
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, October 25, 1994                   TAG: 9410250079
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PEOPLE

Hank Ketcham, 74, the creator of ``Dennis the Menace,'' will retire at the end of the year.

However, the mischievous 5-year-old with the cowlick, slingshot and penchant for trouble will continue to appear, drawn by two other cartoonists under Ketcham's supervision.

Ketcham's Dennis Mitchell has been amusing readers - and annoying cranky next-door neighbor Mr. Wilson - since March 14, 1951, when the cartoon made its debut.

Dennis was modeled after Ketcham's own son Dennis, then a boisterous youngster.

The daily cartoons and Sunday strips appear in more than 1,800 newspapers in 50 countries.

by CNB