Mighty Mouse to Return

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/16/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Mighty Mouse, 60, is coming out of retirement for the first time since 1971, in order to star at the center of a TV promotional campaign for cheese, reports the Associated Press. The commercial will begin appearing April 9, to be followed later in the month by a print campaign. A rodent caped crusader, Mighty Mouse, who never married, debuted as part of Terrytoons in 1942, the creation of cartoonist Isadore Klein. A comic book version appeared in 1946, followed by a popular CBS Saturday morning TV show in 1955. But Terrytoons closed its doors 30 years ago, taking MM with it. The hero was remembered slightly in the late '70s, when the comic Andy Kaufman used to mimic him and sing, "Here I come to save the day!" In other TV news, former "One Day at a Time" star Valerie Bertinelli, 40, has joined the cast of the CBS drama, "Touched By an Angel," the network announced. She'll play an angel who is new to Earth.