More details about recent years emerge American Selectors star Frank Fritz, who died at the age of 60 on September 30, two years after suffering a life-changing stroke. Unfortunately, he never fully recovered and remained wheelchair-bound in a rehabilitation center after being hospitalized several times in 2022 and 2023 after suffering pneumonia and seizures.
Fritz eventually passed away in a nursing home in Iowa, surrounded by his longtime friends, including close friends. American Selectors co-host Mike Wolfe. Now, another friend of the History Channel star has opened up about the grueling recovery process that left him bedridden and devoid of the will to live.
Jerry Gendreau owns the Hawg Dogs bar in Savanna, IL, where Fritz's antique store, Frank Fritz Finds, is located. “He felt really bad,” Gendreau said. USA Sun. “When you went to see him at the nursing home, half of his body was completely gone. When he lifted his arm, he would immediately fall. It must be difficult to be completely bedridden.”
Gendreau said that although Fritz had good days and bad days, he often got “frustrated” because he had a hard time expressing himself.
“I've seen it when people get tired, they get tired. If you don't have the will to live, I don't think you're going to live,” he continued. “I think Frank could have lived much longer if his will to live was there.”
However, Gendreau also has many fond memories of his friend, describing him this way: “A true comedian who came up with some of the weirdest and stupidest things ever, 'Wow.'”
“Frank was pretty much what you see is what you get. His mistakes were his mistakes. You can't blame anyone for being the way they are. “He was right, he was right, and if he was wrong, he was the wrong kind of person,” he added. “He left his mark on history.”
Gendreau's words echo those of Wolfe, who paid a heartfelt tribute to Fritz the day after his death.
“It is with a broken heart that I share with all of you that Frank passed away last night,” his co-star said. “I've known Frank for more than half my life, and what you saw on TV was always what I saw, a dreamer who was as sensitive as he was funny. He was the same off-camera as he was on-camera, Frank was able to reach the hearts of so many just by being himself.”