Ted Bundy
in the television mini-series The Deliberate Stranger
, but lost the part to Mark Harmon
. Still interested in stories about serial killer
s, North decided to try his hand at screenwriting
. His first script was about a 1984 prison break by six death row inmates from Virginia's
Mecklenburg Correctional Center
, but the screenplay was never completed. Throughout the rest of the 1980s, North appeared with other former television stars on news and talk shows such as Good Morning America
, Donahue
and Oprah
. In October 1988, North acted out his frustrations towards Hollywood in a comedy sketch on an episode of HBO's Not Necessarily the News
, spoofing his role as Dennis The Menace - dressed in the trademark overalls, striped t-shirt
and cowlick
- 37-year-old North portrayed an angry adult Dennis, taking revenge on "Hollywood pigs" with a machine gun
.
. His mother Dorothy received the news that North had died in a doctor's office that morning. According to a story from United Press International
, his body had been found at 12:35 am that morning. The article quoted an alleged doctor, Robert Tobias whom North had never met. North also dealt with several impostor
s during this same time. One man, who resembled North in his youth, rented limousine
s and attended Hollywood parties pretending to be him. At the time, North told journalist Mike Duffy of the Knight-Ridder
news agency - "I'm not on the "A" party list. I'm not a hot item, so they don't know what I look like. I really haven't worked a lot in a long time."
telling him that former child star Rusty Hamer
from The Danny Thomas Show
had committed suicide
. Hamer's death was a turning point for North when childhood friends Paul Petersen
(Jeff Stone on The Donna Reed Show
) and Jeannie Russell
(Margaret Wade on Dennis the Menace), concerned that North was heading down the same path, stepped in and put him in touch with therapist Dr. Stanley Ziegler who specialized in helping troubled former child actors. North would later credit his friends and therapist as being instrumental in helping him deal with his long-held anger and resentment regarding his unhappy childhood growing up in Hollywood, and he would later join Petersen's organization, A Minor Consideration, using his own experiences to counsel child stars dealing with the same pressures and difficulties he'd faced growing up.
. On March 3, 1993 the two were married, and three months later, still financially well-off as a result of his mother's investments of his earnings as a child star, North left Los Angeles
and moved to Cindy's hometown of Lake Butler, Florida
, becoming stepfather to her three daughters. That same year, with the release of the 1993 feature film Dennis the Menace
, North was sought out by the media looking to find out what had become of the "original" Dennis they'd grown up with, and this renewed interest prompted North to publicly disclose the abuse he'd experienced as a child star.
In May 1997, having come to terms with the physical and emotional abuse he'd suffered at the hands of his aunt and uncle, North began attending memorabilia shows to meet with fans. After moving to Florida, North began working as a correctional officer, working with troubled youth within Florida's juvenile justice system
. Since the early 1990s, North has made occasional appearances on talk shows and in documentaries, as well as cameo appearance
s as "himself" on the animated television series, The Simpsons
and in the comedy feature film, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
. In 1999, North concluded his E!
interview by saying - "I am so happy that I was able to have such a positive impact on people's lives. I'm going to write my auto-biography and then I'm just going to live a contented, happy life here in Lake Butler with the people I love, and kind of just vanish into the mists of time."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
at the age of six, North became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
created by Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham
Henry King "Hank" Ketcham was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily page and took up painting full time in his studio at his home. He received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953...
.
As a teen, North moved on to roles in the MGM feature films, Zebra in the Kitchen
Zebra in the Kitchen
Zebra in the Kitchen is a 1965 American family comedy film, produced and directed by Ivan Tors. The film stars Jay North in his first leading feature film role, Martin Milner, Andy Devine, and Joyce Meadows, and tells the story of a 12-year-old boy's love and compassion for the animals he finds...
and Maya
Maya (1966 film)
Maya is a 1966 American drama, the coming of age story of a young man in the jungles of India. It was directed by John Berry and starred Jay North and Sajid Khan.-Synopsis:...
, as well as starring in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series adaptation of the film, also titled Maya
Maya (TV series)
Maya was an hour-long U.S. adventure television series that aired on NBC, Saturdays from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. from September 16, 1967 until February 10, 1968...
. As an adult, North turned to voice acting
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
work for animated television series, voicing the roles of Prince Turhan in Arabian Knights
Arabian Knights
Arabian Knights is an animated segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series is based on Arabian Nights, a classic work of Middle Eastern literature.-Plot :...
and a teenage Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the adopted son of fictitious characters Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series The Flintstones, but has also appeared at various other ages, including as a teenager on the early 1970s spinoff The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and as an...
on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran for 16 half-hour episodes from September 11, 1971, to September 2, 1972, and four 8-minute episodes from September 9, 1972, to September 1,...
.
After leaving show business and disclosing the truth of a troubled childhood as a child actor, North began working with fellow former child star, Paul Petersen
Paul Petersen
William Paul Petersen is an American movie actor, singer, novelist, and activist. Primarily known for his character-type roles in the 1960s and 1970s, as an adult Petersen established the organization A Minor Consideration to support child stars and other child laborers through legislation,...
and the organization, A Minor Consideration, using his own experiences as a child performer to counsel other children working within the entertainment industry.
Early life
North was born Jay Waverly North on August 3, 1951 in Hollywood, California to parents Jay and Dorothy North. North's father was an alcoholic and his parents' marriage was a stormy one. At the age of four, his parents separated, and young North would never see his father again. As a single mother, Mrs. North went to work as the secretary to the West Coast director of AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio ArtistsAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a performers' union that represents a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, as well as radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists , promo and voice-over announcers and other...
) to support herself and Jay.
From a young age, North was a fan of television and, at the age of six, his mother used her connections at AFTRA to arrange for him to appear on his favorite television program, local Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
children's show, Cartoon Express
Bill Stulla
William "Bill" Stulla , also known as Engineer Bill, was an award-winning host of children's television. He was born in New York City....
hosted by beloved children's show host of the time, "Engineer Bill". This appearance caught the attention of prominent Hollywood talent agent
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
, Hazel MacMillan who, impressed with his photogenic looks, contacted young North's mother the following day offering to represent him. Mrs. North, who was aware of the stories of troubled former child stars, had reservations, but finally gave her approval.
Early years
North's first professional acting job was a live appearance on the gameshow Queen for a DayQueen for a Day
Queen for a Day is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. Queen for a Day originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945 in New York City before moving to Los Angeles a few months...
, hosted by Jack Bailey. He continued to land work as a child model and actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
in commercials, as well as landing small parts on a number of popular NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
variety shows of the 1950s, such as The George Gobel Show, The Eddie Fisher Show
Coke Time with Eddie Fisher
Coke Time with Eddie Fisher is an American musical variety television series starring singer Eddie Fisher which was broadcast by NBC on Wednesday nights in early prime time from 1953 to 1957. The program was aired from 7:30 to 7:45 p.m...
and The Milton Berle Show, before auditioning for the role that would eventually make him a star.
In June 1958, Columbia Pictures'
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
television division, Screen Gems was holding a nationwide search for a boy to play the title character in their television adaptation of the popular Dennis the Menace comic strip
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
created by Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham
Henry King "Hank" Ketcham was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily page and took up painting full time in his studio at his home. He received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953...
, and six-year-old North was brought in to audition. After receiving news that his first audition hadn't gone well, agent Hazel MacMillan pressed the studio to see him again. The studio agreed, and was impressed with his second audition. After seeing hundreds of boys for the role, North was asked back to screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...
with Herbert Anderson
Herbert Anderson
Herbert Anderson was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his part as Henry Mitchell in the classic television sitcom Dennis The Menace.-Career:...
, Gloria Henry
Gloria Henry
Gloria Henry is an American actress, best known for her role as "Alice Mitchell", Dennis’s mother, from 1959-1963 on the CBS family sitcom, Dennis the Menace.-Early life:...
, and Joseph Kearns
Joseph Kearns
Joseph Sherrard Kearns was an American actor, who is best remembered for his role as George Wilson in the CBS television series Dennis the Menace from 1959 until his death in 1962.-Biography:...
, and a pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
was filmed later that summer.
The summer passed and North heard nothing more from Screen Gems, but continued to work, appearing on an episode of the show Wanted: Dead or Alive, where he played a young boy who pays a bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
(played by Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
) 8 cents to find Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
. Over the next several months, North continued to make television appearances on such shows as 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
, Rescue 8
Rescue 8
Rescue 8 is a syndicated American action drama series about Los Angeles County Fire Department Rescue Squad Number 8. It premiered in 1958, and originally ran for two seasons with syndicated reruns continuing for almost a decade after. It starred Jim Davis as fireman Wes Cameron, and Lang Jeffries...
, Cheyenne, Bronco
Bronco (TV series)
Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...
, Colt .45
Colt .45 (TV series)
Colt .45 is an American Western television series shown on ABC between 1957 and 1960. The half-hour show derives from the 1950 Warner Brothers film of the same name starring Randolph Scott and formed part of the William T...
, and Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
, as well as breaking into feature films with roles in The Miracle of the Hills and The Big Operator
The Big Operator (1959 film)
The Big Operator is a 1959 crime/drama film starring Mickey Rooney as a corrupt union boss, with Steve Cochran and Mamie Van Doren as co-stars.-Cast:*Mickey Rooney as Little Joe Braun...
until, in the spring of 1959, almost a year after he'd first auditioned, MacMillan contacted North's mother to tell her young North had been chosen to play the role of Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell.
Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace premiered on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on Sunday October 4, 1959 and quickly became a hit with audiences. North was paid $500 per episode, his strawberry red hair was bleached platinum blonde for the role, and the 8-year-old was instructed to "shave" a year off his age when speaking with the press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. North's mother continued to work at AFTRA full-time to support the two of them, and hired business managers to invest North's earnings for him. In a 1993 interview with Filmfax magazine, North spoke highly of his mother, saying - "I want to make it very clear about one thing. I never supported my mother during (Dennis the Menace). She earned her own money from AFTRA. She never lived off my earnings. I know that sometimes happens with child actors, but it was not true in my situation."
While Mrs. North worked, her sister Marie Hopper and husband Hal Hopper served as young North's on-set guardians during filming for Dennis The Menace. In addition to filming the series, North appeared as Dennis in commercials for the show's sponsors, Kellogg's cereals, Best Foods mayonnaise
Hellmann's and Best Foods
Hellmann's and Best Foods are brand names that are used for the same line of mayonnaise and other food products. The Hellmann's brand is sold in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and also in Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Canada...
, Skippy peanut butter, and Bosco chocolate milk
Bosco Chocolate Syrup
Bosco Chocolate Syrup is a brand of chocolate syrup first produced in 1928. The company that produces it is based in New Jersey, and it is sold throughout the United States, Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.-Production process:...
and regularly traveled around the country with his aunt and uncle on the weekends to promote the show. These obligations combined with the required 3 hours a day of school, began to take their toll on North, and by the end of the first season, the 8-year-old had begun to feel the pressures of being the lead star of a popular show.
In the fall of 1960, the second season of the series was ranked among TV's top 20 shows, and North's portrayal of Dennis had become a beloved pop culture icon
Pop icon
A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from...
. North made crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
guest appearances as Dennis on such television shows as The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
and The Red Skelton Hour as well as appearing as Dennis in the feature film Pépé
Pepe (film)
Pepe is a 1960 film starring Mario "Cantinflas" Moreno in the title role, directed by George Sidney. A multitude of cameo appearances attempted to replicate the success of Mario Moreno's American debut, notably Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by Mike Todd in 1956.The film failed to...
. That same year, North recorded "The Misadventures of Dennis the Menace" soundtrack stories on LP
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
as well as releasing an LP album of songs titled "Jay North - Look who's singing!". With the success of the series, North's guardians, Marie and Hal Hopper had become strict taskmasters and stern disciplinarians. He wasn't allowed to socialize with other cast members on the set and missed being around children his own age. His only opportunity to relax was the occasional "free day" when he could play baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
with other children, or when his uncle would take him to see horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s. His favorite films at the time being The Pit and the Pendulum
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film)
The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young...
and Village of the Damned
Village of the Damned (1960 film)
Village of the Damned is a 1960 British science fiction film by German director Wolf Rilla. The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. The lead role of Professor Gordon Zellaby was played by George Sanders. This film was #92 on Bravo's 100 Scariest...
.
By the fall of 1961, the series was in its third season and North was making $2,500 an episode. The show remained in the top 20, but North had grown tired and frustrated with the pressures of carrying a hit show and the long work hours. Complicating matters was his relationship with his Aunt Marie. Many years later, North would reveal that his aunt would physically and verbally abuse him when he made mistakes on the set or when he didn't perform to her standards. North's mother, Dorothy and the rest of the Dennis The Menace cast were unaware of the abuse, and young North was always careful to conceal his unhappiness with a smile for fear of retribution from his aunt. In July 2007, North's childhood co-star, Jeannie Russell
Jeannie Russell
Jeanne K. Russell is an actress best known for playing Dennis's playmate, Margaret Wade, in the television series Dennis The Menace, which was based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name and aired from 1959 to 1963 on CBS.Russell was chosen at the suggestion of Jay North, who starred...
, who played Margaret Wade on the series, told radio host, Stu Shostak in a radio interview - "'The show comes first.' This was the ethic that we were raised in. Had I seen any abuse or any horrible upset on Jay's part, I would have noticed. It would have impacted me. It would have upset me terribly."
By the fourth season, North was earning $3,500 an episode, however, by 1962, 11-year-old North had begun to outgrow the childish antics that the character was known for. This, combined with the unexpected loss of Joseph Kearns
Joseph Kearns
Joseph Sherrard Kearns was an American actor, who is best remembered for his role as George Wilson in the CBS television series Dennis the Menace from 1959 until his death in 1962.-Biography:...
at the end of season three, had changed the dynamic of the show. During his interview with Filmfax, North recalled - "Between the pressures of the business and Joe's dying, I became very serious, very morbid and very withdrawn from the world. I was the antithesis of the little kid that I played on the television show." By the end of the fourth season, ratings were down, and in the spring of 1963, much to the relief of its young lead star, Dennis The Menace was cancelled.
Teen years
In the fall of 1963, North's mother enrolled him in prep schoolUniversity-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
, but due to his part-time education while filming Dennis The Menace, combined with not having been allowed to socialize with other children, he struggled to keep up with his studies at his new school and was nervous interacting with the other students. North continued to audition, and in 1964 he appeared in an episode of Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
, but found himself typecast as the impish Dennis Mitchell and had trouble finding steady work. In 1999, North told the E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
network - "I had to fight the ghost of Dennis the Menace, and I was typecast. I still had the face, and that's what casting directors, producers and directors saw when I would go in to read for a role."
In 1965, North landed the lead role in the MGM family comedy film Zebra in the Kitchen
Zebra in the Kitchen
Zebra in the Kitchen is a 1965 American family comedy film, produced and directed by Ivan Tors. The film stars Jay North in his first leading feature film role, Martin Milner, Andy Devine, and Joyce Meadows, and tells the story of a 12-year-old boy's love and compassion for the animals he finds...
as Chris Carlyle, a boy who, unhappy with the living conditions he finds at his local zoo, decides to set the animals free, causing chaos throughout the town. Over the next year, he continued to appear in small television roles, guest-starring on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
and reuniting with his former Dennis the Menace co-star, Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show...
on The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
. In 1966, North landed the starring role in another MGM family adventure film, Maya
Maya (1966 film)
Maya is a 1966 American drama, the coming of age story of a young man in the jungles of India. It was directed by John Berry and starred Jay North and Sajid Khan.-Synopsis:...
. Filmed on location in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, North played Terry Bowen, a boy who navigates the Indian jungle with a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
boy, a sacred white elephant
White elephant (pachyderm)
A white elephant is a rare kind of elephant, but not a distinct species. Although often depicted as snow white, their skin is normally a soft reddish-brown, turning a light pink when wet. They have fair eyelashes and toenails....
and her baby calf. He continued to appear in small guest starring roles on television shows such as My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
and Jericho
Jericho (1966 TV series)
Jericho was a short-lived 1966 CBS World War II espionage American television series. It starred John Leyton, Don Francks and Marino Masé as secret agents.-Plot and production:...
, and in 1967, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
decided to make a television series adaptation of Maya
Maya (TV series)
Maya was an hour-long U.S. adventure television series that aired on NBC, Saturdays from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. from September 16, 1967 until February 10, 1968...
. North agreed to reprise his role, and was soon back filming on location in India.
The feature film, Maya and subsequent television series made North a popular teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
of the era, featured in numerous teen magazines such as Tiger Beat
Tiger Beat
Tiger Beat is an American fan magazine marketed primarily to adolescent girls. It is currently published by Laufer Media, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, which also produces its sister publication, Bop....
, 16 Magazine
16 magazine
16 Magazine was a fan magazine based out of New York City. It was the first magazine marketed to adolescents that focused exclusively on celebrities...
, Teen Datebook and Flip. While Maya proved popular with teen audiences, the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series struggled in its time-slot against popular shows of the time, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's The Jackie Gleason Show
The Jackie Gleason Show
The Jackie Gleason Show is the name of a series of popular American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970.-Cavalcade of Stars:...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The Dating Game
The Dating Game
The Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
and The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game is an American television game show that pits newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know each other. The program, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir The Newlywed Game is an American...
, and was cancelled after one season. Years later, North spoke fondly of his experience on the series, saying - "I can say that I'm really proud of my work on Maya, from a professional standpoint. I got to play an adult role and it was a challenge." North had missed a full year of school while filming Maya in India and after returning home to Hollywood, began a normal life in high school, graduating from Rexford Senior High School in Beverly Hills in 1969.
Adult years
After completing filming on the Maya television series, North found work as a voice actor for animated television series, providing the voices of Prince Turhan in Arabian KnightsArabian Knights
Arabian Knights is an animated segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series is based on Arabian Nights, a classic work of Middle Eastern literature.-Plot :...
, Terry Dexter in Here Comes the Grump
Here Comes The Grump
Here Comes the Grump is an animated cartoon series produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and aired on NBC from 1969 to 1971.-History:The main character was a small, grumpy wizard named Susanne who put a spell of melancholy on the kingdom of the Princess Dawn...
, and a teenage Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Bamm-Bamm Rubble
Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the adopted son of fictitious characters Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series The Flintstones, but has also appeared at various other ages, including as a teenager on the early 1970s spinoff The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and as an...
on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran for 16 half-hour episodes from September 11, 1971, to September 2, 1972, and four 8-minute episodes from September 9, 1972, to September 1,...
. In 1971, North decided to leave Hollywood and made the move to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to work in the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, appearing in several stage productions, including principal roles in Norman, Is That You?
Norman, Is That You?
Norman, Is That You? is a 1970 play in two acts by American playwrights Ron Clark and Sam Bobrick about a Jewish couple coming to terms with their son's homosexuality. The work is notably the first play written by both writers. After 19 preview performances, the play officially opened on Broadway...
and Butterflies Are Free
Butterflies Are Free (play)
Butterflies Are Free is a play by Leonard Gershe.Loosely based on the life of attorney Harold Krents, the plot revolves around a Manhattan blind man whose controlling mother disapproves of his relationship with a free-spirited hippie. The title was inspired by a passage in Charles Dickens' Bleak...
. In January 1972, while appearing in Butterflies Are Free
Butterflies Are Free (play)
Butterflies Are Free is a play by Leonard Gershe.Loosely based on the life of attorney Harold Krents, the plot revolves around a Manhattan blind man whose controlling mother disapproves of his relationship with a free-spirited hippie. The title was inspired by a passage in Charles Dickens' Bleak...
, 20-year-old North met actress Kathleen Brucher who had a 4-year-old son from a previous marriage. The two returned to Los Angeles and were married on July 20, 1973, but the marriage lasted less than a year. The young couple separated in April 1974, and on October 21, 1974, their divorce was finalized.
In 1974, North appeared in what would be his last starring role in the "R" rated coming-of-age suspense thriller, The Teacher
The Teacher (1974 film)
The Teacher is a 1974 American coming-of-age suspense film, written, produced, and directed by Hickmet Avedis and released by Crown International Pictures. The film stars Angel Tompkins, Jay North and Anthony James, and tells the story of an 18-year-old's first relationship with his alluring...
, opposite Angel Tompkins
Angel Tompkins
Angel Tompkins is an American actress and Golden Globe nominee, who appeared in several films and television shows.-Career:...
. While the film's adult themes were branded "vulgar" and "lurid" by some who still thought of North as the pint-sized "menace" he'd played ten years prior, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
critic, Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Marvin Kevin Thomas is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League. He was a standout high school football player at Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard, California and a college football player at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada...
expressed appreciation for North's work in the film, writing - "The plot of "The Teacher" isn't worth outlining, yet it develops a relationship between a 28-year-old woman and an 18-year-old high school boy with sensitivity and credibility unusual for an exploitation film. [...] Avedis displays much concern for his people and allows Miss Tompkins and North plenty of room to give fresh, spontaneous performances."
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, North left acting and enlisted in the US Navy. On January 16, 1977, he was assigned to the USS Iwo Jima
USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
USS Iwo Jima was the lead ship of her class and type—the first ship to be designed and built from the keel up as an amphibious assault ship. She carried helicopters and a detachment of embarked Marines for use in the Navy's "vertical envelopment" concept of amphibious operations...
, stationed in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, as a seaman recruit
Seaman Recruit
Seaman recruit is the lowest enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, just below seaman apprentice; this rank was formerly known as seaman third class...
bosun's mate, the Navy's lowest rank. North 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. Within a year, North wanted out of the Navy, and on August 10, 1979, he left the Iwo Jima and the Navy with an honorable discharge and returned to Los Angeles.
In 1980, North appeared in a small role in the television movie Scout's Honor
Scout's Honor (TV film)
-Plot Summary:Joey, The clever but lonely orphan, is determined to be the best cub scout ever. A hard-working executive who dislikes children takes on a troop of cub scouts and becomes a den mother to save her job. on an outing, she takes her den to a nearby park, where the boys discover a cave and...
which featured appearances of other former child stars Angela Cartwright
Angela Cartwright
Angela Margaret Cartwright is an English-born American actress primarily known for her roles in movies and television...
from The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1953-1957 on ABC and from 1957-1964 on CBS...
, Lauren Chapin
Lauren Chapin
Lauren Chapin, born May 23, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, is an American former child actress, most remembered for her role as the youngest child "Kathy Anderson" in the television show Father Knows Best, which was produced between 1954 and 1960. Chapin was awarded five Jr. Emmy's for Best...
from Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...
, and Paul Petersen
Paul Petersen
William Paul Petersen is an American movie actor, singer, novelist, and activist. Primarily known for his character-type roles in the 1960s and 1970s, as an adult Petersen established the organization A Minor Consideration to support child stars and other child laborers through legislation,...
from The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
. In 1982, he landed a week-long stint on the daytime soap
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, but steady work in show business continued to elude him. Financially secure from real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
investments his mother had made with his earnings from Dennis The Menace, and frustrated by the direction his career had taken, North retreated from public life for the next several years and found work in the health food industry. In 1984, he optioned the book Burn Judy, Burn for $5,000, hoping to play the lead role of executed killer Steven Judy. In his 1999 interview with E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
, North spoke of his desire to play darker roles - "I was ready to play very dramatic, scary type characters. I thought maybe if I played some villains and scared the pants off of people, maybe Hollywood might take me seriously." However, the Steven Judy story never made it to the screen.
In January 1986, North landed a small role in the Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n feature film Dikiy veter (aka Wild Wind). Later that year he read for the role of serial killer Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy was an American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women during the 1970s, and possibly earlier...
in the television mini-series The Deliberate Stranger
The Deliberate Stranger
The Deliberate Stranger is a book and television film about serial killer Ted Bundy.-Book:Bundy: The Deliberate Stranger was written by a Seattle Times reporter named Richard W. Larsen and published in 1980...
, but lost the part to Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
. Still interested in stories about serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
s, North decided to try his hand at screenwriting
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
. His first script was about a 1984 prison break by six death row inmates from Virginia's
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
Mecklenburg Correctional Center
Mecklenburg Correctional Center
Mecklenburg Correctional Center is a medium security prison operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections in unincorporated Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States, near Boydton. The facility serves as a reception and classification facility...
, but the screenplay was never completed. Throughout the rest of the 1980s, North appeared with other former television stars on news and talk shows such as Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, Donahue
The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, and it was broadcast nationwide between 1967 and 1996.In 2002, Donahue was ranked #29 on TV Guide's...
and Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
. In October 1988, North acted out his frustrations towards Hollywood in a comedy sketch on an episode of HBO's Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News
Not Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O'Clock News...
, spoofing his role as Dennis The Menace - dressed in the trademark overalls, striped t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
and cowlick
Cowlick
A cowlick is a section of hair that stands straight up or lies at an angle at odds with the style in which the rest of an individual's hair is worn. Cowlicks appear when the growth direction of the hair forms a spiral pattern. The term "cowlick" originates from the domestic bovine's habit of...
- 37-year-old North portrayed an angry adult Dennis, taking revenge on "Hollywood pigs" with a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
.
Hoaxes
On the morning of December 8, 1988, North found himself at the center of a widely reported hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
. His mother Dorothy received the news that North had died in a doctor's office that morning. According to a story from United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, his body had been found at 12:35 am that morning. The article quoted an alleged doctor, Robert Tobias whom North had never met. North also dealt with several impostor
Impostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
s during this same time. One man, who resembled North in his youth, rented limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
s and attended Hollywood parties pretending to be him. At the time, North told journalist Mike Duffy of the Knight-Ridder
Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...
news agency - "I'm not on the "A" party list. I'm not a hot item, so they don't know what I look like. I really haven't worked a lot in a long time."
A Minor Consideration
On January 18, 1990 North received a phone call from Paul PetersenPaul Petersen
William Paul Petersen is an American movie actor, singer, novelist, and activist. Primarily known for his character-type roles in the 1960s and 1970s, as an adult Petersen established the organization A Minor Consideration to support child stars and other child laborers through legislation,...
telling him that former child star Rusty Hamer
Rusty Hamer
Rusty Hamer was an American television actor best known for his role as Rusty Williams in the popular NBC/CBS situation comedy The Danny Thomas Show also known as Make Room for Daddy.-Career:...
from The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1953-1957 on ABC and from 1957-1964 on CBS...
had committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Hamer's death was a turning point for North when childhood friends Paul Petersen
Paul Petersen
William Paul Petersen is an American movie actor, singer, novelist, and activist. Primarily known for his character-type roles in the 1960s and 1970s, as an adult Petersen established the organization A Minor Consideration to support child stars and other child laborers through legislation,...
(Jeff Stone on The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
) and Jeannie Russell
Jeannie Russell
Jeanne K. Russell is an actress best known for playing Dennis's playmate, Margaret Wade, in the television series Dennis The Menace, which was based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name and aired from 1959 to 1963 on CBS.Russell was chosen at the suggestion of Jay North, who starred...
(Margaret Wade on Dennis the Menace), concerned that North was heading down the same path, stepped in and put him in touch with therapist Dr. Stanley Ziegler who specialized in helping troubled former child actors. North would later credit his friends and therapist as being instrumental in helping him deal with his long-held anger and resentment regarding his unhappy childhood growing up in Hollywood, and he would later join Petersen's organization, A Minor Consideration, using his own experiences to counsel child stars dealing with the same pressures and difficulties he'd faced growing up.
Personal life
On March 2, 1991, North married his second wife Rositia. The couple had met on a blind date, but separated only 3 months after their wedding. On April 14, 1992, North met caterer Cindy Hackney at a party after a charity event for pediatric AIDS in Gainesville, FloridaGainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. On March 3, 1993 the two were married, and three months later, still financially well-off as a result of his mother's investments of his earnings as a child star, North left Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and moved to Cindy's hometown of Lake Butler, Florida
Lake Butler, Union County, Florida
Lake Butler is a city in Union County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,927 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 1,988...
, becoming stepfather to her three daughters. That same year, with the release of the 1993 feature film Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (film)
Dennis the Menace is a 1993 live-action American family film based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name....
, North was sought out by the media looking to find out what had become of the "original" Dennis they'd grown up with, and this renewed interest prompted North to publicly disclose the abuse he'd experienced as a child star.
In May 1997, having come to terms with the physical and emotional abuse he'd suffered at the hands of his aunt and uncle, North began attending memorabilia shows to meet with fans. After moving to Florida, North began working as a correctional officer, working with troubled youth within Florida's juvenile justice system
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is a state agency of Florida that operates juvenile detention centers. Its headquarters are in the Knight Building in Tallahassee.-Residential facilities:...
. Since the early 1990s, North has made occasional appearances on talk shows and in documentaries, as well as cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s as "himself" on the animated television series, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and in the comedy feature film, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring David Spade and Mary McCormack.- Plot :...
. In 1999, North concluded his E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
interview by saying - "I am so happy that I was able to have such a positive impact on people's lives. I'm going to write my auto-biography and then I'm just going to live a contented, happy life here in Lake Butler with the people I love, and kind of just vanish into the mists of time."
Television
- Cartoon Express with Engineer BillBill StullaWilliam "Bill" Stulla , also known as Engineer Bill, was an award-winning host of children's television. He was born in New York City....
(1957) - Queen for a DayQueen for a DayQueen for a Day is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. Queen for a Day originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945 in New York City before moving to Los Angeles a few months...
(1958) - The George Gobel Show (1958)
- The Eddie Fisher ShowCoke Time with Eddie FisherCoke Time with Eddie Fisher is an American musical variety television series starring singer Eddie Fisher which was broadcast by NBC on Wednesday nights in early prime time from 1953 to 1957. The program was aired from 7:30 to 7:45 p.m...
(1958) - The Milton Berle Show (1958)
- Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958)
- 77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
(1959) - Rescue 8Rescue 8Rescue 8 is a syndicated American action drama series about Los Angeles County Fire Department Rescue Squad Number 8. It premiered in 1958, and originally ran for two seasons with syndicated reruns continuing for almost a decade after. It starred Jim Davis as fireman Wes Cameron, and Lang Jeffries...
(1959) - Cheyenne (1959)
- BroncoBronco (TV series)Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James,...
(1959) - Colt .45Colt .45 (TV series)Colt .45 is an American Western television series shown on ABC between 1957 and 1960. The half-hour show derives from the 1950 Warner Brothers film of the same name starring Randolph Scott and formed part of the William T...
(1959) - SugarfootSugarfootSugarfoot is the title of a TV western that aired from 1957 to 1961. The series featured Will Hutchins as fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster and Jack Elam as sidekick Toothy Thompson...
(1959) - The Detectives Starring Robert TaylorThe Detectives Starring Robert TaylorThe Detectives Starring Robert Taylor is an American crime drama series which ran on ABC during its first two seasons, and on NBC during its third and final season...
(1959) - The Tennessee Ernie Ford ShowThe Ford ShowThe Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
(1959) - The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
(1960) - The Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
(1960) - The Red Skelton Hour (1960)
- The Dinah Shore Chevy ShowThe Dinah Shore Chevy ShowThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A...
(1960) - Art Linkletter's House PartyArt Linkletter's House PartyHouse Party is an American radio daytime variety/talk show that aired on CBS Radio and on ABC Radio from January 15, 1945 to October 13, 1967...
(1961) - Dennis the Menace (1959–1963)
- Wagon TrainWagon TrainWagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
(1964) - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
(1965) - The Lucy ShowThe Lucy ShowThe Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
(1966) - My Three SonsMy Three SonsMy Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
(1966) - JerichoJericho (1966 TV series)Jericho was a short-lived 1966 CBS World War II espionage American television series. It starred John Leyton, Don Francks and Marino Masé as secret agents.-Plot and production:...
(1966) - Space GhostSpace Ghost (TV series)Space Ghost is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It first aired on CBS from September 10, 1966 to September 7, 1968. The series was composed of two unrelated segments, Space Ghost and Dino Boy in the Lost Valley...
(1966) - MayaMaya (TV series)Maya was an hour-long U.S. adventure television series that aired on NBC, Saturdays from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. from September 16, 1967 until February 10, 1968...
(1967–1968) - Arabian KnightsArabian KnightsArabian Knights is an animated segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series is based on Arabian Nights, a classic work of Middle Eastern literature.-Plot :...
(1968) - Here Comes the GrumpHere Comes The GrumpHere Comes the Grump is an animated cartoon series produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and aired on NBC from 1969 to 1971.-History:The main character was a small, grumpy wizard named Susanne who put a spell of melancholy on the kingdom of the Princess Dawn...
(1969–1971) - The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm ShowThe Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm ShowThe Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran for 16 half-hour episodes from September 11, 1971, to September 2, 1972, and four 8-minute episodes from September 9, 1972, to September 1,...
(1971) - LassieLassie (1954 TV series)Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...
(1973) - Scout's HonorScout's Honor (TV film)-Plot Summary:Joey, The clever but lonely orphan, is determined to be the best cub scout ever. A hard-working executive who dislikes children takes on a troop of cub scouts and becomes a den mother to save her job. on an outing, she takes her den to a nearby park, where the boys discover a cave and...
(1980) - General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
(1982) - Our Time (1985)
- Not Necessarily the NewsNot Necessarily the NewsNot Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O'Clock News...
(1988) - The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
(1999)
Film
- The Miracle of the Hills (1959)
- The Big OperatorThe Big Operator (1959 film)The Big Operator is a 1959 crime/drama film starring Mickey Rooney as a corrupt union boss, with Steve Cochran and Mamie Van Doren as co-stars.-Cast:*Mickey Rooney as Little Joe Braun...
(1959) - PépéPepe (film)Pepe is a 1960 film starring Mario "Cantinflas" Moreno in the title role, directed by George Sidney. A multitude of cameo appearances attempted to replicate the success of Mario Moreno's American debut, notably Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by Mike Todd in 1956.The film failed to...
(1960) - Zebra in the KitchenZebra in the KitchenZebra in the Kitchen is a 1965 American family comedy film, produced and directed by Ivan Tors. The film stars Jay North in his first leading feature film role, Martin Milner, Andy Devine, and Joyce Meadows, and tells the story of a 12-year-old boy's love and compassion for the animals he finds...
(1965) - MayaMaya (1966 film)Maya is a 1966 American drama, the coming of age story of a young man in the jungles of India. It was directed by John Berry and starred Jay North and Sajid Khan.-Synopsis:...
(1966) - The TeacherThe Teacher (1974 film)The Teacher is a 1974 American coming-of-age suspense film, written, produced, and directed by Hickmet Avedis and released by Crown International Pictures. The film stars Angel Tompkins, Jay North and Anthony James, and tells the story of an 18-year-old's first relationship with his alluring...
(1974) - Dikiy veter (1986)
- Dickie Roberts: Former Child StarDickie Roberts: Former Child StarDickie Roberts: Former Child Star is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring David Spade and Mary McCormack.- Plot :...
(2003)