SHORT TAKES : Mattel Sues Barbie and Ken Act

A couple who billed themselves as Barbie and Malibu Ken as they stripped to their bare essentials on the “Phil Donahue Show” is being sued by Mattel Inc.

Mattel, owner of the trademark Barbie and Ken dolls, filed suit Wednesday against Michael and Saundra Cherwenka in U.S. District Court in Dayton. The suit claims the couple advertised and sold stripping services in flagrant violation of Mattel’s trademark rights.

Michael Cherwenka said he and his wife were just portraying a character, but he said fighting Mattel would be fruitless.

“We can’t fight a multimillion-dollar business like that,” he said.

Cherwenka said he recently agreed with Mattel to get out of the stripping business and is considering joining his father, a Chicago real estate businessman.

But he said business took off after the couple’s appearance on television. Michael Cherwenka is featured in the May issue of Playgirl as the “Real Man of the Month.”

He said he missed being the centerfold because his wife wouldn’t let him take off all his clothes.