In summer 2021, an apparently long-simmering feud between American Pickers stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz went public. Here's what we know about the rift in their relationship leading up to Fritz's tragic death on September 30, 2024.
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00:00In summer 2021, an apparently long-simmering feud between American Picker stars Mike Wolfe
00:06and Frank Fritz went public.
00:08Here's what we know about the rift in their relationship, leading up to Fritz's tragic
00:12death on September 30th, 2024.
00:15In retrospect, signs of an American Picker schism were present way back in the spring
00:19of 2020.
00:20At first, season 21 of the series kept up with the show's tried-and-true format of Mike
00:25Wolfe and Frank Fritz traveling around the U.S. looking for treasure.
00:29Collecting that treasure.
00:30Assessing and acquiring that treasure.
00:32And moving on to the next stop.
00:33Would you sell this?
00:34I got the right number.
00:36But the 13th episode, Burlesque Queen, in which Mike and Frank head to Kansas City,
00:41marked what was for all intents and purposes the end of Fritz's tenure on the show.
00:45The episode first aired on March 2nd, 2020.
00:48But by the following episode, Fritz was gone, never to return.
00:51Due to pandemic lockdowns and restrictions on TV productions, season 22 of American Pickers
00:57didn't hit the air until January 2021, nearly a year after Fritz disappeared from the show.
01:02With Fritz replaced, road fans realized he might be gone for good.
01:06Finally, in July 2021, Fritz broke his silence.
01:10According to an interview with The Sun, Fritz claimed he didn't leave American Pickers,
01:14but rather ceased to participate in the new batch of episodes.
01:17Those two things sound like they're the same, but they're ever so slightly different.
01:20As Fritz explained,
01:22It's up to the network whether I come back on the show.
01:24I didn't leave the show.
01:25I finished shooting, and then I had a little back surgery and the pandemic came.
01:29"...in the collecting world these days, if we don't get young people interested in that
01:34aspect, it's not gonna be around."
01:35Fritz couldn't shoot in 2020 and 2021 because he was recuperating from back surgery.
01:41He also suffers from Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the digestive
01:45system, and lost more than 65 pounds, which he attributed to exercising more and quitting
01:50alcohol, saying,
01:51"...I haven't had a drink in almost nine, ten months."
01:55Fritz told The Sun that his falling out with Wolf, whom he's known for more than 40 years,
01:59began very quietly, admitting,
02:01"...I haven't talked to Mike in two years."
02:03According to Fritz, despite their decades of friendship and their professional partnership,
02:08Wolf basically ghosted him around the time of his back surgery.
02:11Fritz claimed,
02:12"...He knew my back was messed up, but he didn't call me up and ask how I was doing.
02:15That's just how it is."
02:16"...I've always been the one with the bad back, so it's ironic that Frank is the one
02:21that ends up having back surgery."
02:23This seemed to make other dormant issues bubble up for Fritz, particularly his disagreement
02:28with Wolf over the presentation and production of American Pickers.
02:32Fritz alleged,
02:33"...The show is tilted towards him 1,000 percent.
02:35I can't even bend that far down to show you how much."
02:38"...I'm keeping an open mind.
02:39Hurry and say it before he closes it."
02:41But despite calling out Wolf and other members of the American Pickers team by association,
02:47Fritz claimed to accept his role on the show, saying,
02:49"...It's like you've got Aerosmith and there's Steven Tyler and he's the frontman.
02:52I've found my spot.
02:53I'm second and he's number one on the show.
02:55That's no problem with me.
02:57Maybe he does have a problem."
02:59On July 21, 2021, a representative from the History Channel told Entertainment Weekly
03:04that Fritz's long tenure on American Pickers had indeed come to an end.
03:08The rep explained Fritz didn't fit in with the, quote, "...big picture of the franchise."
03:12That's when Wolf finally weighed in on Fritz's absence, releasing a statement that read,
03:16"...I have known Frank for as long as I can remember.
03:18He's been like a brother to me.
03:20The journey that Frank, Danny, and I started back in 2009, like all of life, has come with
03:24its highs and lows, blessings and challenges, but it has also been the most rewarding.
03:29I will miss Frank, just like all of you, and I pray for the very best and all good things
03:33for him on the next part of his journey."
03:36While Wolf's statement was brief, polite, and professional, Danielle Colby, the third
03:39American Pickers cast member, expressed her own feelings about the backstage drama on
03:44Instagram, and she clearly picked a side.
03:46The post featured a pic of her with Wolf, with a caption reading, in part,
03:49"'Things could have been different, but we must be accountable for our actions when we
03:53cause instability or pain and suffering to others.
03:56Frank caused so much pain for himself that it has been hard to watch.'"
03:59"'They let you drive?'
04:00"'Yeah, they let me drive!'
04:02Colby may have been alluding to Fritz's alcohol issues or some other very personal things
04:06the general public has not yet heard about.
04:08On August 4, 2021, Fritz sat down for another tough interview with The Sun.
04:13In response to his former partner's well wishes, in no uncertain terms, saying,
04:17"'Mike's statement was b----.
04:19Somebody wrote it out for him.
04:20I don't believe in 10 years he's said five nice things to me, you know?
04:23Unless he was cutting somebody else down and we were both laughing.'"
04:26Wolf didn't respond to Fritz's accusations, leaving their relationship at an impasse.
04:31But Fritz wasn't ready to walk away from his reality TV career, claiming,
04:35"'Thousands of people want me back.
04:36They've got a petition to get me back on the show.
04:38I could go either way and find a new show, have something new and have just as much fun.'"
04:44In addition to his recovery from back surgery, which involved the placement of two rods into
04:48his spine, Fritz spent his time away from American Pickers addressing his addiction.
04:52He checked into The Abbey Center, a treatment facility in Bettendorf, Iowa, where he spent
04:5777 days trying to kick his addiction to alcohol.
05:00Fritz shared,
05:01"'I didn't like drinking anymore.
05:02My mom was an alcoholic and she died five years ago and it was alcohol-related.
05:06My grandfather was an alcoholic and he died.
05:09That didn't sit well with me."
05:10He added that during his time in rehab, he was kept busy all day, every day, and read
05:14a dozen self-help books, revealing,
05:16"'I really got into it.
05:18I went there to learn and get the most of it that I possibly could.'"
05:21At the time of that interview, Fritz had been sober for nearly a year and was attending
05:25counseling meetings twice a week, but admitted that he wanted to return to American Pickers.
05:29"'I've got a Kawasaki out back that I made out of a cow and a Kawasaki.'
05:35Fritz confessed,
05:36"'I miss my friends and my people and being on the road and meeting all those different
05:39characters.'"
05:41A subject of Fritz's alcoholism remains sensitive for the people in his orbit, particularly
05:45Wolf, who made comments to The Sun in August 2021, implying that he didn't think Fritz
05:50was ready to return to American Pickers, by saying,
05:53"...we all do care about Frank and we want him back on the show, but he just can't get
05:57it right."
05:58But what exactly was he referring to?
06:00Wolf implied that he couldn't speak to any progress Fritz had made in getting his alcohol
06:03issues under control, but said that he would, quote, "...love to talk to him again after
06:07having not done so for about two years."
06:09Wolf added,
06:10"...Frank is just going through a lot personally with addictions.
06:12It's unfortunate that he's made decisions that have him the way he is."
06:16In July 2022, Fritz was found unresponsive at his home in Medarvenport, Iowa, having
06:21suffered a serious stroke.
06:23After being hospitalized for a month, Fritz was moved into a residential rehab facility
06:27to begin a prolonged and arduous recovery.
06:30According to The Sun, Fritz's healthcare expenses were so substantial, amounting to
06:34around $23,000 a month, and his functions were so diminished by the stroke that the
06:39court appointed a temporary guardian and financial conservator to oversee Fritz's affairs.
06:44In light of Fritz's health situation, Wolf put their squabbles aside, talking to Instagram
06:48to say,
06:49"...there has been lots of opinions in regard to mine and Frank's friendship and the show,
06:53but now is not the time to set the record straight.
06:56Now is the time to pray for my friend.
06:58Frank, I pray more than anything that you make it through this okay.
07:01I love you, buddy."
07:02"...I'm just glad we're on the road together, dude, you know what I mean?
07:04In the words of the famous Charlie Feathers, me got what me want when me got you."
07:08In February 2023, with Fritz still recovering, Wolf implied that he was reluctant to continue
07:13American Pickers without his longtime co-star, posting,
07:16"...nothing will ever replace Frank.
07:18We miss him, very much like y'all do."
07:21While roaming the country with Wolf, Fritz was dealing with back surgery, Crohn's disease,
07:25and alcohol issues.
07:26But there were even more problems going on behind the scenes.
07:29This included the tumultuous breakup of his relationship with his former fiancée, Diane
07:33Bankson.
07:34Fritz and Bankson, who got engaged in 2018 but split after several years, had accused
07:38each other of infidelity.
07:39Meanwhile, in January 2020, Fritz's ex sued him, alleging that he'd been negligent with
07:44fireworks.
07:45According to Bankson, the incident in question left her with third-degree burns and burnt
07:49off eyebrows and eyelashes.
07:51He further alleged that Fritz refused to take her to the hospital afterward.
07:55Though she dropped the suit in March of that same year, Fritz's legal troubles couldn't
07:58have helped his chances of being hired back by the network.
08:02After years of feuding behind the scenes, and sometimes out in public, in 2023, it seemed
08:07like Fritz and Wolf had buried the hatchet.
08:09While Fritz never again appeared on American Pickers after his last episode in 2020, the
08:14Pickers finally reunited over Memorial Day weekend in 2023.
08:18The Quad City Times quoted an anonymous friend of Fritz's, who said,
08:21"...Mike has been wanting to see Frank for quite some time.
08:24Frank just now felt up to seeing him.
08:25It was Frank's request to see Mike."
08:27They reportedly spent their reunion catching up and reliving old times, and spoke about
08:31one of their first major talk show appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman back
08:36in 2011.
08:37The source said that Fritz was still recovering from his stroke and that emotions were running
08:40high.
08:41She said that both men were in tears at their reunion, and that Wolf told his former co-host,
08:45"...nobody can replace you, Frank."
08:47Fritz's friend even dangled the possibility of a Pickers reunion on TV, saying,
08:51"...Mike's really stressed all the good times I had before the show and during the show.
08:55Mike did say he'd like Frank back on the show, but Frank is focused on his health."
08:59"...Okay, you can start giving me advice on food when you stop eating at Golden Corral
09:05for Thanksgiving."
09:06Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
09:10Fritz and Wolf's long story came to a tragic end on October 1st, 2024, when Wolf revealed
09:15on his official Instagram account that Fritz had died on September 30th at age 60.
09:20Wolf wrote,
09:21"...I've known Frank for more than half my life, and what you've seen on TV has always
09:24been what I have seen, a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny, the same off-camera
09:29as he was on.
09:30Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself."
09:34Colby also paid heartfelt tribute to her former co-star on her Instagram, including memories
09:38of their discussions about tattoos and Fritz's sense of humor, writing,
09:42"...Frank, you loved your cat and your mama, and we bonded on those things.
09:46You will be missed for all of these reasons, and so many more.
09:49Rest in peace, Road Dogg."
09:50The fact that Wolf was the one who broke the news of Fritz's death seems to confirm that
09:54whatever their relationship was before and after Fritz's departure from American Pickers,
09:59they were quite a bit closer than that at the time of his passing.
10:02While Fritz's death at such a relatively young age is tragic, at least it seems that he and
10:06Wolf managed to patch things up before it was too late.
10:09If you or someone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
10:13Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
10:17SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP, 4357.