LAKE BUTLER, Fla. (AP) — Jay North, who starred as the towheaded mischief maker on TV's “Dennis the Menace” for four seasons starting in 1959, has died. He was 73.
North died Sunday at his home in Lake Butler, Florida, and had colon cancer, said Laurie Jacobson, a longtime friend, and Bonnie Vent, who was his booking agent.
“He had a heart as big as a mountain, loved his friends deeply. He called us frequently and ended every conversation with ‘I love you with all my heart,’” Jacobson wrote in a tribute on Facebook.
North was 6 when he was cast as the smiling troublemaker in the CBS sitcom adaptation of Hank Ketcham's popular comic strip that took place in an idyllic American suburb.
Often wearing a striped shirt and overalls, Dennis’ mischievous antics frequently frustrated his retired next-door neighbor George Wilson, played by Joseph Kearns. After Kearns died, Gale Gordon played Wilson’s brother. Dennis' patient parents were played by Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry.
The show ran on Sunday nights until it was canceled in 1963. After that it was a fixture for decades in syndication.
Later, North appeared on TV in shows including “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Lucy Show,” “My Three Sons,” “Lassie” and “The Simpsons,” and in movies like “Maya” (1966), “The Teacher” (1974) and “Dickie Robert: Former Child Star” (2003).
North is survived by his third wife, Cindy, and three stepdaughters.
FILE - Actor Jay North, in character as Dennis the Menace, shows his ever-present slingshot to show co-star Gale Gordon, on set in Hollywood, March 29, 1962. (AP Photo/David F. Smith, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, right, gives TV star Jay North some pointers on pitching, Feb. 22, 1962, in Los Angeles (AP Photo/David F. Smith, File)
FILE - Jay North, young star of the new "Dennis the Menace" series, right, attempts to handcuff Dean Martin, center, as they play with a stuffed toy with Tony Curtis on Sept. 15, 1959. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Actor Jay North, in character as Dennis the Menace, shows his ever-present slingshot to show co-star Gale Gordon, on set in Hollywood, March 29, 1962. (AP Photo/David F. Smith, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — While a federal judge considers whether to approve a massive NCAA settlement that would pay athletes over $2 billion and pave the way for even more spending, a large group of industry officials returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers on legislation to land some antitrust protection for some of the final vestiges of college athletics' amateurism model.
Commissioners of the Power Four conferences, dozens of athletic directors from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12, and even some coaches and players spent hours meeting with members of Congress. There was no firm conclusion to the talks, but multiple stakeholders involved came out of them with positive takeaways.
“We had great dialogue throughout the day, so I’m very optimistic we can get there,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said. “The common denominator on the Hill is that everyone has a great passion for collegiate athletics. They want to see something that’s sustainable moving forward."
A federal judge held a final hearing Monday on the settlement of a $2.8 billion class-action antitrust lawsuit filed by athletes against the NCAA and its largest conferences, which was approved by the defendants and plaintiffs in May 2024. U.S. Judge Claudia Wilken must give full approval before the terms can go into effect as soon as July 1.
“I think that was a piece of being able to go back to our elected officials and say that we’re trying to do our part,” Louisville athletic director Josh Heird said. “We’re going to ante up and pay $2.8 billion in back damages. We’re going to find a way to fund this $20.5 million revenue sharing. And so with that, in order to get to that goal line, now we need some help from our elected officials.”
Among those who took part were Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian, Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl fresh off a March Madness trip to the Final Four and Vanderbilt women's basketball coach Shea Ralph.
Discussions revolved around some antitrust protection, standardizing rules nationwide for name, image and likeness (NIL) payments, the transfer portal and whether college athletes should be considered employees.
“What are the downstream problems in addition to the notion that there’s just benefits or a set of hurdles to have to be overcome?” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. "We’ve educated, I think, effectively members of the House and Senate, and we need to keep pushing and to do that with our universities is much healthier than simply doing that as commissioners and doing so in a coordinated way across the four conferences.”
Yormark said the current volume of player movement through the transfer portal is “unsustainable” and cautioned that lawmakers should step up sooner than later to calm that chaos and create national standards.
“Everyone knows there’s a sense of urgency,” Yormark said. "Time is not on our side, so we have to move quickly and swiftly.”
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
College soccer player Lexi Drumm leaves federal court during a hearing for a landmark $2.8 billion settlement impacting NCAA college athletics on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Houston's L.J. Cryer (4) shoots as Florida's Rueben Chinyelu (9) defends during the second half in the national championship at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 7, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
A logo guide and paint tray are seen as workers prepare this year's court for the Final Four in the men’s NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in San Marcos, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The Commissioners of the NCAA's power four conferences, SEC's Greg Sankey, ACC's Jim Phillips, Big 12's Brett Yormark and Big Ten's Tony Petitti speak with ESPN's Roddy Jones, left, and Dana Boyle, right, at the College Sports Day on Capitol Hill reception in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, after they lobbied lawmakers earlier in the day for legislation to standardize name, image and likeness and other rules. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno )
