To many viewers, Frank Fritz, the scruffy sidekick and longtime good friend of co-host Mike Wolfe, was the key sauce that made “American Pickers” a success when it debuted in 2010 on the Historical past Channel. Of their white cargo van, Fritz and Wolfe traveled the backroads of America to rummage by garages and outdated barns for buried-in-dust treasures.

Generally known as the “bearded charmer” for his potential to steer hesitant sellers on the truth TV present, Fritz died from problems from a stroke Sept. 30 whereas in hospice care in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa. He was 60.

“We’re saddened to share that our good friend and beloved member of The Historical past Channel and ‘American Pickers’ household, Frank Fritz, has handed away,” stated an announcement from the Historical past Channel and Cineflix Manufacturing. “We are going to at all times keep in mind ‘the bearded charmer’ and his unending seek for classic bikes and bikes. Our ideas are with Frank’s family members throughout this tough time. He will likely be deeply missed.”

Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe labored collectively for greater than 20 seasons on ‘American Pickers.’

Neilson Barnard/Getty Photographs

By way of a whole lot of episodes and greater than 20 season collectively, Fritz and Wolfe shared a ardour for the previous, particularly, within the case of Fritz, outdated indicators and bikes. Not like the extra reserved and dignified “Antiques Roadshow” on public tv, “American Pickers” blended humor and severe value determinations with historical past and on-the-road journey by small-town America. The present’s idea was easy: Frank and Mike drove across the U.S. on the lookout for antiques and collectibles to purchase and resell.

By its fifth episode, “American Pickers” was the second-most-watched present on the Historical past Channel, with a mean 3.3 million viewers, simply behind one other present lower from the identical look-what-we-found material, “Pawn Stars.”

In a heartfelt tribute shared on Instagram, Wolfe known as Fritz a “dreamer who was simply as delicate as he was humorous.” Wolfe added, “Frank had a method of reaching the hearts of so many by simply being himself.”

Mike Wolfe’s Instagram tribute to Frank Fritz

Fritz’s “American Pickers” days got here to an abrupt and – for viewers – stunning finish in 2021 when the collection introduced he wouldn’t return. In a 2021 interview with the Solar, Fritz stated he left the collection amid main again surgical procedure, which was then adopted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He suffered a stroke in 2022 and additionally had Crohn’s illness, which in accordance with the Mayo Clinic, is an inflammatory bowel illness that causes the swelling of the tissues within the digestive tract.

Wolfe, in his tribute, recalled the “many miles” he shared with Fritz earlier than and through their “American Pickers” run. “I like you buddy and can miss you a lot I do know your [sic] in a greater place.”