Two years after suffering a stroke, former “American Pickers” star Frank Fritz died at age 58 on September 30, 2024, per multiple sources. An admin for the Frank Fritz Friends Facebook page announced the news in a post on October 1, informing fans that Fritz’s longtime History Channel co-star, Mike Wolfe, was by his side at the time of his death. Wolfe later shared how “blessed” he felt to be there.
“This is a very tough announcement to make,” his Facebook page announced. “Frank passed away last night around 7:30 he was surrounded by myself Mike Wolfe made a high speed to get back here from Nashville and other friends. Please understand this is a very rough time for us. Including Mike so be kind as we are trying to figure out how to cope with this. Thank you all for your love and support through the years.”
Though many outlets have reported that Fritz was 60, news sources near his hometown of Davenport, Iowa — including Our Quad Cities News — have reported that he was 58 at the time of his death.
Mike Wolfe Pays Tribute to Longtime Friend & Co-Star Frank Fritz
“American Pickers” debuted on The History Channel in 2010, per IMDb, featuring “Midwestern pickers” and Iowa natives Fritz and Wolfe. With assistance from Danielle (Dani) Colby, they traveled the country in their white van, happily hunting for America’s most valuable antiques.
In May, the U.S. Sun reported that the show had been renewed for three more seasons and filming of season 26 was underway. But Fritz hasn’t been on the series since midway through the 21st season, the outlet reported, after he had back surgery to have two rods placed in his spine, requiring 185 stitches.
Though Fritz told the U.S. Sun he hoped to return to the show despite growing distant from Wolfe, but he was never reinstated on the series. He suffered a debilitating stroke in 2022, per the outlet, and Fritz and Wolfe had a tearful reunion in 2023, the Quad City Times reported.
The morning after Fritz’s death, Wolfe paid tribute to him in an emotional social media post, writing, “It’s with a broken heart that I share with all of you that Frank passed away last night.”
“I’ve know Frank for more then half my life,” he continued, “and what you’ve seen on TV has always been what I have seen, a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny. The same off camera as he was on, Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself.”
“Who would have ever dreamed we would share the cockpit of a white cargo van in front of millions of people interested in our adventures,” Wolfe wrote, recalling their “countless trips” and sharing how grateful he was to be there for Fritz’s last breath.
“I feel blessed that I was there by his side when he took one last journey home,” he wrote. “I love you buddy and will miss you so much I know your in a better place.”
Frank Fritz Struggled to Fully Recover After His 2022 Stroke
Fritz, who was born in Davenport, Iowa, worked throughout the Quad Cities area, per KWQC, and owned his own antique shop called Frank Fritz Finds in Savanna, Illinois.
But on July 14, 2022, he was found unresponsive at his Davenport home after suffering a stroke, according to the Des Moines Register. Court documents showed Fritz was released to a rehab facility in mid-August and was placed under a guardianship while he recovered because he was “not able to make decisions for himself.”
Fritz struggled to recover, facing multiple health setbacks in the years since his stroke, including suffering from seizures, per one of his Facebook page’s admin.
On August 16, another admin on the page shared that in early 2024, Fritz was “hospitalized again for more complications from the stroke and Crohn’s disease” but did not want to share any details about his condition publicly.
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