The first one produced is a CBS sitcom that aired from 1959 to 1963 starring Jay North as Dennis, [97] Herbert Anderson as Henry Mitchell; Joseph Kearns [98] as George Wilson, and subsequently Gale Gordon as his brother, John Wilson. North also appeared as Dennis on an episode of The Donna Reed Show [99] and in the theatrical film Pepe (both 1960). Swedish: Dennis (also called Lill-Knas, Bosse Bus or Kristian Tyrann in some publications in the 50s). George Everett Wilson Sr. is Dennis's cranky, cantankerous, middle-aged next-door neighbor, a retired mail carrier and (at least as far as Dennis is concerned) his best adult friend. Not much is told about his early life except he grew up on a farm, lived through The Great Depression of the 1930s, served in World War II, and is a retired postman. Dennis loves Mr. Wilson, but unintentionally annoys him, as he regularly disrupts Mr. Wilson's attempts at a serene, quiet life; he often interrupts Mr. Wilson's hobbies such as gardening and bird watching, at times accidentally damaging his property. As a result, he displays a less than cordial attitude towards the young boy, though Dennis continues his well-meaning intrusions unabated. Actually, as many readers suspected, he is secretly fond of Dennis and misses him when he is away, although he would never openly admit it. On one occasion when the Mitchells went to Hollywood for two weeks, Mr. Wilson kept seeing Dennis' face everywhere! [53] Mr. Wilson is named after a teacher Hank Ketcham knew. Dennis often (especially in the television series) refers to him as "Good Ol' Mr. Wilson." Although a running gag is that Dennis's pranks drive Mr. Wilson crazy, at times Dennis tries to do nice things for Mr. Wilson, such as the time Dennis left Ruff the dog and Hot Dog the cat with Mr Wilson so he would not be lonely on Father's Day, while Dennis and his father went to a baseball game, [54] or the time Dennis tries to cheer Mr. Wilson up on April Fool's day by placing a fake "Mitchell House for sale" sign up. [55]

It became so successful that it was adapted to other popular media, including a 1986 series, several television shows, both live-action and animated, and several feature films, including theatrical and direct-to-video releases. Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! (2017 TV series) is the latest animated CGI series, first broadcast in November 2017. The Dennis the Menace Fun Fest and the Dennis the Menace Big Bonus series were revived for a short-issue run in 1980: Statue of Dennis the Menace Stolen". The Washington Post. Associated Press. October 28, 2006 . Retrieved September 18, 2007– via washingtonpost.com. Coincidentally, a UK comic strip of the same name debuted on the same day. [4] The two are not related and change their names subtly in each other's respective home bases to avoid confusion.Dennis' civic-mindedness has made him a popular spokescharacter for many worthy causes, including the Boy Scouts of America, Unicef and the International Red Cross. The main comic book series (simply named Dennis the Menace) ran in tandem with the "Giant" series. The Dennis the Menace Giant Vacation Special [83] and Dennis the Menace Christmas Issue [84] were published by Standard in 1955. Those issues inaugurated the Giants series, which was published by Pines for issues 2–6, [85] and continued by Hilden/Fawcett for issues 6–75. [86] The Giant series was later renamed the Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series, which started with issue No. 76 in 1970. [87] CBS and Hilden later retitled the series as The Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series, which ran through issue #194 in October 1979. SHOUT! Factory is releasing all 146 episodes of the classic "Dennis The Menace" TV series starring Jay North. Responding to that TV interview opened a whole new world of opportunity for me. It has rekindled my love for drawing and provides me with the biggest challenge of my life…to keep Hank's legacy alive by keeping Dennis the Menace creatively fresh every day. Marcus was born in Lexington, N.C., and graduated from Atlantic Christian College with a degree in commercial art. In 1965, he and his wife, Kaye, moved to Charlotte, N.C., where he worked in the art department of a local TV station.

Douresseaux, Leroy (August 20, 2007). "Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace: 1953–1954 (review)". comicbookbin.com . Retrieved December 21, 2008.Cowboy Bob is a film cowboy whom Dennis idolizes. He appears in a series of Westerns known as Cowboy Bob films. The boy fails to realize that Westerns are rarely made in his day and that the films he watches are reruns. In one story arc, Dennis' parents invite the retired actor to a party, and Dennis meets him and comments that he must be Cowboy Bob's grandfather. This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. ( April 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Kohn, Martin F. (1996). Videohound's Family Video Guide. Visible Ink Press. p.1960. ISBN 0787609846. In 2005, Dennis appeared as a guest for Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary party in the comic strip Blondie. [80] Awards [ edit ] Dennis the Menace is the original title of a British comic strip, written and published in Dundee, which first appeared in The Beano on 12 March 1951 and became the longest-running strip in the magazine in 2004;