{"id":130228,"date":"2024-10-10T18:43:20","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T18:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/10\/frank-fritz-wanted-american-pickers-return-before-death-friend-says\/"},"modified":"2024-10-10T18:43:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T18:43:20","slug":"frank-fritz-wanted-american-pickers-return-before-death-friend-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/10\/frank-fritz-wanted-american-pickers-return-before-death-friend-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Frank Fritz Wanted American Pickers Return Before Death, Friend Says"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Frank Fritz.<\/span> NEW YORK, NY – MAY 09: Frank Fritz of American Pickers attends the A+E Networks 2012 Upfront at Lincoln Center on May 9, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Late American Pickers<\/em> star Frank Fritz<\/strong> would\u2019ve liked a chance to return to the History Channel reality series before his death, his friend Jerry Gendreau<\/strong> says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Frank would\u2019ve went back [to the show], but he had his health issues. And he did have some serious health issues. From 25 or 30 on, he suffered from Crohn\u2019s,\u201d Gendreau told The U.S. Sun<\/em><\/a> on Wednesday, October 9.<\/p>\n

Fritz died at age 60<\/a> on September 30 from the effects of a stroke. A rep for the reality TV star subsequently told TMZ<\/a> that Fritz\u2019s Crohn\u2019s disease \u2014 a chronic, inflammatory illness that affects the gastrointestinal tract \u2014 may have contributed to his death.<\/p>\n

Fritz\u2019s death came three years after his American Pickers<\/em> costar Mike Wolfe<\/strong> confirmed in July 2021 that Fritz would not be returning to the show. That same month, Fritz told The U.S. Sun<\/em><\/a> that he hadn\u2019t spoken to Wolfe in \u201ctwo years,\u201d claiming that he hadn\u2019t checked on him after he had back surgery.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Celebrity Deaths of 2024: Stars We Lost This Year<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tHollywood mourned many celebrities in 2024. Speed Racer star Christian Oliver (born Christian Klepser) died at the age of 51 during a fatal plane crash on January 5. Oliver was traveling home from a Caribbean vacation with his two daughters \u2014 Madita and Annik, whom he shared with wife Jessica Klepser \u2014 on January 4. [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHe knew my back was messed up, but he didn\u2019t call me up and ask how I was doing. That\u2019s just how it is,\u201d Fritz said at the time. \u201cThe show is tilted towards him 1,000 percent. \u2026 It\u2019s like you\u2019ve got Aerosmith, and there\u2019s Steven Tyler<\/strong> and he\u2019s the frontman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Fritz\u2019s perception of himself as \u201csecond\u201d to Wolfe, Gendreau said that his late friend was vital to the show\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike came up with the idea of the show, [and] Mike was smart enough to know the show would be perfect with Frank,\u201d he said. \u201cMike and Frank were like [comedy duo] Jerry Lewis<\/strong> and Dean Martin<\/strong>. Jerry Lewis \u2014 Frank \u2014 was just as important or maybe even more important for the show, [but] it\u2019s very hard to be the Jerry Lewis all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gendreau also shed light on how Fritz was doing in the months leading up to his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe felt really, really bad,\u201d Gendreau said. \u201cYou would go to see him in the nursing home and one half of his body was completely done. He would lift his arm up and it would just drop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gendreau added that Fritz, who suffered a stroke<\/a> in July 2022 that left the right side of his body paralyzed, was \u201cfrustrated\u201d with being \u201ctotally bedridden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen this when people get tired. I think if you don\u2019t have the will to live, you won\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cI think Frank could\u2019ve lived a lot longer if the will to live would\u2019ve been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The History Channel honored Fritz<\/a> with an American Pickers<\/em> marathon of his \u201cbest\u201d episodes on Wednesday. Wolfe also dedicated season 26 of the series, which premiered that same day, to Fritz.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>\u2018American Pickers\u2019 Costars Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe\u2019s Ups and Downs<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tAmerican Pickers stars Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe had a lot of ups and downs in their decades-long friendship. The pair began working together on hit series in 2009 and the show premiered on the History Channel the following year. The series followed Wolfe and Fritz\u2019s travels across the United States searching for antiques to [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt has taken me a long time to figure out what I was going to say or if I even wanted to post that we have new episodes starting tomorrow night,\u201d Wolfe wrote via Instagram<\/a> on Tuesday, October 8. \u201cThe timing of this and Frank\u2019s passing is not great, however we have been making shows without Frank for four years now and we have always wanted him to be back with this crew, but he couldn\u2019t due to health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

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