8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                             Current Report Pursuant
                          to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934

        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) February 9, 2005
                                                         ---------------



                         FRIENDLY ICE CREAM CORPORATION
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact Name Of Registrant As Specified In Its Charter)



                                  MASSACHUSETTS
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                 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)



            001-13579                               04-2053130
    ------------------------           ------------------------------------
    (Commission File Number)           (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)



           1855 Boston Road, Wilbraham, MA                     01095
    ----------------------------------------                 ----------
    (Address of Principal Executive Offices)                 (Zip Code)



                                 (413) 543-2400
              (Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)


          (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

         Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):


[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act
    (17 CFR 230.425)

[ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act
    (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
    Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
    Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))







Item 5.02  Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors;
           Appointment of Principal Officers

Resignation of a Director

On February 9, 2005, Mr. Charles A. Ledsinger, a director of Friendly Ice Cream
Corporation (the "Company") since 1997, informed the Board of Directors of the
Company that he is resigning as a Class II Director of the Company to pursue
other activities, effective March 1, 2005.

Appointment of a Director

On February 9, 2005, the Company's Board of Directors, upon the recommendation
of the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors, appointed Mr. Perry D.
Odak as a Class II director to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Ledsinger's
resignation, such appointment to be effective March 1, 2005. Mr. Odak will also
serve on the Audit and Compensation Committees of the Board of Directors.

A copy of a press release issued by the Company announcing the resignation of
Mr. Ledsinger and the appointment of Mr. Odak is filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this
Form 8-K.

Item 9.01  Financial Statements and Exhibits

(c)      Exhibits
         --------


Exhibit Number          Exhibit Description
- --------------          ------------------------------------------------------
99.1                    Friendly Ice Cream Corporation Press Release
                        dated February 10, 2005

                                       2





                                    SIGNATURE

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Dated: February 11,  2005     FRIENDLY ICE CREAM CORPORATION


                              By:  /s/ PAUL V. HOAGLAND
                              --------------------------------
                              Name: Paul V. Hoagland
                              Title: Executive Vice President
                              of Administration and
                              Chief Financial Officer








                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit Number          Exhibit Description
- --------------          ------------------------------------------------------
99.1                    Friendly Ice Cream Corporation Press Release
                        dated February 10, 2005

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

                        Friendly's Restaurants Announce
      Appointment to Board; Mr. Perry D. Odak to Join Friendly's Board of
              Directors to Fill Vacancy Resulting from Resignation


    WILBRAHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2005--Friendly Ice
Cream Corporation (AMEX:FRN) announced the appointment of Perry D.
Odak to serve on the Company's Board of Directors effective March 1,
2005. Mr. Odak will fill the vacancy made available by the resignation
of Charles A. Ledsinger, whose resignation becomes effective March 1,
2005. Mr. Ledsinger is the Chief Executive Officer of Choice Hotels
International, Inc., an international hospitality chain.
    Mr. Odak is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of
Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: OATS), one of the nation's leading
chains of organic, specialty and natural food markets. In this
position since 2001, Odak was brought in to succeed the founders and
execute a turnaround of the company. Established in 1987, Wild Oats
now has annual revenues of nearly $1 billion with more than 106 stores
in the United States and Canada.
    Prior to joining Wild Oats Markets, Inc., Mr. Odak was recruited
to join Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. as its Chief Executive Officer
and President. Before joining Ben & Jerry's, Mr. Odak maintained 25
years of senior management experience in a variety of consumer product
and retailing businesses, including, Dial Corp., a Fortune 500
company, Jovan, Inc., an innovative fragrance and cosmetic company,
and Atari Inc., a leading distributor of video game software.
    Mr. Odak holds a B.S. in Applied Economics from Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York.
    Donald N. Smith, Friendly's Chairman of the Board of Directors
said, "I'd like to thank Chuck Ledsinger for the invaluable
contributions he's made to Friendly's. With the many demands for his
time, I sincerely appreciate all that he has done for Friendly's".
    Smith went on to say, "We are pleased to welcome Perry to
Friendly's Board of Directors. We believe his values, insight, and
tremendous ice cream industry experience will make him a superb asset
to our Company and a valuable addition to the Board."

    About Friendly's

    Friendly Ice Cream Corporation is a vertically integrated
restaurant company serving signature sandwiches, entrees and ice cream
desserts in a friendly, family environment in over 535 company and
franchised restaurants throughout the Northeast. The Company also
manufactures ice cream, which is distributed through more than 4,500
supermarkets and other retail locations. With a 69-year operating
history, Friendly's enjoys strong brand recognition and is currently
remodeling its restaurants and introducing new products to grow its
customer base. Additional information on Friendly Ice Cream
Corporation can be found on the Company's website (www.friendlys.com).

    CONTACT: Friendly's
             Maura C. Tobias, 413-543-2400 x 2814