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
Monday, April 7
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)
Monday, April 7
- Eric André (Man Seeking Woman/2 Broke Girls/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - Watch Eric on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai is a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Keegan-Michael Key (Schmigadoon!/Friends from College/Playing House/Gary Unmarried) - Keegan-Michael makes a special appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish/Girlfriends) - Tracee appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. She also talks about Black Mirror on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Karan Soni (Miracle Workers/Blunt Talk) and Kate Micucci (Raising Hope/Scrubs) - Karan and Kate are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) - E! News has an interview with Michael at 11pm on E!. He also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Chase Sui Wonders (The Studio/Bupkis) - NBC's Today catches up with Chase in the 9am hour.
- Bowen Yang (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) - Bowen co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Kenan Thompson (Kenan/Kenan & Kel) - NBC's Today catches up with Kean in the 10am hour.
- Rashida Jones (Sunny/BlackAF/Duncanville/Angie Tribeca/Unhitched/The Office) - Rashida talks about Black Mirror on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Susan Kelechi Watson (Louie) - Susan talks about Netflix's The Residence on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Kevin Bacon (I Love Dick) - Kevin is playing a round of Behind-the-Scenes and dishing on some of his biggest projects on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) - Tichina is telling Drew about being single and using dating apps, her daughter turning 21, and filming the last season of The Neighborhood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood/New Girl) - Max and Tess Sanchez are telling Drew all about how they make their marriage work in an all new Drew Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael discusses his Still Ugly podcast on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Randall Park (Young Rock/Blockbuster/Fresh Off the Boat/Veep/Supah Ninjas) - Randall talks about Netflix's The Residence on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
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