Jay North, known for playing Dennis Mitchell in “Dennis the Menace,” died at 73 on April 6 at his home in Lake Butler, Florida. North’s cause of death was yearslong battle with colorectal cancer.
His friend Laurie Jacobson confirmed his death in a Facebook post, saying she had learned of his death from his “Dennis the Menace” co-star Jeanne Russell.
“He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply,” Jacobson wrote. “He called us frequently and ended every conversation with ‘I love you with all my heart.’ And we loved him with all of ours.”
“We will miss him terribly,” she also wrote. “He is out of pain now. His suffering is over. At last he is at peace.”
A representative for North confirmed his death to NBC News via email.
“Dennis The Menace’s” Jay North celebrates its 50th anniversary of the cartoon strip in 1999.Denny Keeler / Getty Images
North began working as a child star in 1958, appearing on TV shows including “77 Sunset Strip” and “Sugarfoot,” but he made his major breakthrough in 1959 when he landed the starring role on “Dennis the Menace.
He played the mischievous yet good-natured troublemaker, Dennis Mitchell, for four years, a role he said would follow him the rest of his life.
“I was typecast. I worked for a couple years after ‘Dennis the Menace,’ but into my teen years, early 20s, the industry pretty much shut its doors on me. Because I was typecast as Dennis the Menace. It was what it was,” he told the Washington Times in 2017.
Still, he added, “it’s nice to be remembered for something as wonderful as that little boy.”
North appeared in a handful of movies and TV shows over the following years, including “Zebra in the Kitchen,” “Maya” and “The Lucy Show,” and later worked as a voice actor for shows including “The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show” and “The Flintstone Comedy Hour,” according to his IMDb profile.
North also served in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the USS Iwo Jima and the USS Dixie, the U.S. Naval Institute shared in a Facebook post. He later worked in the health food industry, and then as a corrections officer in Florida.
“(A) lot of the inmates that I’ve guarded remember the show (‘Dennis the Menace’),” he told the Washington Times. “Many of them grew up watching the show. Some the first time out, others in reruns.”
Jay North’s cause of death
North died from colorectal cancer, according to The New York Times.
He had been “fighting cancer for a number of years” and “passed peacefully at home,” his longtime friend Laurie Jacobson wrote on Facebook.
Jay North as Dennis Mitchell. May 2, 1960. CBS via Getty Images
Colorectal cancer, also sometimes called colon cancer, is a type of cancer that begins in the colon, the longest part of the large intestine. It can affect people of any age, but often affects people older than 50, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, cases have been rising in younger people more recently.
Colon cancer can begin with the formation of polyps, or clumps of cells that form inside the colon. There are often no initial symptoms, so doctors recommend regular screenings for colon cancer starting at age 45, or sooner for patients with a higher risk, the Mayo Clinic says.
Symptoms of colon cancer can include changes in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, ongoing abdominal discomfort, weakness or tiredness, and unexplained weight loss, among other symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic.
