‘American Pickers’ host Frank Fritz dies at 60

Frank Fritz, 1 of the co-hosts of American Pickers, has died astatine property 60, 2 years aft helium suffered a superior stroke. He was 60 years old.

Fritz appeared successful 308 episodes of the fashionable History Channel amusement alongside his co-star Mike Wolfe, earlier leaving American Pickers successful 2021. The brace travelled astir America looking for uncommon artifacts and treasures to merchantability oregon adhd to their idiosyncratic collections.

“This is simply a precise pugnacious announcement to make,” reads a station connected the Facebook page, Frank Fritz Friends. “Frank passed distant past nighttime astir 7:30.”

Another station connected the page added that Fritz “passed distant peacefully surrounded by his closest friends.”

“He fought a valiant conflict the past 2 years with galore ups and downs but yet the operation of the terrible changeable and his Crohn’s illness was conscionable excessively overmuch for his assemblage to bear.”

Pickers co-host Wolfe paid tribute to Fritz successful an Instagram post, penning that his bosom is “broken.”

“I’ve known Frank for much past fractional my beingness and what you’ve seen connected TV has ever been what I person seen, a dreamer who was conscionable arsenic delicate arsenic helium was funny,” Wolfe wrote. “The aforesaid disconnected camera arsenic helium was on, Frank had a mode of reaching the hearts of truthful galore by conscionable being himself.”

The brace were friends earlier starting American Pickers together. Wolfe shared that they would “take disconnected unneurotic to places we ne'er knew existed with nary destination successful caput and conscionable the shared passionateness to observe thing absorbing and historic.”

“We’ve been connected countless trips and shared truthful galore miles and I consciousness blessed that I was determination by his broadside erstwhile helium took 1 past travel home. I emotion you buddy and volition miss you truthful much,” Wolfe added.

Fritz had mostly been retired of the nationalist oculus aft suffering a terrible changeable successful 2022. A twelvemonth earlier that, successful 2021, Fritz told The Sun helium hadn’t talked to Wolfe successful 2 years amid a feud betwixt the two. The past clip helium appeared connected a amusement was successful March 2020, The Sun reported astatine the time.

When Fritz had his stroke, the brace seemed to enactment their differences down them.

Wolfe posted that Fritz was hospitalized pursuing the changeable and helium asked fans to support the co-host successful their “hearts and thoughts.”

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“I person been precise backstage successful the past twelvemonth successful regards to Frank’s beingness and the travel he’s been on. There has been tons of opinions successful regards to excavation and Frank’s relationship and the amusement but present is not the clip to acceptable the grounds straight. Now is the clip to commune for my friend,” Wolfe wrote connected Instagram astatine the time.

“Frank I commune much than thing that you marque it done this okay. I emotion you buddy.”

The History Channel and Pickers producer Cineflix Production released a associated connection successful the aftermath of Fritz’s death.

“Frank filmed American Pickers for implicit a decade,” the connection reads. “We volition ever retrieve ‘the bearded charmer’ and his never-ending hunt for vintage motorcycles and bikes. Our thoughts are with Frank’s loved ones during this hard time.”

Fritz’s manager Bill Stankey told People that helium was “an exceptional quality being.”

“He loved life, helium cared astir people, helium ever had a benignant connection to accidental and helium knew much astir Americana and antiques than anyone I ever met,” Stankey said, adding that Fritz was the “anchor” of  American Pickers.

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