Jay North

His career as a child actor began in the late 1950s with roles in eight TV series, two variety shows and three feature films.

He continued to work as a child model and actor in commercials, and landed 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 made him a star.

Jay Waverly North Jr. (born August 3, 1951) is an American actor.

In June 1958, Columbia Pictures's 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 by Hank Ketcham, and 6-year-old North auditioned.

After receiving news that his first audition had not gone well, agent Hazel MacMillan pressed the studio to see him again.

The studio agreed and was impressed with his second audition.

After hundreds of other boys' auditions, North was asked back to screen test with Herbert Anderson, Gloria Henry, and Joseph Kearns.

A pilot was filmed later that summer.

The season passed, and North heard nothing more from Screen Gems, but continued to work, appearing in a Christmas-themed episode of the CBS Western series Wanted: Dead or Alive titled "Eight Cent Reward".

In the episode, he portrayed Laddie Stone, a young boy who pays bounty hunter Josh Randall (Steve McQueen) eight cents to find Santa Claus.

At age 7 he became a household name for his role as the well-meaning but mischievous Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace (1959–1963), based on the comic strip created by Hank Ketcham.

As a teen North had roles in two Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature films: Zebra in the Kitchen and Maya.

He also starred in the NBC television series adaptation of the latter film, also titled Maya.

As an adult he turned to voice acting for animated television series, voicing the roles of Prince Turhan in the Arabian Knights segment of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and a teenaged Bamm-Bamm Rubble on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.

After leaving show business he disclosed the truth about the difficulties he dealt with as a child actor.

He 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 in the entertainment industry.

North was born in Hollywood, the only child of Jay and Dorothy (née Cotton) North.

North's father was an alcoholic, and his parents' marriage was turbulent.

When he was four, his parents separated, and North never saw his father again.

He briefly resided happily in Birmingham, Alabama.

His mother worked as the secretary to the West Coast director of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

From a young age, North was a fan of television.

When he was 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 Engineer Bill.

Prominent Hollywood talent agent Hazel MacMillan was impressed with the photogenic boy, contacting his mother the following day offering to represent him.

His mother was aware of the stories of troubled former child stars, and had reservations but eventually gave her approval.

North's first professional acting job was a live appearance on the gameshow Queen for a Day, hosted by Jack Bailey.

Over the next several months, North made television appearances on such shows as 77 Sunset Strip, Rescue 8, Cheyenne, Bronco, Colt .45, and Sugarfoot, and broke into feature films with roles in The Miracle of the Hills and The Big Operator until, in early 1959, almost one year after he had first auditioned, MacMillan contacted North's mother to tell her that her son had been chosen to play the role of Dennis "The Menace" Mitchell.

Dennis the Menace premiered on CBS on Sunday, October 4, 1959, and quickly became a hit with audiences.

North was paid US$500 1959 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.

His mother continued to work at AFTRA full-time, and hired business managers to invest his earnings.

In late 1960, the second season of the series was ranked among TV's top 20 shows, and his portrayal of Dennis had become a beloved pop culture icon.

He made crossover guest appearances as Dennis on such television shows as The Donna Reed Show and The Red Skelton Hour, and in the feature film Pépé.

That year, North recorded The Misadventures of Dennis the Menace soundtrack stories on LP, and an LP album of songs titled Jay North - Look who's singing!.

With the success of the series, his guardians, Marie and Hal Hopper, had become strict taskmasters and stern disciplinarians.

He was not allowed to socialize with other cast members on the set and missed being around children his own age.

He ate alone in his dressing room.

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 his mother worked, her sister Marie Hopper and brother-in-law actor-composer Hal Hopper served as his on-set guardians during filming for Dennis The Menace.

In addition to filming the series, he 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 three hours a day of school, took their toll on him, 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.