What happened to Frank Wells?

[Marsha]

I am just trying to get some information.  I am in the middle of reading Seven Summits. I am a 58 year old woman who likes to keep my feet on the flat ground, but I have a son who does not.  He is the adventuresome one, currently helisking in Alaska.  So....I read the books and he lives the life.  My question:  I see where Dick Bass is now 73 and embarking on another climb.  All I can find out about Frank Wells...is "the late Frank Wells".  Can anyone please tell me what happened to him.

Thank you very much.

[7summits]

Dear Marsha, thank you for your question.
Please read this news from April 2nd, 1994 to read about what happened to Frank:
" - DEATH OF DISNEY CEO FRANK WELLS - Disney CEO Frank Wells is killed in a helicopter crash on a skiing trip. Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley escaped injury in a similar simultaneous helicopter accident. Clint Eastwood had turned down the ride in Wells' helicopter. Wells' death sparked the breakup between Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner that led to the creation of Dreamworks SKG."

You can read more about the heliski event filled with hollywood stars in this interview with Greg Keeler, who performed the day before:

http://home.sprintmail.com/~syamasaki/sniper_logic/gregkeeler.html

There seems to be a lot of business talk about Frank's death:

"Disney's often delicate balance was upset by Frank Wells's 1994 death in a helicopter accident. Wells was undeniably the glue that held Disney together during its rebound in the 1980s, and he struggled to keep an increasingly difficult relationship between Eisner and Katzenberg from rupturing further. When Wells died, Katzenberg made an ill-fated grab for the presidency, then resigned and formed DreamWorks SKG with fellow moguls Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. Wells's death opened the door for Eisner to hire Ovitz as his No. 2, a move that ultimately resulted in one of the messiest firings in recent memory. And it set off a chain reaction that allowed longtime Ovitz partner Ron Meyer to run Universal Pictures for Seagram's Bronfman."


Hope this helps,
best regards,
The 7summits team