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, July 4
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)
Friday, July 4
- Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth/The Bear) - Watch Ayo on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Frankie Grande (Henry Danger/Danger Force) - Frankie appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) - Mark is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Cristin Milioti (The Resort/Made for Love/A to Z/How I Met Your Mother) - Cristin appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (FUBAR) - Arnold is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Rob Riggle (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/Golan the Insatiable/Gary Unmarried) - Rob appears on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about And Just Like That... on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob opens up about being married six-times and is sharing all about his new show Landman on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela) - Justine is telling Drew about her viral wardrobe moment with Kathy Bates and shares behind the scenes moments of filming Succession, revealing the cast member she had a crush on, on a repeat of 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)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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