Sunday, December 24, 2017

Classic TV: Dennis the Menace (1959)

Hank Ketchum's long-running comic strip, Dennis The Menace, was adapted for television by Screen Gems (now Sony Pictures Television) & CBS in 1959, lasting four seasons (1959-63)

Dennis Mitchell (Jay North) is your prototypical little boy of the time. Curious to a fault, well meaning, but while his intentions are good, his efforts often lead to chaos. That the strip is still running today, long after Ketchum's passing, speaks to its enduring charm with readers.

The one running gag that kept the show going was Dennis perpetually perplexing his next door neighbor, Mr. Wilson (Joseph Kearns). Dennis' parents (Herbert Anderson & Gloria Henry) had a difficult time keeping their only child in line, but part of the lure of the show was finding out what kind of mischief Dennis would get into next.

Unfortunately, Kearns, a radio veteran, passed away late in the series run, and Gale Gordon (ex-Our Miss Brooks) was brought in to play George Wilson's brother, John. Sylvia Field (Mrs. Wilson) left the show and was, I think, written out. Not sure if Gordon split time in season 4 between Dennis and The Lucy Show, though.

As our last Countdown to Christmas entry for 2017, we go to season 2 for "Another Christmas Story", in which Dennis is trying to find a horse he thinks is his. Poor Mr. Wilson was the last of a series of department store Santas that Dennis had asked about the horse......! At the end, Dennis sings "Silent Night".



After the series ended, Jay North would land one more primetime show, Maya, which lasted a few months in 1967, before turning to cartoons, and, after that, a stint in the Navy. Herbert Anderson became a dependable character actor, making a few guest appearances here & there. Mary Wickes (Miss Cathcart) also became a TV fixture, her last major series gig of note being The Father Dowling Mysteries with Tom Bosley & Tracy Nelson.

You'd think either Get TV (a Sony company) or Me-TV would put Dennis on their weekend schedules, but, not yet.

Rating: B.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

FYI:

Gale Gordon didn't join The Lucy Show until the fall of 1963, after Dennis was cancelled.
At that point, Gordon's Wilson was provided with his own Mrs. played by Sara Seegar; Sylvia Field was written out.

During Season One, Lucy's banker antagonist was Charles Lane, who went over to Petticoat Junction in '63.

hobbyfan said...

Thanks, Mike. Like I said, I wasn't sure. Merry Christmas.

magicdog said...

I have trouble enjoying DTM knowing of the horrible childhood North had due to the abuse of his Aunt & Uncle. I remember he was being interviewed on Geraldo's old talk show and mentioned his loving mother never spent a dime of his earnings (like many "momagers" often do) because she actually worked for a living. For some reason the aunt and uncle became North's guardians and I think managers (very similar situation to Patty Duke, I know).

When an audience member asked what became of his Aunt and Uncle, North coldly replied, "They're in Hell." ! Imagine the gasps coming from the studio audience!!

I also remember him mentioning that he had joined the Navy and said he's regretted it and considered the biggest mistake he'd ever made. I don't know the details but I'm guessing he got lots of flack for being a former child actor. He mentioned that his mom got him out of the Navy and had even written to the President to release him before his hitch was up.

hobbyfan said...

Why would anyone give him flack for swapping acting for the military?