50 Fun Facts About Dennis the Menace

From which European country was the all-American comic strip Dennis the Menace drawn between 1960 and 1977?

Switzerland was the cartoonist's home for 17 years after he moved his family to Geneva. He kept producing the strip there until he moved back to the United States.

Which child actor had his red hair bleached blond to play the lead in the 1959 sitcom Dennis the Menace?

Jay North was eight when the series began, but was told to shave a year off his age whenever he spoke to the press.

Which Hollywood veteran played grumpy neighbor Mr. Wilson opposite Mason Gamble in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace?

Walter Matthau planned to keep his distance from his young co-star to stay in character. He gave up on the first day of filming, when the boy ran straight into his arms.

Which British comic launched its own, unrelated Dennis the Menace on the very same day in March 1951?

The Beano put its spiky-haired Dennis on sale on 12 March 1951, the exact day the American strip debuted. The two are unrelated and trade under altered names abroad.

Which restaurant chain used Dennis the Menace in its marketing for 30 years before dropping him in 2001?

Dairy Queen let him go because it felt children could no longer relate to a character who was by then 50 years old.

Which future Oscar-winning director played Dennis's friend Stewart in early episodes of the sitcom Dennis the Menace?

Ron Howard appeared in six episodes as a small boy. He then left to join the cast of The Andy Griffith Show.

Which Midwestern city, the setting of Dennis the Menace, made the strip's cartoonist its honorary mayor?

Wichita is where the Mitchells live, in a two-story house at the fictional 2251 Pine Street. The Wilsons are next door at 2253.

Whose outburst, after a four-year-old wrecked his bedroom instead of napping, gave Dennis the Menace its name?

The creator's wife, Alice, burst into his studio to complain about their son Dennis. Within five months the strip was in 16 newspapers, with a mother who shared her name.

What is the name of Dennis the Menace's faithful dog in the comic strip and the 1993 film?

Ruff is Dennis's best friend and follows him everywhere, running beside him whether he is on foot, on his bike or on his skateboard.

Which Home Alone writer wrote and produced the 1993 film Dennis the Menace, starring Mason Gamble?

John Hughes was hired on the strength of the Home Alone films. The studio's production chief had wanted Tim Burton to direct, an idea the executive producer rejected.

Which cartoonist created Dennis the Menace in 1951 and drew the daily panel until retiring in 1994?

Hank Ketcham took up painting full-time after 43 years on the strip. He left the daily panel to his former assistants Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand.

Which network aired the sitcom Dennis the Menace on Sunday evenings from 1959 to 1963?

CBS canceled the series in early 1963. By then its star was nearly 12 and outgrowing the antics of a small boy.

Which actor, Lucille Ball's long-time TV foil, joined Dennis the Menace as John Wilson after Joseph Kearns died?

Gale Gordon arrived for the last six episodes of the third season as George Wilson's brother. When the sitcom ended he went straight to The Lucy Show.

Which actor played Switchblade Sam, the drifting thief who kidnaps Dennis in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace?

Christopher Lloyd was so frightening in the part that, by his co-star's account, one of the child actors could not work for two days afterwards.

In the 1993 film Dennis the Menace, which rare flower has Mr. Wilson spent almost 40 years waiting to see bloom?

An orchid is the pride of his garden. It opens for only moments during his party, just as Dennis pulls every guest's attention away, and it dies soon after.

What does the thief Switchblade Sam steal from Mr. Wilson's house in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace?

Antique coins vanish from the safe during a garden party. Dennis later finds the collection while he is held hostage and brings it home, along with the thief.

In the 1993 film Dennis the Menace, what does Dennis fire into a dozing Mr. Wilson's mouth with a slingshot?

An aspirin seems like the kind thing to do. Mr. Wilson is only pretending to be asleep to avoid Dennis, who decides his neighbor must be ill.

In the 1993 film Dennis the Menace, what does Dennis use to replace two front teeth lost from Mr. Wilson's dentures?

Chiclets stand in for the missing incisors. The swap comes just before Mr. Wilson has his picture taken for the local newspaper.

Which drink does Dennis the Menace love in the comic strip, especially with cookies or brownies?

Root beer heads his list of loves, along with ketchup, water pistols and mud puddles. Carrots and baths head the list of things he hates.

Which Western film hero does Dennis the Menace idolize, treasuring his deputy badge and autographed picture?

Cowboy Bob is the strip's take on the Lone Ranger. Dennis never realizes that the Westerns he watches so eagerly are old repeats.

What is the name of Dennis the Menace's rarely seen cat, christened after the packaged food it once ate?

Hot Dog earned the name by eating a whole package of them. The cat usually keeps Dennis company while he sits in the corner thinking over what he has done.

Which bespectacled, red-haired know-it-all in Dennis the Menace is sure she will marry Dennis when they grow up?

Margaret Wade is two years older than Dennis and keeps trying to improve his manners. All she manages to do is annoy him.

Which timid friend, a year younger than Dennis the Menace, tags along as his sidekick and sees him as a big brother?

Joey McDonald is loyal and not too bright. Dennis rewards him with a steady supply of naive advice and little nuggets of wisdom.

Which garment is Dennis the Menace's trademark in the comic strip, worn over a striped T-shirt with white sneakers?

Red overalls went missing from the sitcom's fourth and final season. By then its young star was nearly 12.

Where does Alice Mitchell make Dennis the Menace sit, in the corner, as a timeout for misbehaving?

A rocking chair in the corner is his punishment spot. Alice, not Henry, is the disciplinarian of the Mitchell household.

What is the profession of Henry Mitchell, the bird-watching, poker-playing father of Dennis the Menace?

Aeronautical engineer Henry bears a striking resemblance to the cartoonist who drew him. The whole Mitchell family took their first names from the cartoonist's own.

Which National Cartoonists Society honor did the cartoonist behind Dennis the Menace win a year after the strip began?

The Reuben Award, then still called the Billy DeBeck Award, named him cartoonist of the year for 1952. By May 1953 the strip ran in 193 American newspapers and 52 abroad.

Which studio did the cartoonist behind Dennis the Menace hitchhike to Los Angeles hoping to join as an animator?

Walt Disney took him on in 1939 as an assistant animator. He worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi and several Donald Duck shorts.

In which California city did the cartoonist behind Dennis the Menace help build a playground that opened in 1956?

Monterey's playground had a bronze Dennis that thieves took in 2006. It turned up in a Florida scrap yard in 2015 and was brought home.

Which long-running comic strip had Dennis the Menace as a guest at its 75th anniversary party in 2005?

Blondie and Dagwood threw the party for a strip that began in 1930, some 21 years before Dennis first appeared.

Which comic-book publisher put out thirteen issues of a Dennis the Menace series in 1981 and 1982?

Marvel Comics stepped in after Stan Lee's company bought half of the comic-book rights. The new series lasted only a year.

The network that launched Dennis the Menace in 1959 wanted to replace which sitcom it had let move to ABC?

Leave It to Beaver had gone to a rival, so a pilot called Dennis Goes to the Movies was filmed in late 1958.

Which Sunday-night variety hour did the sitcom Dennis the Menace lead into throughout its 1959 to 1963 run?

The Ed Sullivan Show followed it every week. In its second season the sitcom itself ranked 11th in the national ratings.

On which other family sitcom did the title character of Dennis the Menace appear in a 1960 crossover episode?

The Donna Reed Show episode, Donna Decorates, was later packaged as a bonus feature on the sitcom's first-season DVD set.

How did the sitcom Dennis the Menace explain George Wilson's absence after actor Joseph Kearns died in 1962?

Settling an estate kept George away while his brother John stayed as a guest. By the final season John had simply bought the house.

Which Alice in Wonderland character did Joseph Kearns, Mr. Wilson in the sitcom Dennis the Menace, voice in 1951?

The Doorknob was one of many voice jobs for Kearns, a radio veteran heard regularly on Suspense as its host, the Man in Black.

Which Caine Mutiny actor played Henry Mitchell, the father, in the 1959 sitcom Dennis the Menace?

Herbert Anderson appeared in both the Broadway play The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and the Humphrey Bogart film of The Caine Mutiny.

Why did the network order Dennis's mischief toned down after viewing early episodes of the sitcom Dennis the Menace?

Children might imitate him, the network feared. The TV Dennis became a well-meaning boy whose trouble comes from trying to help.

Which cable channel reran the black-and-white sitcom Dennis the Menace from 1985 until 1994?

Nickelodeon kept the 1959 episodes on air for nine years. In 2002 it also premiered the animated film Dennis the Menace in Cruise Control.

Which branch of the military did the grown-up child star of the sitcom Dennis the Menace join in 1977?

The U.S. Navy sent him to USS Iwo Jima, where shipmates and superiors gave the former TV star a hard time. He later became a correctional officer in Florida.

Which comedian played Mr. Wilson in the 1998 sequel Dennis the Menace Strikes Again?

Don Rickles took over after years of plans for a sequel with the first film's star. In the end none of the original cast returned.

Which actress played Martha Wilson in the 1998 direct-to-video sequel Dennis the Menace Strikes Again?

Betty White's Martha opens the film by accidentally throwing a birthday cake in her husband's face.

Which actress played Alice Mitchell, the working mother of Dennis, in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace?

Lea Thompson and Robert Stanton, as the parents, were the only performers a New York Times review singled out for praise.

Which future star played Polly, the teenage babysitter Dennis pranks in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace?

Natasha Lyonne's Polly ends up dousing Mr. Wilson with water and flour, mistaking him for the doorbell prankster.

Which veteran actor played Mr. Wilson in the 2007 film A Dennis the Menace Christmas?

Robert Wagner's Mr. Wilson is visited by an angel who shows him his past, present and future, in a plot borrowed from A Christmas Carol.

Which comedian voiced both Henry Mitchell and Mr. Wilson in the first season of the 1986 Dennis the Menace cartoon?

Phil Hartman voiced the family dog as well. All three parts passed to Maurice LaMarche for the second season.

Which veteran composer scored the 1993 film Dennis the Menace as its screenwriter's first and only choice?

Jerry Goldsmith's music came out on the short-lived Big Screen Records in July 1993. The complete score followed in 2014.

Which instrument does Henry Mitchell play while singing old songs in the Dennis the Menace comic strip?

Ukulele in hand, Henry is usually the strip's straight man. He once cut down a tree in the country to save money and ended up paying $20 for it.

Which Flintstones character, aged up to a teenager, did the former star of the sitcom Dennis the Menace voice in 1971?

Bamm-Bamm Rubble was one of several cartoon parts he took as an adult, alongside Prince Turhan in the Arabian Knights segment of The Banana Splits.

Which member of the 1959 sitcom's cast made a cameo as a neighbor in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace?

Jeannie Russell had been cast in the sitcom at the suggestion of its young star, as the playmate who is his nemesis. She also made an uncredited appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.