Jeannie_Russell

Jeannie Russell

Jeannie Russell

American actress (born 1950)


Jeannie Russell (born Jeanne K. Russell) 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.

Quick Facts Born, Occupation(s) ...

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

Besides Dennis the Menace, Russell appeared in several 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 1971, she moved to St. Louis to film the long-running children's show Where will my feet take me today? for KETC with Buster Fronto. She later appeared with Mel Winkler in Unique New York, and The Letter People (Meet Mister J, 1978).

She has done live theater and soundtrack work, as well as performing as a singer. In the 1990s, Russell was active on the national talk-show and news-feature circuit. In 1993, she made a cameo appearance in the film version of Dennis the Menace playing one of the Mitchells' neighbors.

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 had 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. North and she occasionally appear together at celebrity events.

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

Russell is the sister of Bryan Russell, who was also a child actor from 1959 to 1967. She currently resides in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Film

Television


References

    Further reading

    • Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 259–268. ISBN 1476613702.

    External sources


    Share this article:

    This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Jeannie_Russell, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.