Frank Wells, Executive Who Boosted Disney, Dies In Heli-Skiing Accident

BURBANK, Calif. - Frank Wells, the behind-the-scenes executive who helped propel the Walt Disney Co. to new success with films such as "Pretty Woman," "Sister Act," and the animated "Aladdin," is dead. He was 62.

Mr. Wells, Disney's president and chief operating officer, was killed yesterday in a helicopter crash during a heli-skiing expedition in central Nevada. Two others died in the crash and two survived.

"There are no words to express my shock and sense of loss," said Michael Eisner, Disney's chief executive officer. "Frank Wells has been the purest definition of a `life force' I have ever known. His wisdom, his charm, his zest for experience and challenge, his naked and awesome intelligence, set him apart and beyond."

Mr. Wells was often overshadowed by the high-profile Eisner but nonetheless was critical to Disney's turnaround, which began when they were recruited as a team after a struggle that threatened to break up the Burbank company.

Mr. Wells and Eisner helped boost annual revenues from $1.5 billion to $8.5 billion. The company's market value leaped from $2 billion to $22 billion, and revenues from theme parks and resorts tripled, the company said.

The pair re-established Disney's dominance in animated feature films with a string of blockbuster hits that included the animated motion pictures, "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast."

Mr. Wells left Warner Brothers Inc., where he served as vice president and president since 1969, to join Disney. By 1990, he was the highest-salaried Californian, with total compensation from salary bonus and stock options of nearly $51 million.

A Rhodes scholar who adhered to a strict work regimen, Mr. Wells handled the details of Disney's day-to-day operations. But beneath the buttoned-down exterior was an adventurer. Two years before coming to Disney, he pursued his dream of climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents. He climbed all but Mount Everest, where bad weather forced him to give up one day away from the summit.

Mr. Wells is survived by his wife, Luanne, and sons Kevin and Briant.