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Frank Fritz from “American Pickers” dies at the age of 60

Frank Fritz, part of a two-man team that drove around the United States on the reality show “American Pickers” looking for antiques and collectibles to buy and resell, has died.

He died Monday night at a hospice facility in Davenport, Iowa, said Annette Oberlander, a longtime friend. She said he was 60, not 58 as some websites and news sources said.

She said she was at his bedside, as was Mike Wolfe, who starred with Fritz on the History Channel show for more than a decade.

“Just as much behind the camera as in front of it, Frank had the opportunity to reach the hearts of so many people just by being himself,” Wolfe said on Instagram post mourns the loss of his friend.

In “American Pickers,” Fritz and Wolfe mostly visited small towns and rural areas in search of items. They often crawled through dusty barns and cluttered garages, flashlight in hand, to unearth items to resell at an antiques store in Iowa.

Fritz was often drawn to antique toys and chatted good-naturedly with the sellers trying to get a price.

Occasionally they came across more remarkable finds, such as a dilapidated van in the woods of a small Massachusetts town that the band had built Aerosmith was on tour before they started filling stadiums with tens of thousands of fans.

Oberlander said Fritz suffered a stroke in 2022 and never fully recovered. She said a celebration of life will likely be held in the spring, which will include a motorcycle run.

“He was a passionate friend,” Oberlander said. “He leaves behind an incredible number of friendships because that was the most important thing to him. Lots of friendships. Close friendships.”

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