Wendy's Founder Dave Thomas Dies
By MARK WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Dave Thomas, the portly pitchman whose homespun ads
built Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers into one of the world's most
successful fast-food enterprises, has died. He was 69.

Thomas died around midnight at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the
company said Tuesday.

The cause of death was not given. Thomas had been undergoing kidney
dialysis since early 2001 and had quadruple heart bypass surgery in
December 1996.

Company officials were meeting at Wendy's headquarters in the Columbus
suburb of Dublin and planned an announcement later Tuesday.

The founder and senior chairman of Wendy's International became a household
name when he began pitching his burgers and fries in television commercials
in 1989. The smiling Thomas, always wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and
red tie, touted the virtues of fast-food in humorous ads, sometimes
featuring stars such as bluesman B.B. King and soap opera queen Susan
Lucci.

``As long as it works, I'll continue to do the commercials,'' Thomas said
in a 1991 interview. ``When it's not working any longer, then I'm
history.''

But burgers weren't his first love. Thomas, who was adopted as an infant,
became a national advocate for adoption.

He created the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a not-for-profit
organization focused on raising public awareness of adoption. The profits
from his books, ``Dave's Way'' and ``Well Done!'' go to the foundation.

He once testified before a Congressional committee about the importance of
creating incentives for adoption.

``I know firsthand how important it is for every child to have a home and
loving family,'' he testified. ``Without a family, I would not be where I
am today.''

Born July 2, 1932, Thomas was 12 when he got his first job - delivering
groceries in Knoxville, Tenn. He joined the restaurant business in the
1950s.

While working at a barbecue restaurant in Fort Wayne, Ind., he met KFC
founder Col. Harland Sanders, who became a major influence.

Thomas came to Columbus in 1962 to take over four failing KFC restaurants
for his boss, who promised Thomas a 45 percent stake in them if he turned
them around. Sanders sold the restaurants back to KFC for $1.5 million in
1968, making Thomas a millionaire at 35.

He opened his first Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers in Columbus a year
later. He named the restaurant after his 8-year-old daughter Melinda Lou,
nicknamed Wendy by her siblings.

The chain grew to 4,800 restaurants in the United States and 34 countries
by 1996. That year, Wendy's acquired the 1,200-store, Canadian-based Tim
Hortons chain of coffee and fresh-baked goods.

Thomas was a forgiving businessman.

The city of Philadelphia in 1994 wanted to fine Wendy's $98,400, claiming
the restaurant was selling quarter-pounders that were up to a quarter of an
ounce short. The city later announced it made an error and withdrew the
fine.

``I understand what happened,'' said Thomas, who visited the city shortly
after the controversy. ``Things happen. Mistakes happen. As far as we're
concerned, we just want to go to the future. A bright future.''

He tried to retire in 1982, but came back in 1989.

``They took the focus off the consumer,'' he said of the executives who
took over the company.

It was the TV commercials that made Thomas famous. Industry analysts and
company officials said the ads helped the company rebound from a difficult
period in the mid-1980s when earnings sank. In 1996, Thomas taped his 500th
commercial. Rotund at first, he appeared slimmer in the ads in recent
years.

``He's given Wendy's a corporate identity ... a down-homey type image. The
lack of sophistication is a real benefit for the company,'' Diane Mustain,
a financial analyst, said in 1991.

Despite his success, it wasn't until 1993 that he earned a high school
equivalency certificate.

That year, he told 2,500 Columbus public school seniors his biggest mistake
was not finishing high school.

``We have 4,000 restaurants today, but if I had gotten my high school
diploma, we might have 8,000,'' he said.

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