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“American Pickers” host Mike Wolfe revealed in an interview with People magazine that he was at the bedside of his friend and co-host Frank Fritz when the latter died last year. The duo appeared together on the History Channel staple for 10 years and hundreds of episodes. “American Pickers” followed Fritz and Wolfe as they toured the country in search of antiques and artifacts they can sell in their shop or buy to add to their personal collections.
“I got the call that he wasn’t doing well,” Wolfe told People. “I just feel blessed that I was able to get there. I was there for about an hour before he passed, and I was holding his hand and rubbing his chest when he took his last breath. I took my fingers and I closed his eyes.”
“I just told him that I wasn’t mad at him and that I loved him and that I cared about him so much,” Wolfe added about Fritz’s final moments. “And then when I could see that he was struggling, I just said, ‘Just go find your mom. Go find her right now. Just go find her.’”
Fritz’s death was originally announced by Wolfe on social media. The television personality suffered a stroke as a result of cerebral vascular disease. He was 60 years old. In his social media post at the time, Wolfe wrote: “I’ve known Frank for more than half my life 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,” he continued. “Before the show we would take off together to places we never knew existed with no destination in mind and just the shared passion to discover something interesting and historic… I love you buddy and will miss you so much I know you’re in a better place.”
“American Pickers” launched on the History Channel on Jan. 18, 2010, and has since aired for 25 seasons. Fritz suffered a stroke in summer 2022, a couple of years after stepping back from the show due to health problems. He was a regular on “American Pickers” through the show’s 2020 season.
