Frank Fritz, star of the long-running series “American Pickers,” has died.

For ten years, Fritz and his friend and co-star Mike Wolfe shared their antique and collectible hunting trips with viewers of the History Channel reality show.

Wolfe, 60, posted about Fritz’s death in an Instagram post on Tuesday (see below).

“It is with a broken heart that I share with you all that Frank passed away last night,” he said of Fritz, who was also 60. “I’ve known Frank for more (than) half my life and what you saw on TV has always been what I saw: a dreamer who was as sensitive as he was funny. Off camera, Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself.”

“American Pickers” premiered on the History Channel in 2010, led by Fritz, owner of Frank Fritz Finds in Savanna, Illinois, and Wolfe, owner of Antique Archeology in Iowa and Tennessee.

The two pickers had known each other since they were still at school.

In the show, they shared the stories behind various relics and gemstones from people’s barns and attics, often working to restore them after selecting them from the collections of people across the country.

“Who would have ever dreamed that we would be sharing the cockpit of a white van for millions of people interested in our adventures,” Wolfe continued in his Instagram post. “Before the show, we set off together to places we didn’t know existed, with no destination in mind and only the shared passion to discover something interesting and historical. We have taken countless trips and shared so many miles and I feel blessed to have been by his side as he made one final journey home. I love you buddy and will miss you so much, I know (you) are in a better place.

Fritz left the show after 2020.

Wolfe’s brother, Robbie Wolfe, later joined him on the series, which premieres its 26th season on October 9.

In 2022, Fritz was hospitalized after suffering a stroke at his home in Davenport, Iowa.

The Des Moines Register reports that the stroke followed an accident in which Fritz was hit by a deer while riding a motorcycle. Complications from the stroke worsened Crohn’s disease.

According to the report, after the stroke, Fritz was placed under temporary custody, followed by a conservatorship.

Although Fritz and Wolfe’s relationship had been strained since his departure from the show, they reunited before his death.