section_path: Career/Teen years
section_name: Teen years
paragraph_text: Teen years
  
  In late 1963, North's mother enrolled him in prep school, but due to his part-time education while filming Dennis the Menace, combined with not having been allowed to socialize with other children, he struggled to keep up with his studies at his new school and was nervous interacting with the other students. North continued to audition, and in 1964, he appeared in an episode of Wagon Train, but found himself typecast as the impish Dennis Mitchell and had trouble finding steady work. In 1999, North told the E! network, "I had to fight the ghost of Dennis the Menace, and I was typecast. I still had the face, and that's what casting directors, producers and directors saw when I would go in to read for a role."
  
  In 1965, he landed the lead role in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer family comedy film Zebra in the Kitchen as Chris Carlyle, a boy who, unhappy with the living conditions he finds at his local zoo, decides to set the animals free, causing chaos throughout the town. Over the next year, he continued to appear in small television roles, guest-starring on the MGM TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and reuniting with his former Dennis the Menace co-star Gale Gordon on The Lucy Show. In 1966, North landed the starring role in another MGM family adventure film, Maya. In the movie, which was filmed on location in India, North played Terry Bowen, a boy who navigates the Indian jungle with a Hindu boy and an elephant and her baby calf, the latter a sacred white elephant. He continued to appear in small guest-starring roles on television shows such as My Three Sons and Jericho, and in 1967, NBC decided to make a television series adaptation of Maya. North agreed to reprise his role and was soon back filming on location in India.
  
  The feature film Maya and subsequent television series made North a popular teen idol of the era, featured in numerous teen magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16 Magazine, Teen Datebook, and Flip. While Maya proved popular with teen audiences, the NBC series struggled in its time slot against popular shows of the time, CBS's The Jackie Gleason Show and ABC 's The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, and was canceled after one season. Years later, North spoke fondly of his experience on the series, saying, "I can say that I'm really proud of my work on Maya, from a professional standpoint. I got to play an adult role and it was a challenge." North had missed a full year of school while filming Maya in India, and after returning home to Hollywood, began a normal life in high school, graduating from Rexford Senior High School in Beverly Hills in 1969.
  
  Meanwhile, in 1969 North also narrated the surf film The Fantastic Plastic Machine.
  
  In late 1963, North's mother enrolled him in prep school, but due to his part-time education while filming Dennis the Menace, combined with not having been allowed to socialize with other children, he struggled to keep up with his studies at his new school and was nervous interacting with the other students. North continued to audition, and in 1964, he appeared in an episode of Wagon Train, but found himself typecast as the impish Dennis Mitchell and had trouble finding steady work. In 1999, North told the E! network, "I had to fight the ghost of Dennis the Menace, and I was typecast. I still had the face, and that's what casting directors, producers and directors saw when I would go in to read for a role."
  
  In 1965, he landed the lead role in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer family comedy film Zebra in the Kitchen as Chris Carlyle, a boy who, unhappy with the living conditions he finds at his local zoo, decides to set the animals free, causing chaos throughout the town. Over the next year, he continued to appear in small television roles, guest-starring on the MGM TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and reuniting with his former Dennis the Menace co-star Gale Gordon on The Lucy Show. In 1966, North landed the starring role in another MGM family adventure film, Maya. In the movie, which was filmed on location in India, North played Terry Bowen, a boy who navigates the Indian jungle with a Hindu boy and an elephant and her baby calf, the latter a sacred white elephant. He continued to appear in small guest-starring roles on television shows such as My Three Sons and Jericho, and in 1967, NBC decided to make a television series adaptation of Maya. North agreed to reprise his role and was soon back filming on location in India.
  
  The feature film Maya and subsequent television series made North a popular teen idol of the era, featured in numerous teen magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16 Magazine, Teen Datebook, and Flip. While Maya proved popular with teen audiences, the NBC series struggled in its time slot against popular shows of the time, CBS's The Jackie Gleason Show and ABC 's The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, and was canceled after one season. Years later, North spoke fondly of his experience on the series, saying, "I can say that I'm really proud of my work on Maya, from a professional standpoint. I got to play an adult role and it was a challenge." North had missed a full year of school while filming Maya in India, and after returning home to Hollywood, began a normal life in high school, graduating from Rexford Senior High School in Beverly Hills in 1969.
  
  Meanwhile, in 1969 North also narrated the surf film The Fantastic Plastic Machine.