Dennis Rush, the beloved child actor best known for his role in The Andy Griffith Show, has passed away at the age of 74, a friend has confirmed. Now, tributes are pouring in.
Fans of classic television have been saddened by the news that Dennis Rush, best known for his role on The Andy Griffith Show, has died at 74. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rush, who lived in the San Diego area, had been diagnosed with leukemia last month.
He died Saturday on the way to the hospital, actor-musician Keith Thibodeaux told the news outlet. Thibodeaux also starred on The Andy Griffith Show, playing Johnny Paul Jason, another of Opie’s friends. He’s also known for playing Little Ricky in I Love Lucy.
Born on June 10, 1951, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rush and his family moved to California when he was just one year old. He became a familiar face to viewers during the golden age of television at a very early age.
At just four years old, he starred as a young Lon Chaney Jr. alongside James Cagney in Man of a Thousand Faces. When appearing at the Mayberry-I Love Lucy Festival in Granville, Tennessee, last year, Rush recalled how he got the part.
Child actor Dennis Rush dies at 74
When his family moved to California, his father, Jac, had taken a job as a film archivist at Universal.
“If you were good, you got to go to the studio and have lunch with dad, it was kind of a big deal,” he recalled.
During one lunch, “a man taps my dad on the shoulder and says, ‘I’m looking for a little boy to play my son, I’m making a movie called Man of a Thousand Faces’ … That gentleman was James Cagney.”
Dennis’ father explained that Dennis wasn’t an actor and had to go to school. Cagney replied, “Trust me.” The rest is history.
Rush became best known for playing Howie Pruitt, one of Opie Taylor’s friends on The Andy Griffith Show. The series in the 1960s became one of the most popular programs on television. Rush appeared in six episodes from 1963 to 1965.
“I got to be in eight episodes over about a two-and-a-half-year period,” he said in 2022. “It was just the best of the best.”
Left acting
“It took a normal show about five days to film, it took Andy Griffith three,” he told the New York Times. “On lunch breaks, we’d just run to the lunch truck and run back. Ronny Howard had a short basketball hoop set up for him, so we got pretty close to dunking. Andy and some of the others were pretty good guitar players, so it was a regular hootenanny right through lunch.”
Other credits include Laramie, Gunsmoke, The Lucy Show, My Favorite Martian, and My Living Doll. Before he turned 18, Rush stepped away from acting. However, he remained connected to fans through appearances at conventions and reunion events.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Dennis Rush’s loved ones. Rest in peace.
