Dave Thomas, the portly pitchman whose homespun ads built Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburgers into one of the world's most successful fast-food franchises, has died. He was 69. Thomas died around
midnight at his home in Florida, the company said Tuesday. The cause of death was liver cancer. Thomas had been undergoing dialysis for a kidney problem since early 2001, and had quadruple heart
bypass surgery in December 1996.
