Frank Fritz, long time co-star of American Pickers, just passed away yesterday, September 30th, 2024. I've been a fan of the show since I first saw it, shortly after it hit the air in 2010. Frank had a stroke in 2022, leaving him in a wheelchair, and just passed away at age 60. He's best known for about a decade of driving around the U.S. with Mike Wolfe, looking to pick antiques and collectibles, to resell. They picked "rusty gold" treasures from garages, barns, long fading outbuildings, and anywhere else cool stuff has been stored for years.
Since I live in the San Fernando Valley now, I picked the segment where Mike and Frank visited custom car legend the late George Barris, in his shop in North Hollywood, California. They got to sit in the original Batmobile, from the 1960's TV show. That's a big thing for young Boomers and old Gen Xers. In that episode, Frank and Mike got a tour of the shop that put out decades of customized cars for TV, movies, and private clients. They did pick up some collectibles, photos and similar things, from Barris, but this clip is just the first part of that show.
My dad was a guy who was always "wheelin' and dealin'" all kinds of things as I grew up, items bought from gun shows, garage sales, and flea markets. He taught me how to make a few bucks on the side when I was a kid. Many years later, I got into buying and flipping stuff from storage unit auctions, and tried to turn that into a business at one point. That never really got going full time, but I still enjoy looking for odd treasures in old junk, and may get back to it some day. So American Pickers was right up my alley, and I really enjoyed Mike and Frank's adventures, and learned a lot from the show. So it's sad to see "the bearded charmer," as Mike often called him, pass on from this life. RIP Frank.
No comments:
Post a Comment