Based on George Peck's "Bad Boy" sketches, first published in the Milwaukee Sun and later collected and published as Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa (1883), Charles Pidgin's stage adaptation of the stories opened on 10 March 1884 at Haverly's New York Comedy Theatre for 40 performances, although it became a durable touring vehicle which later launched George M. Cohan (in an 1891 production), among others, to stardom. Peck's Bad Boy lacks a distinct plot, but focuses on Henry Peck, a boldly mischievous Milwaukee youngster who, along with his cohort Jimmy, wreaks community havoc. Never repentant when caught, the character of the "bad boy" became a prototype for similar figures on stage, in motion pictures (first in a 1921 silent version with Jackie Coogan), and television,* including his logical descendant, "Dennis the Menace."
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.