Former American Pickers star Frank Fritz is alive and well, despite ongoing online rumors suggesting he is dead. After fans started paying tribute to Fritz, 58, when a webpage titled “‘In Memory Of Frank Fritz: A Journey Through His Life And Legacy” appeared on Google, Fritz’s friend took to social media to set the record straight on those death rumors.
“I have gotten a phone call and a couple of messages about frank dieing I can assure you he is alive and kicking!” Annette Oberlander Willows wrote in a July 31 post to Fritz’s Facebook page.
Fritz’s health has been in question for years now – he was forced to take a step back from the History Channel series due to health issues, has undergone back surgery, and in 2022, he suffered a stroke – and amid his absence from American Pickers, Willows revealed “the rumors are still out there but we have been dealing with this a lot over the last two years.” However, she said the current death rumors “seem to be a little stronger than most in the past.” According to Willows, one of the “false news is a virus” that wants viewers to purchase their anti virus protection. Another source of the current death rumors circulating is actually from 2022. A source told The Sun that the rumors are “all a bunch of bull. Don’t know where it came from.”
Willows said that in light of the rumors, some fans have begun asking for “proof of life pictures,” but she has begun deleting such requests. She said fans “will not get proof of life pictures no explanation needed.”
Addressing the fake news, Willows also revealed how they would let fans know if Fritz did pass, explaining that “if Frank was to die as his friends we would like to have a little time to inform all his very best friends which is a lot. And than you will read it on this page also from our local newspaper called Quad City Times.” She said “the time between his death and my announcement will be brief.”
For now, though, Fritz seems to be in good health and spirit. In a Aug. 3 post, Willows said, “last night he was gobbling down a fudge ice cream so again he is not dead.”
Fritz appeared alongside Mike Wolfe on American Pickers beginning with the show’s debut in 2010. The series followed the pair as they as they picked their way through America, finding artifacts from the past. Fritz made his final appearance on the show in March 2020, stepping away from the show amid his health issues. History and Wolfe later confirmed that he would not return. American Pickers has continued in Fritz’s absence, with fan-favorite Jon “Jersey Jon” Szalay joining the show as a series regular in its most recent season.