Frank Fritz of the reality TV Show ‘American Pickers’ dies at 60

Frank Fritz, a part of a two-man crew who drove across the U.S. on the lookout for antiques and collectibles to purchase and resell on the truth present “American Pickers,” has died.

He died Monday evening at a hospice facility in Davenport, Iowa, stated Annette Oberlander, a longtime pal. She stated he was 60, not 58, as some web sites and information sources stated.

She stated she was at his bedside, as was Mike Wolfe, who starred with Fritz for greater than a decade on the Historical past Channel program.

“The identical off digital camera as he was on, Frank had a method of reaching the hearts of so many by simply being himself,” Wolfe stated an Instagram put up mourning the lack of his pal.

In American Pickers, Fritz and Wolfe visited primarily small cities and rural areas looking for objects. They typically would crawl by means of dusty barns and crowded garages, flashlight in hand to dig out objects that they might resell at an vintage store in Iowa.

Fritz typically was drawn to vintage toys, and he would banter in a good-natured method with sellers as they sought to reach at a worth.

Sometimes they’d come upon extra notable finds, equivalent to a dilapidated van within the woods of a small Massachusetts city that the band Aerosmith toured in earlier than they began filling stadiums with tens of 1000’s of followers.

Oberlander stated Fritz had a stroke in 2022 and by no means totally recovered. She stated a celebration of life, which can embody a motorbike run, will doubtless occur within the spring.

“He was a fierce pal,” Oberlander stated. “He leaves behind an unimaginable quantity of friendships as a result of that’s what was most necessary to him. A really great amount of friendships. Shut friendships.”