Actor Jay North Has Been Married 3 Times: Inside the ‘Dennis the Menace’ Alum’s Marriages

From 1959 to 1963, Jay North starred as the mischievous and vibrant Dennis Mitchell in the CBS sitcom Dennis the Menace. In the decades following his success as a child actor, Jay slowly disappeared from the spotlight, opting to keep details about his personal life rather private. Scroll below for more on his marriage history and wives. 

How Many Times Has Jay North Been Married?

Jay has been married three times. In 1973, he tied the knot with his first wife, Kathleen Brucher. Their marriage ended one year later. The Los Angeles native married his second wife, Rositia North, in 1991. They ended their union just a few months later. 

In 1988, Jay was devastated after he became the victim of a death hoax that swept the nation.  

“I might as well be dead,” he told The Post-Star of Glen Falls, New York, at the time. “This town, Hollywood, won’t give me a job. Some kook called the wire services and spread a malicious rumor that I had died in a doctor’s office. I’m really perplexed.”

He continued, “My ex-wife, who lives in Chicago, her father heard it on the radio and they called me all upset,” adding, “And my old friend, Jon Provost, who played Timmy on Lassie, he heard about it and called. It’s been awful.”

After the hoax, Jay decided to focus on turning his life around in a space away from Hollywood. He married his third wife, Cindy Hackney, in 1993. The pair are still married but have continued to live out of the spotlight. 

Does Jay North Have Kids? 

Jay became a stepfather to Cindy’s three daughters upon their union. He took many different jobs to support his family after his Dennis the Menace fame. 

“I was in the military. I worked in the health food industry for a number of years,” he told The Washington Times in February 2017. “For the past 20 years, I’ve worked as a correctional officer for the Florida Department of Corrections.”

In another rare glimpse of his personal life, Jay revealed that he moved into a three-bedroom Lake Butler, Florida, home with his family. 

"I was always told to watch out for women because they'll just use me to get them pregnant and then take my money," he reflected on parenthood in a 1993 interview with The Los Angeles Daily News. "I also assumed I'd just be a lousy father. But I think I'm ready to handle it now."