previous marriage. After touring with the production for over a year, the two returned to Los Angeles and were married on July 20, 1973, but the marriage lasted less than a year. The young couple separated in April 1974, and their divorce was final on October 21, 1974. In 1974, North appeared in his last starring role in the R-rated coming-of-age suspense thriller The Teacher, opposite Angel Tompkins. Though the film's adult themes were branded "vulgar" and "lurid" by some who still thought of North as his Dennis performance 10 years prior, Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas appreciated North's work in the film, writing, The plot of The Teacher isn't worth outlining, yet it develops a relationship between a 28-year-old woman and an 18-year-old high school boy with sensitivity and credibility unusual for an exploitation film. [...] Avedis displays much concern for his people and allows Miss Tompkins and North plenty of room to give fresh, spontaneous performances." Over the next several years, North held onto the hope of being rediscovered by Hollywood and continued to take acting classes, but by early 1977, disillusioned with his career in show business, he left acting and enlisted in the US Navy. In January 1977, he reported to Navy boot camp at NTC Orlando. He was assigned to the , stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, as a seaman recruit bosun's mate, the Navy's lowest rank. He received good evaluations for his work, but was unprepared for the harsh treatment he received from his shipmates and superiors for being a former child star. Within a year, he wanted out of the Navy. He then began his administrative process and was temporarily assigned on board the destroyer tender stationed in Long Beach, California. On August 10, 1979, he left the Dixie and the Navy with an honorable discharge and returned to Los Angeles. In 1980, he appeared in a cameo role in the television movie Scout's Honor, with other former child stars Angela Cartwright from The Danny Thomas Show, Lauren Chapin from Father Knows Best, and Paul Petersen from The Donna Reed Show. In 1982, he landed a week-long stint on the daytime soap General Hospital, but steady work in show business continued to elude him. Financially secure from real estate investments his mother had made with his earnings from Dennis The Menace and frustrated by the direction his career had taken, he retreated from