Dave Thomas is dead
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Joined: Apr 2001
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From: New York
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wendy's International Inc. (NYSE:WEN - news) founder Dave Thomas has died, the fast-food chain said on Tuesday, leaving a significant void at a company that linked down-to-earth advertising to its affable senior chairman.
Thomas died early Tuesday morning of cancer at his Florida home, a company spokeswoman said. Wendy's is expected to issue a statement about Thomas' death later on Tuesday.
For years, Thomas, 69, had appeared in television commercials for the No. 3 U.S. hamburger company. He retired as chairman in 1982 and became the company's TV spokesman in 1989, launching a string of well-known advertisements that featured him in self-effacing situations promoting hamburgers and french fries.
Thomas, who got his start in the fast-food chicken business, opened the first Wendy's restaurant in 1969, naming it after his daughter. Thomas holds the Guinness record for the longest TV campaign by a company founder, according to Hoover's company information guide. He appeared in about 700 ads over the course of more than 10 years.
The company, which operates about 6,000 Wendy's restaurants in the United States, Canada and international markets, began franchising in the early 1970s and went public in 1976.
Thomas' death marks the second major loss for the Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's in recent years. In 1999, Chief Executive and President Gordon Teter died, leaving current CEO Jack Schuessler at the helm.
Thomas died early Tuesday morning of cancer at his Florida home, a company spokeswoman said. Wendy's is expected to issue a statement about Thomas' death later on Tuesday.
For years, Thomas, 69, had appeared in television commercials for the No. 3 U.S. hamburger company. He retired as chairman in 1982 and became the company's TV spokesman in 1989, launching a string of well-known advertisements that featured him in self-effacing situations promoting hamburgers and french fries.
Thomas, who got his start in the fast-food chicken business, opened the first Wendy's restaurant in 1969, naming it after his daughter. Thomas holds the Guinness record for the longest TV campaign by a company founder, according to Hoover's company information guide. He appeared in about 700 ads over the course of more than 10 years.
The company, which operates about 6,000 Wendy's restaurants in the United States, Canada and international markets, began franchising in the early 1970s and went public in 1976.
Thomas' death marks the second major loss for the Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's in recent years. In 1999, Chief Executive and President Gordon Teter died, leaving current CEO Jack Schuessler at the helm.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,263
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From: On the lakefront...
What a great man he was...I admired him a great deal and was shocked to hear that he passed. 
One of my favorite quotes from him was taken during an interview on his huge yacht and the interviewer asked him a question in reference to his tremendous wealth, he said, "I've tried it rich and I've tried it poor. Rich is better."
lol
Classic...he was "poor as a church mouse" (a favorite expression of my dad's) when he was a kid and rose to be one of the wealthiest men in America and he was a well-known philanthropist, as well...
He will be missed...
One of my favorite quotes from him was taken during an interview on his huge yacht and the interviewer asked him a question in reference to his tremendous wealth, he said, "I've tried it rich and I've tried it poor. Rich is better."
lol
Classic...he was "poor as a church mouse" (a favorite expression of my dad's) when he was a kid and rose to be one of the wealthiest men in America and he was a well-known philanthropist, as well...
He will be missed...
