American Selectors star Frank Fritz has died. He was 60 years old.
Fritz’s co-star and longtime friend Mike Wolfe broke the news to fans, also sharing that he was by Fritz’s side when he passed away on Monday (September 30).
“It is with a broken heart that I share with all of you that Frank passed away last night. We took countless trips and shared so many miles, and I felt blessed to be by his side as he took one last trip home,” Wolfe writes.
“I’ve known Frank for more than half my life and what you saw on TV was always what I saw, a dreamer who was as sensitive as he was funny,” he adds. “Just as he was off camera, Frank had a way of reaching so many people’s hearts simply by being himself.”
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No cause of death has been reported at this time. TMZ notes that the former TV star was hospitalized just two years ago after a stroke that happened amid “a myriad of other health issues.”
According to the Quad City TimesFrtiz continued to struggle with mobility and strength issues after his stroke. “He spent more than two years in and out of rehab clinics, the hospital and, ultimately, hospice care, where he died on Monday,” the newspaper reports.
American Selectors made its debut on the History Channel in 2010 and featured Wolfe and Fritz “picking” barns and garages across America looking for forgotten junk that still has value.
“This isn’t your grandmother’s antique,” says the History Channel in its description of the show. “American Pickers are on a mission to recycle America, even if it means diving into countless piles of dirty trash or being kicked off the land of an armed landowner.”
Wolfe and Fritz ran their businesses, Ancient Archeologyleaving LeClaire, Iowa, near Davenport and the Illinois border, at the start of the show. Frtiz was a native of Davenport.
As the show became more popular, the duo would open additional locations across the United States, including Nashville.
Fritz stepped away from the show following his stroke in 2022. Wolfe was then joined by a rotating group that included the show’s longtime personality Danielle Colby, Wolfe’s brother, Robbie, and his friend, “Jersey Jon” Szalay.
“Frank, I will miss your ability to make everyone laugh, your love of talking tattoos, your epic collections, but what I will miss most are those little glimpses of vulnerability every now and then,” Colby writes on Twitter. Instagram.
According to IMDB, Fritz starred in a total of 308 episodes of American Selectors from 2010-2021. He also made an appearance Pawn Stars and had his voice featured on the animated TV show American Dad!
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