Dave Thomas: an American Philantropist

Dave Thomas Dave Thomas was an All American philanthropist as well as a most successful business man. Thomas was the founder and CEO of Wendy 's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, which became popular for its square patties. He is also known for personally appearing in eight hundred television commercials for the chain from 1989 to 2002, more than any other person not just in the fast food industry but in television history (Newsweek 1). He created such an atmosphere in these ads that much of the public began to believed he was a professional actor. Starting what would be his long business venture at only fifteen, Dave Thomas would change the face of America (Wikipedia 1). "To Bob Garfield, My Favorite Critic, ' ' it read. ``Best wishes, Dave Thomas. ' ' Ira was right. This was a keeper. We put the book aside with a small collection of accumulated treasures. A few hours later Dave, generous Dave, died in his Florida home (Garfield 1)." Rex David Thomas was born in 1932 in the town of Atlantic City, New Jersey. He never knew either of his birth parents but was soon adopted by a couple who then soon moved to Indiana. He was raised in Indiana and lived like any normal boy of that time until the age of five (Wikipedia 1). Dave 's mother died when he was just five and spent much of his childhood moving from state to state with his father. High school came quick and Dave dropped out after only one year trying a variety of different jobs (Biography 1). He tried working as a golf caddy, paperboy, and soda fountain counter person but none seemed to fit him very well. It wasn‘t until he was fifteen when he found at job working at Hobby House in their current residence of Ft. Wayne. Dave‘s family decided to move from Ft. Wayne but Dave choose to stay because of the love he had for his new found occupation (MacArthur 3). Unfortunately just as things seemed to be going well he was drafted to the Korean War for almost a year. Upon his return he found

Cited: DAVE THOMAS. Newsweek; 12/30/2002-1/6/2003, Vol. 141 Issue 1, p112, 1/5p, 1c. October 17, 2005. Dave Thomas. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. www.wikipedia.com. October 17, 2005. Dave Thomas. Advertising Age; 12/30/2002, Vol. 73 Issue 51, p13-13, 1/9p, 1c October 17, 2005. Dave Thomas Biography. www.wendys.com. January 7, 2003. October 17, 2005. Garfield, Bob Source. He Got Off to a Rough Start, But Dave Had True Ad Appeal. Advertising Age; 1/14/2002, Vol. 73 Issue 2, p63, 2/3p, 4c. October 17, 2005 MacArthur, Kate Rex "Dave" Thomas. Advertising Age; 12/30/2002, Vol. 73 Issue 51, p13-13, 1/9p, 1c October 17, 2005. Sager, Ira Arndt, Michael Source. DADDY 'S GIRL GETS BACK TO BURGERS. Business Week; 10/27/2003 Issue 3855, p16-16, 1/4p, 1c. October 17, 2005. Wendy 's Founder Dead at 69. www.cnn.com/money/davethomas/death.html. January 8, 2002