Monday, April 07, 2025
NBC Celebrates Joan Rivers with Special; Remembering Jay North of Dennis the Menace

NBC will celebrate comedy legend Joan Rivers with Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute on Tuesday, May 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The one-hour all-star comedy special will feature today's biggest comedians as they pay homage to Rivers' razor-sharp humor and impact on pop culture. To celebrate the decade since her passing, the comedy community will revisit Rivers' legendary cabinet of jokes and add their own personal spin to reflect today's social and cultural landscape, along with a dose of their original material.
Filmed at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute will feature appearances, musical bits and standup comedy from today's biggest artists who have been touched by her legacy, including Rachel Brosnahan, Margaret Cho, Nikki Glaser, Tiffany Haddish, Chelsea Handler, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Maher, Howie Mandel, Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan, Patton Oswalt, Aubrey Plaza, Sarah Silverman, Melissa Rivers, Jean Smart and Rita Wilson. On May 14, an extended and uncensored version of Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute will debut on Peacock and will feature additional comics, who will be announced later.
Actor Jay North, who starred as Dennis Mitchell in Dennis the Menace, has died. He died of colorectal cancer on April 6 at his home in Lake Butler, Florida. Mr. North was 73.
North starred as the good-natured but mischievous Dennis Mitchell in the 1959-1963 CBS sitcom Dennis the Menace, which was based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. The show follows the Mitchell family – Henry, Alice, and their only child, Dennis, an energetic, trouble-prone, mischievous, but well-meaning boy, who often tangles first with his peace-and-quiet-loving neighbor, George Wilson, a retired salesman, and later with George's brother John, a writer. He called Mr. Wilson his "best friend" or "Good Ol' Mr. Wilson". The cast included Herbert Anderson, Gloria Henry, Joseph Kearns (1959-1962), Sylvia Field (1959-1962), Jeannie Russell, Billy Booth, Gale Gordon (1962-1963), and Sara Seegar (1962-1963). Recurring cast members included Gil Smith (1959-1960), Irene Tedrow, Willard Waterman, Mary Wickes (1959-1962), Kathleen Mulqueen, George Cisar (1960-1963), and Robert John Pittman (1961-1963).
He made crossover guest appearances as Dennis on such television shows as The Donna Reed Show and The Red Skelton Hour in 1960, and in the feature film Pepe (1960). In 1966, he reunited with Gale Gordon in an episode of The Lucy Show. He guest starred in two episodes of My Three Sons in 1966.
North starred as Terry Bowen in the short-lived 1967-1968 NBC adventure series Maya. The series is a follow-up to the 1966 film of the same name, with North and Sajid Khan reprising their roles. Set in the Indian jungle, the series centered on an American boy searching for his missing father, a big game hunter.
Some of his other television credits included Wanted: Dead or Alive, 77 Sunset Strip, Rescue 8, Sugarfoot, The Detectives, Wagon Train, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Jericho (1966).
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, Terry Dexter in Here Comes the Grump, and a teenaged Bamm-Bamm Rubble on The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show. He voiced himself in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons.
Some of his other film credits included The Miracle of the Hills (1959), The Big Operator (1959), Zebra in the Kitchen (1965), and The Teacher (1974). He appeared as himself in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003).
After leaving show business, he began working with fellow former child star Paul Petersen and the organization A Minor Consideration, using his experiences as a child performer to counsel other children working in the entertainment industry. He also worked as a correctional officer, working with troubled youth within Florida's juvenile justice system.
Mr. North was a talented child actor. He was funny and memorable as Dennis Mitchell. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment that he brought us during his career. He will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our Dennis the Menace message board. View photos in our galleries.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, September 19
Ghosts - "It’s the End of the World as We Know It and What Were We Talking About?" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Flower interferes with the opening of Jay’s restaurant based on a prophecy from her old cult leader.
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Dance" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
In the lead up to the Wilson Hall Welcome Dance, Vee and Elijah struggle with power imbalances; Sophie searches for her DJ persona.
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire - "First Parents Day" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Parents Day sneaks up on Vee and Elijah, they struggle to keep their parents from meeting; Demi learns how to disguise his ghostly form.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 15)
Friday, September 19
- Stephen Curry (Mr. Throwback) - Watch Stephen on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek/Greg the Bunny/Hiller and Diller) - Eugene is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Julio Torres (Fantasmas/Los Espookys) - Julio appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Oscar Montoya (Minx) - Oscar is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Michael Chiklis (Daddio) - Michael talks about The Senior on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti talks about The Queens: 4 Legends, 1 Stage on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Brett Goldstein (Shrinking/Ted Lasso) - Brett talks about All of You on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek/Greg the Bunny/Hiller and Diller) - Eugene talks about The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Emayatzy Corinealdi (Ballers) Emayatzy talks about Reasonable Doubt on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is covering the news sunny-side up with Drew and Ross on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
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