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Back to Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire.

How Did Frank Wells Die?

David Rosenthal says Frank Wells was killed in a helicopter crash while heliskiing on Easter Sunday, 1994, the first of three huge blows that hit Disney in quick succession.

1994 was a great year for Disney as a business because Lion King came out, and a terrible year for the company. Wells had been the person behind the scenes holding everything together, the yin to Michael Eisner's yang. Eisner was the creative executive and the public face of the Walt Disney Company and the Disney Renaissance. Wells was the peacekeeper who could relate to everyone, act as the intermediary, and calm people down when they were hot. One day he was here and the next day he was gone, while big personalities remained at the table.

Grokipedia·Frank Wells·Michael Eisner

Transcript

Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire ·

Acquired

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