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Topics: Film and TV
Callum Jones
American Pickers star Mike Wolfe has said he held co-star and friend Frank Fritz's hand as he 'took his last breath'.
Fritz died in September at the age of 60 from stroke complications. He was certainly best known for hosting the antique and collectable show from 2010 until 2020.
It was Wolfe who took to Instagram to announce the passing of his dear friend.
His statement, in part, read: "It’s with a broken heart that I share with all of you that Frank passed away last night.
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"I’ve know 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."
Speaking in a recent interview with People, Wolfe spoke about how he felt like the 'last man standing' when Fritz left American Pickers.
"I was just kind of left to fend for myself in a lot of ways. I could finish his sentences. He could finish my sentences," he said.
Wolfe spoke about several attempts to help Fritz with addiction struggles during his final years, even staging an intervention with his friend's family to help him.
"I remember running into him like a month later. He said he was just going to handle everything on his own, and I asked him how he was doing. He said, 'I'm fine. I'm fine. No, I'm really fine.' And then like a month later, he was gone," Wolfe added to People.
While Wolfe admitted the pair's relationship became strained over the years, they never totally 'disconnected'.
And when Fritz took his last breath, Wolfe was right by his side.
"I got the call that he wasn't doing well. I just feel blessed that I was able to get there," Wolfe recalled.
"I was there for about an hour before he passed, and I was holding his hand and rubbing his chest when he took his last breath. I took my fingers and I closed his eyes."
Discussing those precious final moments, Wolfe said: "I just told him that I wasn't mad at him and that I loved him and that I cared about him so much.
"And then when I could see that he was struggling, I just said, 'Just go find your mom. Go find her right now. Just go find her.'"