Dennis The Menace: The E! True Hollywood Story

[bengay]

Christmas Morning, 1990: An episode of a short-lived revival of the TV game show "To Tell the Truth" aired on the NBC Television Network; among the day's panel included actor Fred Burrows (real name of Orson Bean), regular panelist Peggy Cass, Chris Lemmon (Jack's adult son) and the Queen of "To Tell the Truth" regular panelists, Kitty Carlysle.

The episode ended with a segment titled "One on One," a segment where Barbara Cohen, a resident of El Toro, California, was picked from the audience to play the segment, which had a gentleman referred only as Mr. X

Mr. X had 2 stories to tell, but only 1 was true; in the first story, he identified himself as Hank Ketcham, the creator of "Dennis The Menace," while in the second story, he identified himself as Johnny Marks, the writer of the Christmas Holiday song classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

As Hank, Mr. X was asked, among other questions: "Who Played Dennis on TV?" (His answer: Jay North), "What inspired the character of Dennis The Menace?" (His answer: My Son), and "What was Dennis's neighbor's name?" (His answer: George Wilson). Lynn Swann joked, "He's in an asylum right now."

As Johnny, Mr. X was asked, among other questions: "How many chord changes are there in the first verse?" (His answer: There are only 4 Chord Changes in the entire song), "Was the song written for the show or was it written first and then the show came later?" (His interesting answer: It was written from a book by Robert May in 1949 and given away by the Montgomery Ward Company as a freebie), and "Who was your favorite recording artist besides original artist Gene Autry?" (His answer: Bing Crosby)

At the end of the segment, Barbara was asked which of the 2 stories was true: was he the man behind "Dennis The Menace?" (Hank) or the writer of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?" (Johnny), and she guessed that he was the man who created "Dennis The Menace" based on his sense of humor and more knowledge about "Dennis." When host Lynn Swann asked, "What is your true story, Mr. X?" Mr. X said, "To Tell the Truth, my name is Hank Ketcham and I created Dennis The Menace." Barbara won $500 for guessing correctly.

Lynn subsequently did an on-air post-segment interview with Hank where Hank stated that "Dennis The Menace was created in 1950 and first published in 18 newspapers in 1951." He subsequently showed a stilled version of the very first published "Dennis The Menace" comic book where Dennis said to his dad, defending a robber, "Thadda boy, Dad. Squirt him Right in the Eye."

The life and career of Henry King "Hank" Ketcham was quite colorful.

Born on March 14, 1920 in Seattle, Washington, Hank graduated from high school at age 17 in 1937 and enrolled at the University of Washington.

After dropping out of college his freshman year, Hank applied for his dream job working for Walt Disney; though Walt had no jobs open at the time, he initially worked briefly as an animator for Walter Lantz before finding work for Walt Disney as an Animator via such films as "Pinocchio" and "Bambi."

In 1942, after a few years as a Disney Animator, Hank enlisted in the U.S. Navy; though he never actually fought outside the U.S. during World War II, Hank did use his experience in the Navy to create his first comic book series, "Half Hitch." When the war ended 3 years later, so did "Half Hitch."

Later in 1945, Hank and his new bride, Alice, discovered they were expecting their child, and in November 1945, Dennis Lloyd Ketcham was born.

One fateful day in October 1950, Hank, at age 30, was in the midst of drawing what would become his 1st "Dennis The Menace" comic book when Alice said to him, "Your son is a Menace!!!" The name stuck, and on March 12, 1951, "Dennis The Menace" made his debut in 18 American newspapers.

He's been 5 1/2 years old for the past 65 years.

In late 1958, writer Sol Saks (the future creator of "Bewitched") was working for Screen Gems, the TV subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, when he decided to turn "Dennis The Menace" into a live-action sitcom for Columbia.

Nearly 500 children auditioned for the role of "Dennis" before 7-year-old Jay Waverly North, Jr. (born on August 3, 1951 in Los Angeles, California) was chosen to portray "Dennis The Menace" on Television.

Joining Jay in the cast were Gloria Henry (born on April 2, 1923 in New Orleans, Louisiana and still with us at age 93) as Dennis's mother, Alice; Herb Anderson (born on March 30, 1917 in Oakland, California; died on June 11, 1994 in Palm Springs, California) as Dennis's father, Henry, an engineer; and veteran character actor Joe Kearns (born on February 12, 1907 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; died on February 17, 1962 in Los Angeles, California) as the Mitchell family neighbor George Wilson, whom Dennis called his best friend.

"Dennis The Menace" filmed its pilot episode in late 1958 and was subsequently picked up by the CBS Television Network for the Fall 1959 TV season; "Dennis" made his CBS debut on October 4, 1959 at 7 P.M. ET/PT

Throughout its run, the show aired between "Lassie" and "The Ed Sullivan Show," but despite "Dennis" being a stereotypical '50s sitcom a la "Leave It To Beaver," Jay North was leading a Life of Pure Hell when cameras weren't rolling; after his parents, Dorothy and Jay North, Sr., divorced when he was very young, Jay was raised by his maternal aunt Marie and her husband, Hal Hopper, an aspiring actor and musician. As Jay himself soberly noted, he was regularly abused by his aunt and uncle who'd hit him regularly in places it wouldn't show on camera e.g. his chest; in a 2011 interview with KTLA-TV, Jay described Hal & Marie as "no-nonsense, humorless people."

On February 17, 1962, the cast of "Dennis The Menace" was dealt a very serious blow when, hours after filming the show's 100th episode, Joe Kearns, age 55, died at his Los Angeles, California home of a Massive Stroke.

The following May, Gale Gordon was brought in as John Wilson, George's brother, initially introduced as a guest of George's wife, Martha, his sister-in-law, before moving in the following Fall with his own wife, Eloise (Sara Seegar), with George and Martha written out as being a distant memory.

Despite poor ratings in its debut season, "Dennis" became a solid hit for the rest of its run; in Spring 1963, however, CBS determined that Jay North, by this time aged 11, was deemed "too old" to continue as "Dennis" on TV.

As a result, "Dennis" was canceled; the series finale aired on July 7, 1963.

In the years that followed, Jay was typecast as "Dennis The Menace," although he did make a few movies (including "Zebra in the Kitchen" and "Maya") and found voice work in "Here Comes the Grump" and the short-lived "Flintstones" spin-off "Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm."

As for Hank Ketcham, he became a Widower when Alice died of an accidental Drug Overdose at age 41 in 1959, leaving himself to raise his 14-year-old son, Dennis, alone; after relocating with Dennis to Geneva, Switzerland (where he met Jo Anne Stevens), his home for the next 17 years starting in 1960, Hank enrolled Dennis at a local Boarding School in California.

After his 17-year marriage to Jo Anne Stevens ended, Hank moved back to the U.S. (specifically settling in Monterey, California), where he soon met and fell in love with Rolande Probst, who eventually became his wife and the mother of Hank's 2 younger adult children, Scott and Dania (Dennis's half-siblings); Hank eventually retired from "Dennis The Menace" in 1994, giving the comic book drawings to proteges Marcus Ferdinand & Ron Hamilton.

In retirement, Hank enjoyed Serenity and Solitude with Rolande and their 2 children. On June 1, 2001, Hank Ketcham, age 81, died of Prostate Cancer.

"Dennis The Menace," as a comic book, continues on, however, drawn each week by the duo of Ferdinand and Hamilton--who helped the comic book celebrate its 65th Anniversary earlier this Spring, with the character's birthday later changed from March 12 to March 14 to coincide with Hank's.

As an adult, Jay North found himself in 2 failed marriages; his first marriage, to Kathy Brucher, ended in divorce in 1974; within 2 years, Jay, at age 25, decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy, stationed in Virginia as a Seaman.

After 2 1/2 years in the U.S. Navy, Jay received an Honorable Discharge in August 1979, days after his 28th Birthday; while still living in his native Los Angeles, Jay was involved in a brief 2nd marriage to an Argentinian woman he met on a blind date named Rositia; the marriage lasted only 3 months in 1991.

Soon after the end of his 2nd marriage, while at an autograph convention in Lake Butler, Florida (near Jacksonville), Jay met and fell in love with a local caterer (and recent divorcee) named Cindy Hackney, whom he wed on March 3, 1993; they are now the proud parents of 3 young daughters (including their oldest one born in c. late 1992, just before he and Cindy married)

In order to make peace with both himself AND his past, after marrying Cindy, Jay KNEW he had to leave his native Los Angeles behind and settled with Cindy in Lake Butler, where he now works as a Florida Prison Guard.

In his spare time, when not working as a Prison Guard, Jay often helps out an old friend of his, Paul Petersen, the founder of A Minor Consideration, an organization Paul founded to protect troubled youth in the state of California.

Paul founded the organization in 1990, after hearing of the Suicide of Rusty Hamer, then age 42, in Louisiana by a gunshot wound to the head, and becoming very concerned that Jay North was gonna kill himself too.

Paul soon had Jay referred to a local Psychologist specializing in child actors like himself and Jay credits the L.A. Psychologist for helping him get through with his past.

After his aunt Marie and uncle Hal died in quick succession (him in 1970, aged 57, of Emphysema and her in 1974 of a Massive Stroke, aged 64), Jay came out of the Abuse closet privately to his mother, Dorothy, as he would nearly 20 years later on daytime talk shows a la "The Geraldo Rivera Show."

Jay North, as he turns 65 next month, is a living Testimony of what can and does happen after surviving an Abusive Environment--just like yours truly.

[Zoneboy]

Orson Bean's real first name is Dallas, but Frederick is his middle name.

[Coffeecup]

Interesting story about Hank. According the article, Hank's first wife died just as the Dennis the Menace tv series was on the air. Hank married 3 times. About 20 years ago I was in California, I can't remember where but I came upon a little park and a statue of Dennis was in the park. Could have been in the Santa Rosa town area.

[MRPITT]

Originally Posted by Coffeecup

Interesting story about Hank. According the article, Hank's first wife died just as the Dennis the Menace tv series was on the air. Hank married 3 times. About 20 years ago I was in California, I can't remember where but I came upon a little park and a statue of Dennis was in the park. Could have been in the Santa Rosa town area.

There is a park in Monterrey CA called Dennis The Menace park. Perhaps this is the one. It has a statue of the Comic Book Dennis. The park was built in the 1950's and was funded by Hank Ketchum. Cool little park.

[Coffeecup]

Yes, thanks, that is the place I saw the statue of Dennis.