Frank Fritz, former star of the reality television show American Pickers, died September 30 at the age of 60.
Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz’s former co-star, announced Fritz’s death in a statement posted to social media that read, “It’s with a broken heart that I share with all of you that Frank passed away last night.”
Wolfe added that he had known Frank for more than half of his life and never dreamed the two would share adventures in front of millions of people.
“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,” Wolfe wrote. “We’ve been on countless trips and shared so many miles and I feel blessed that I was there by his side when he took one last journey home.”
Frank Fritz’s Health Issues
American Pickers debuted on The History Channel in 2010. The show featured Frank Fritz, Mike Wolfe, and Danielle Colby, who ran an antique store in Iowa. Fritz and Wolfe traveled the country in search of collectible items hidden in shops, garages, of individual collectors.
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It was announced in June 2021 that Fritz was leaving the show due to numerous health issues, including a back surgery. One year after he left American Pickers, Fritz suffered a stroke that led to hospitalization. A friend reported at the time that Fritz was wheelchair-bound and unable to care for himself.
Just weeks after his stroke, a request for conservatorship was filed. The court documents claimed, “Mr. Fritz’s decision-making capacity is so impaired that he is unable to care for his own safety or to provide for necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical care without which physical injury or illness may occur.”
Frank Fritz’s Cause Of Death
Fritz’s longtime manager, Bill Stankey, shared with Fox News Digital that the television personality died due to complications from a stroke while in hospice care. Stankey also shared that Fritz had been suffering from Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease can lead to life-threatening complications but isn’t fatal on its own.
On his death certificate obtained by TMZ on Friday (October 11), Fritz’s cause of death was confirmed to be “late sequela of cerebral infarction,” the medical term for a stroke. It’s unclear if the stroke referenced was the one he suffered in 2022 or a more recent stroke.
TMZ also shared that Frank suffered from “cerebral vascular disease, a condition that affects blood flow and blood vessels in the brain.”
Other health conditions listed on the death certificate include aortic stenosis, “a chronic condition that makes it difficult for blood to flow from the heart to the rest of the body,” and COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The document states that both issues played a role in his death.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Frank Fritz’s loved ones.