Jeannie Russell

Jeannie Russell
Jay North and Jeannie Russell as Dennis Mitchell and Margaret Wade on Dennis the Menace, 1963
Born	Jeanne K. Russell (1950-10-22) October 22, 1950 Pasco, Washington, USA
Occupation	Actor, voice actor, Chiropractor
Years active	1958–1978

Jeanne K. Russell (born October 22, 1950) is an American actress best known for playing Dennis's playmate, Margaret Wade, in the television series Dennis The Menace, which was based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name and aired from 1959 to 1963 on CBS.

Russell was chosen at the suggestion of Jay North, who starred in the role of Dennis, to play his nemesis playmate. She appeared in 31 of the series' 146 episodes over the four-year run of the show.

Career

Russell also appeared in other popular TV shows of the era, including, The Deputy (1959), Assignment: Underwater (1961), Death Valley Days (1961), and The Dinah Shore Show. Russell provided a singing voice in the 1961 Disney movie Babes in Toyland and made an uncredited appearance in the 1963 popular suspense horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds, in which she played a school child. In 1993, she made a cameo appearance in the film version of Dennis the Menace playing one of the Mitchell's neighbors.

She has also done live theater and sound track work as well as performing as a singer. In the 1990s, Russell was active on the national talk show and news feature circuit.

Personal life

Since 1978, Russell has been practicing chiropractic medicine in the North Hollywood/Toluca Lake (California) area. She also counsels and coaches patients, assisting them with intuitive eating skills to embrace a healthy lifestyle. Russell has also developed a powerful posture building series of movement and strengthening exercises, which draw from her career in show business.

She is also trained in ballet and jazz dance. She and North occasionally appear together at celebrity events.

Russell has co-chaired the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Young Performers' Committee for several years.

Russell is the sister of Bryan Russell, who was also a child actor from 1959 to 1967.

External sources

• Jeannie Russell at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Jeannie Russell, August, 2015