What Happened to Frank on American Pickers?

American Pickers isn’t quite the same without Frank Fitz, and due to a recent, tragic development, he won’t be back. Here’s what happened to Frank on American Pickers.

Why Did Frank Fitz Leave American Pickers?

Frank Fitz left American Pickers due to health issues, and he passed away in September 2024, at the age of 60. So, read on, but be warned, the story of his departure from American Pickers and the subsequent events is not a happy one.

Fitz was the show’s co-host and co-founder, alongside Mike Wolfe, for 21 seasons. But in the middle of Season 21, he was gone, and this antique-hunting road trip series went on without him.

As reported by Yahoo, the History Channel put out a statement in 2021 explaining that Fitz was no longer part of the show. Fitz had back surgery the year before, so there’d been some speculation that his health problems led to his departure. However, it may not have been that simple. It’s been suggested that Fritz and Mike Wolfe haven’t been getting along. And while Wolfe remained relatively quiet, Fritz claimed that the show’s producers favored his co-star.

“I haven’t talked to Mike in two years. He knew my back was messed up, but he didn’t call me up and ask how I was doing. That’s just how it is”, Fitz said after his departure, as reported by The US Sun. “The show is tilted towards him 1,000 percent. I can’t even bend that far down to show you how much,” Fitz continued, implying that he was being edged out.

Wolfe had been far less vocal, leaving fans to wonder what really happened behind the scenes. There were various other rumors being thrown about, but with Wolfe still under contract with the History Channel, we probably won’t be getting his side of the story any time soon. And, now that Fitz has passed, he may feel it’s more more respectful to let that lie.

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What Happened to Frank Fitz After American Pickers?

Unfortunately, his injury and departure from the show weren’t the end of Fitz’s problems. In 2022, he had a stroke, which left him hospitalized. Wolfe made a rare statement, telling People magazine that “the most important thing is that we allow him time to heal and give him the space to do so.”

“There has been lots of opinions in regards to mine and Frank’s friendship and the show but now is not the time to set the record straight. Now is the time to pray for my friend,” Wolfe continued.

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Fritz had remained out of the public eye since. He’d previously stated that he was open to a return to the show (via WeGotThisCovered). Wolfe and Fitz had even met in person (via the QC Times) after three years apart, which, at the time, suggested a reunion wasn’t out of the question.

However, over a year later, the official American Pickers account tweeted that Frank had passed away.

“We are saddened to share that our friend and beloved member of The HISTORY Channel and American Pickers family, Frank Fritz, has passed away on September 30, 2024,” read the tweet.

An Associated Press article had more news, stating that he had been in a hospice facility when he died. Wolfe paid tribute to him on Instagram, as did many others.

So, the answer to what happened to Frank on American Pickers is that he suffered from health problems, which led to his departure from the show, and he sadly passed away in September 2024.

American Pickers is available now on the History Channel.

The above article was updated on 10/3/2024 by the original author to provide new information about Frank.