Jay North 1951 - 2025 "Dennis the Menace’" Tribute Stream

Shout! Studios youtube ^ | April 7, 2025 | Shout! Studios

[JonPreston]

“Up yours, Mr Wilson”

[Morgana]

Aw come on, I thought you all would enjoy this.

[albie]

Mr. Wilson was in his 50’s on Dennis. Looked 70+ imo

[DarthVader]

Bookmark!

[Red Badger]

There were two different actors that played Mr. Wilson.

Joseph Kearns, the first one, died unexpectedly in 1962 and was replaced by Gale Gordon, Lucille Ball’s co-star on The Lucy Show as Mr. Mooney.............

[albie]

I didn’t like Gale Gordon as much

[Publius]

Gale Gordon’s greatest role was Osgood Conklin in “Our Miss Brooks.”

[Red Badger]

He resembled the Mr. Wilson in the comic strip better than Mr. Kearns. Plus I noted that the dialog changed with the new Mr. Wilson. Gordon was really good at delivering the one-liners..................

[Az Joe]

My pre-teen idol, and who I tried to pattern my behavior after.

[Shady]

Joseph Kearns had a WurliTzer theatre organ installed in his Home in LA.

[PUGACHEV]

I was only a few years older than Dennis at the time, and it’s a little jarring to see those clips. Everything in that world has passed: the people, the manners, the clothing, the standards. All is gone, and soon, so will we be too.

[Az Joe]

The world is rushing past us and now mostly behind us. The way of the world.

[NurdlyPeon]

And so, one of my lifelong ambitions will go unfulfilled. Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to strangle Jay North. Do you know how many times I’ve been called “Dennis the Menace” in my life? Grrr.

[central_va]

I wish Dennis had been drafted and sent to Khe Sahn with the Marines. That would have been an interesting TV show!!

[Daveinyork]

I was on a cruise in 1993. We were assigned a table for our dinners, and one of my table mates was Herbert Anderson, who played Dennis’ father. He was a fine gentleman. He was confined to a wheelchair because of a degenerative condition in his legs. I think he passed away about two years later.

[albie]

Kearns had great comical timing

[Red Badger]

I was a kid at the time, almost the same age a Jay, and I would read the comic strip in Sunday papers at my aunt’s house. To me, at least, the first Mr. Wilson, Mr. Kearns, just didn’t look like the comic strip version............

[HandyDandy]

Back then, it was a feather in your cap if you were to be called the “Dennis the Menace” of your neighborhood.

[Deaf and Discerning]

I wish Dennis had been drafted and sent to Khe Sahn with the Marines. That would have been an interesting TV show!!

Your comment reminds me of comedian Jim Nabors playing Gomer Pyle in USMC.