Dave Thomas, the founder and commercial spokesman of Wendy's fast-food hamburger chain, remained hospitalized Tuesday as he awaits heart surgery, a company spokesman said.
Thomas, senior chairman of Wendy's International Inc., was admitted to a hospital on Saturday after suffering chest pains, spokesman Denny Lynch said. Thomas will undergo coronary bypass surgery, a procedure that reroutes blood around blocked heart arteries.Lynch would not identify the hospital where Thomas was staying. The date of his surgery had not been determined.
"There's no change in his condition; he's still stable," Lynch said Tuesday morning. "We do know that surgery is not scheduled for today."
Thomas, 64, had not previously suffered heart problems, Lynch said.
Thomas has become well-known in the United States and Canada as the star of Wendy's radio and television commercials.
He opened the first Wendy's in 1969 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and became the company's advertising spokesman in 1989. The latest commercial, which began airing at the end of November, touts a smoky bacon cheeseburger.
The company plans no changes in its advertising in light of Thomas' hospitalization, Lynch said. Commercials for the first quarter of 1997 already have been completed.