Celebrity News July 22, 2022
‘American Pickers’ Star Frank Fritz Suffers Stroke
Splash News
“American Pickers” alum Frank Fritz, 56, has suffered a stroke.
His former co-host Mike Wolfe shared the news on Instagram, writing, “I have been very private in the past year in regards to Frank’s life and the journey he’s been on. 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.”
He revealed, “Frank has suffered a stroke and is in the hospital. Please keep him in your hearts and thoughts.”
The reality star ended with a message to Fritz, writing, “Frank I pray more than anything that you make it through this okay. I love you buddy.”
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Fritz exited “American Pickers” in 2020 to have back surgery and never returned. It came to light later that he and Wolfe had a falling out and the History Channel later confirmed that Frank would not be coming back.
At the time, Mike told Entertainment Weekly in a statement, “I have known Frank for as long as I can remember, he’s been like a brother to me. The journey that Frank, Dani [Colby], and I started back in 2009, like all of life, has come with its highs and lows, blessings and challenges, but it has also been the most rewarding. I will miss Frank, just like all of you, and I pray for the very best and all good things for him on the next part of his journey.”
Meanwhile, Frank was battling multiple health issues.
He told The Sun about his back surgery, revealing in 2021, “I had a couple of rods put in there. It was from lifting stuff all the time. If you watch the show, you can see who the guy is that’s lifting all the time, it’s always me. It had been hurting for a long, long time. I’m talking months and months and months. Finally, I had it looked at and they said it was about ready to split in half, the bones going up in the middle of my spine.”
The star continued, “They put a couple of big rods up the middle of my spine. I had to get 185 stitches and two rods in my back. I had the back injury but I can lift, I’m okay.”
Frank has also battled Crohn’s disease for 30 years. He told the paper, “There’s no cure, it’s like a dragon. Every day is a crap shoot,” he recalled to The Sun at the time. “One day I could have a double chimichanga with hot sauce pouring out of it and have no problem. Another day I could have a piece of toast with some scrambled eggs and have a flare-up. I haven’t had any flare-ups recently. I’ve been really good and quit drinking.”
