William Allen Booth (November 7, 1949 – December 31, 2006) was an American child actor. He was best known for his role as Dennis Mitchell's best friend Tommy Anderson on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom '' Dennis the Menace'', based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name. He made guest appearances on ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'', ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

'', '' Lawman'', ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulmans Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1 ...

,'' and ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...

''. He also provided the voice for Wentworth in the 1962

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

episode '' Honey's Money''.

Biography

Booth graduated from Crescenta Valley High School in 1967, from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1971, and from the

University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (abbreviated as UC Law SF or UC Law) is a public law school in San Francisco, California, United States. It was known as the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (a ...

in 1974. He became a practicing lawyer and moved to

Los Osos, California Los Osos (Spanish language, Spanish for "the bears") is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated town in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, Los ...

in 1977. He taught business and real estate law at both

Cuesta College Cuesta College is a Public college, public community college in San Luis Obispo County, California. History The first community college in the San Luis Obispo area was founded in 1916 as a San Luis Obispo High School division. It lasted until 1 ...

and

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

, both located in San Luis Obispo County, California. He divorced his wife Kathern. He practiced law in

Morro Bay Morro Bay (''Morro'', Spanish for "Hill") is a seaside city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, the city's population was 10,757 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,234 at the 2010 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Death

Booth died on December 31, 2006Billy Booth of Dennis The Menace
'' Scarlet Street Forums'' of liver complications at the age of 57.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1949 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Deaths from liver disease Male actors from Los Angeles People from Morro Bay, California People from San Luis Obispo, California {{US-tv-actor-1940s-stub