'American Pickers' Star Danielle Colby Reacts to Frank Fritz's Death

Colby shared some photos of herself and Fritz on the job together.

By Michael Hein

American Pickers star Danielle Colby posted a touching tribute to Frank Fritz on Tuesday morning when news of his death broke. Fritz, 58, passed away on Monday, Sept. 30 according to his former co-host Mike Wolfe, who made the announcement on social media. Colby followed up with a post of her own featuring three photos of herself and Fritz together having fun.

"Frank, I will miss your ability to make everyone laugh, your love for talking tattoos, your epic collections but what I will miss the most are those little glimpses of vulnerability from time to time," Colby wrote. "Frank, you loved your cat and your momma and we bonded on those things. You will be missed for all of these reasons and so many more. Rest in Peace Road Dog." She ended the tribute with two emojis – a red heart and a bandage.

Colby's post has picked up nearly 14,000 likes at the time of this writing, but comments are disabled meaning fans are unable to weigh in. However, they have found plenty of other places to post their own tributes to Fritz and to send their condolences to Colby, Wolfe and others. 

American Pickers premiered on History in 2010 and it has become a pillar of unscripted TV over the last decade and a half.

Fritz had a series of brutal health issues in recent years which took him off the show and plagued him off-screen. He needed serious back surgery in 2020, made even more difficult by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions on hospitals at the time. That impacted his mobility, making it hard for him to work with Wolfe in tight spaces searching for antiques. Fritz left American Pickers in July of 2021, and about a year later he suffered a serious stroke.

It's unclear what exactly Fritz's cause of death was, but Wolfe focused on the good times in his post on Tuesday morning. He 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. 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."

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"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. I love you buddy and will miss you so much I know you're in a better place," Wolfe finished.

American Pickers wrapped up its 25th season back in March. A new season debuts on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. ET on History. Previous episodes are streaming on Hulu, Prime Video and other services depending on where you live.

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