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, after battling colon cancer, said Laurie Jacobson, a longtime friend, and Bonnie Vent, who was his booking agent.

Jay North, who starred as the towheaded mischief maker on TV’s “Dennis the Menace” for four seasons starting in 1959, has died

The godfather of Calvin (of "Calvin & Hobbes") and Bart Simpson, Jay North's Dennis the Menace is, unlike them, very much a child; he has no adult thoughts, he's not an instrument for satire. Just good deeds gone minorly wrong.