Jay North, aka Dennis the Menace, the quintessential rascal next door, gets his chance to cut a record.   Hey it worked for Ricky Nelson.   This is not music from the series, in fact I don’t know any of these songs (e.g., When I become a man, What good is a girl).

The liner notes say: “This album is for you…if you are a child…if you have a child…if you know a child…or if you ever were a child.”   It still didn’t sell.

This is the 1959 CBS live-action situation comedy based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham. Dennis is portrayed as the helpful menace that always seemed to cause chaos. Dennis Mitchell lived at 627 Elm Street with his parents, Henry and Alice. Next door was his best friend, Mr. Wilson (though the feeling was, certainly, not mutual). Dennis always was around to help Mr. Wilson whether he wanted the help or not. The allure of the series was to see how Dennis would unintentionally mess things up for Mr. Wilson.

The series lasted four seasons, but, perhaps, could have lasted longer. Joseph Kearns, the actor who portrayed Mr. George Wilson, died during the show’s third season. This left a huge void that even veteran actor Gale Gordon (Mr. John Wilson) couldn’t fill. He was introduced toward the end of the third season, and the series was cancelled the following year.

Theme Song “Dennis the Menace” by Irving Friedman

First Telecast : October 4, 1959
Last Telecast : July 7, 1963
Episodes : 146 black-and-white episodes
CBS Sundays —- 7:30 – 8:00 P.M.

Courtesy of TV.com

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