Dennis the Menace 

Television episodes built around the same sorts of incidents found in Hank Ketcham's long-running comic strip.

Stars:

Herbert Anderson, Jay North, Gloria Henry

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Herbert Anderson	...	Henry Mitchell 146 episodes, 1959-1963
Jay North	...	Dennis Mitchell 146 episodes, 1959-1963
Gloria Henry	...	Alice Mitchell 146 episodes, 1959-1963
Billy Booth	...	Tommy Anderson 111 episodes, 1959-1963
Joseph Kearns	...	George Wilson 102 episodes, 1959-1962
Sylvia Field	...	Martha Wilson 90 episodes, 1959-1962

Storyline

The live-action adaptation of the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. Dennis Mitchell was a loveable young boy, dressed in overalls and carrying a slingshot in his pocket. Everywhere he went, Dennis' wide-eyed curiosity, well-meaning attempts to help out, and his simply being a normal, red-blooded American boy growing up always seemed to lead to trouble. Usually on the receiving end was Dennis' next-door neighbor, retired business machine salesman George Wilson. Dennis worshiped Mr. Wilson, but he usually displayed a less-than-cordial attitude around the young lad. Mr. Wilson's wife, Martha, adored Dennis and saw him as a surrogate grandson (since the Wilsons never had any children). Dennis' long-suffering parents were Henry (an engineer) and Alice (a stay-at-home mother). Episodes revolved around Dennis' adventures and the trouble that usually followed. Also involved in the fun were Dennis' friends Tommy, Margaret, and Seymour. During the final year of the show, Mr. Wilson's ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as series title | dennis the menace character | rhyme in series title | neighbor | small town life | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Daniel el travieso

Filming Locations:

Blondie Street, Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Darriell Productions, Screen Gems

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (146 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dennis Mitchell character was modeled after Dennis Ketcham, son of animator, Hank Ketcham, the creator of the comic strip, with the same title. Despite the affable nature of the character, the real Dennis suffered a somewhat tragical life. When he was only twelve years old, Dennis lost his mother to a drug overdose while she was in the process of divorcing his father. Hank Ketcham then moved them to Switzerland but when Dennis had trouble adjusting to his new life & environment, then started getting into trouble in school, Hank shipped him off to a boarding school back in USA while he stayed behind in Switzerland with his new wife and family. Dennis managed to straighten his life out and even joined the military and fought in Vietnam. After he returned home, he suffered from PTSD and all the while being estranged from his father who, by then, had earned (and continue earning) a lot of money from the daily newspaper comic strips he drew based on his son.

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Goofs

Throughout the series, the outside design of the Wilson's house shows two windows on each side of the front door. On the inside of the house there is no window by the front door - the window is around the corner to the left and bigger than the one by the door seen on the outside. The house design on the inside doesn't match up to outside design.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Dennis Mitchell: You're the best Mom in the whole world.

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Connections

Referenced in The Slick Chick (1962)

User Reviews

A good TV series about an energetic kid

It was a great TV show! I watch it every chance I get. When I first discovered the show about 12 years ago on Nickelodeon, I thought it was very funny and very unique, A bright boy with a lot of energy who is always wanting to help people out, especially his next door neighbor Mr. Wilson who Dennis drove crazy and quite often got him in trouble. I just could never figure out why his parents didn't punish Dennis more often for some of the trouble he got into. Never the

less, The TV show was funny up until the end of the 3rd season

when Joseph Kearns who played the 1st Mr. Wilson passed away. Joseph Kearns was the best, he played his role as Mr. Wilson

with a real inspiration. Gale Gordon, Who played Mr. Wilson towards the end of the 3rd season and all of the 4th season was good, but he just was not the character that Joseph Kearns was. Another thing you could tell is that Herbert Anderson (Henry Mitchell) got along with and worked better with Joseph Kearns then he did with Gale Gordon. I think it's quite obvious that Herbert Anderson liked working with Joseph Kearns a lot better then he did with Gale Gordon, it comes clear throughout the last season.