Jay North, the actor who starred as the titular character in the Dennis the Menace television series, has died, PEOPLE confirmed. He was 73.

“[North’s Dennis the Menace costar] Jeanne Russell just called us with terribly sad, but not unexpected news,” Jacobson wrote. “Our dear friend JAY NORTH has been fighting cancer for a number of years and this morning at noon EST, Jay passed peacefully at home.”

North rose to fame as a child, playing Dennis Mitchell in the Dennis the Menace sitcom that ran from 1959 to 1963. The actor went on to star in the movies Zebra in the Kitchen and Maya. He reprised his role in a television series based on the latter.

North also took an interest in voice acting, nabbing roles in the animated shows Arabian Knights, Here Comes the Grump, The Pebbles and Bam-Bam Show and The Flintstones Comedy Hour.

His final on-screen role was in 2003’s Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

At a fan convention in Los Angeles in 2017, North expressed his appreciation for fans of Dennis the Menace. “I get a very warm feeling that I still have fans from all over the world. Fans that remember and have warm memories of our show. It makes me feel good inside that people still love us and remember us,” he said, per the Washington Times.