His name, Topo Gigio, was Italian for Louie Mouse, and during his dozens of appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in the 1960s and early ’70s, he seemed, indeed, to be a cartoon mouse sprung ...

which translates to “little mouse” in Italian, for legal reasons. He eventually did get the Mickey rights from Disney, but since Topo Lino cartoons had already become popular, he made a slight ...