DOUBLE TROUBLE American Pickers alum Frank Fritz’s friends plan to hire impersonator of late star ‘standing in jail cell’ for memorial

AMERICAN Pickers alum Frank Fritz’s friends are planning to have an impersonator of the star “standing in a jail cell” for his dedication as a quirky joke to their late friend.

Frank died on September 30, 2024 at 60 years old, two years after suffering a debilitating stroke.

With Frank’s memorial plans on hold because of his father, Bill, contesting his will, the American Pickers star’s loved ones are coming together to hold a dedication for him on Memorial Day Weekend.

Frank’s good friend and owner of his store Frank Fritz Finds, Jerry Gendreau, exclusively told The U.S. Sun his plans for the dedication.

“We’re having multiple bands that weekend,” Jerry said in his Savanna, Illinois bar Hawgdogs. “These were bands that Frank knew and loved.”

Jerry revealed Chris Davis, who was Frank’s guardian during his conservatorship, is set to play with his band in honor of his friend.

Jerry also revealed he obtained a 1960s jail cell to perform a Popeye skit that he thinks would make his old friend “laugh.”

“I need someone to play Frank of that stature. We’re going to put Frank’s head on top. I got our friend, who we call Popeye, in there. They’re going to be in the jail cell.

“We have Olive Oil outside the jail cell with a big cartoon caption, ‘I told you boys to be good!’ Frank would laugh.

“The jail cell is a novel idea that bikers, I can see walking in there and taking a picture in the jail cell. Tourism takes home memories, that is a memory.”

He continued the dedication will “showcase what his life really was.”

In addition to the celebration, Jerry is opening a bar down the street from the store called Man Cave to be dedicated to Frank.

In exclusive photos obtained by The U.S. Sun, the bar features a theater in the back that will run clips of Frank, his personal motorcycles on display and photographs hung on the walls.

“The theater will or could showcase him in a very good light,” Jerry said. “Some of the comedic things he has said. It’s going to be a movie gallery. It’ll show clips of Frank.

He added of the bike collection and other memorable antiques, “The motorcycles he bought. Some of the motorcycles there were Frank’s at one point. I bought a motorcycle and sign from Frank probably 10-12 years ago when they were first doing the show. It was on the show when he bought that.

“All of our lives are pretty short on the earth. His was cut real short. We’re going to make that space dedicated to Frank. He’d like that.”

“It will be there as long as I still own it.”

Jerry added of what he misses of his beloved friend, “I miss some of the dumb things he would do. He would come through the door and he was just fun.

“If you ever had a friend that when they left you had a smile on your face, then you know they’re somebody you want to be around.”

STORE CLOSURE
Man Cave will be Jerry’s new focus after he revealed his antique store Frank Fritz Finds is “dead.”

Jerry previously told The U.S. Sun, “The store has been dead a long time. Obviously, it doesn’t have any stuff anymore. I’m not going out buying stuff.

“At one time, we had 120 antique dealers here. Antiques have fallen out of favor. What really is going on is, it’s a barn full of mistakes. It’s all the stuff nobody wanted. You gotta be current. The good stuff always sells and the junk hangs around.”

Jerry explained how Frank would bring antiques to the bar and had a “good wealth” of items before he suffered the stroke.

Fortunately for customers, the doors will still be open to purchase the remaining items, though new merchandise won’t be added.

“Someone might come along to make it vibrant again, but that’s not me or my wife or any of us,” Jerry admitted. “We all fell out of favor of doing that. I’m going to wait and see what happens with the store.”

Jerry continued, “We’re more entertainment now than anything else. Frank loved music. This is more of a motorcycle town. That’s why Frank came here. I’m sure he would be pleased with something being done for him.”

Jerry added his focus will be on Man Cave moving forward.

FRANK’S CONSERVATORSHIP
Frank wasn’t as involved in the store after he suffered a stroke in July 2022.

Frank’s friends filed an emergency appointment of a temporary guardian and conservator for the star on August 18, 2022.

Court papers claimed his “decision­-making capacity” was “so impaired.”

The conservatorship papers also revealed plans for the store in the years after the stroke.

The Initial Plan filed by conservator MidWestOne Bank read, “Mr. Fritz is a well-known collector and has numerous outbuildings full of valuable collections.

“The conservator has not yet inventoried those items but plans to leave them largely as they are now, with the exception of stocking Mr. Fritz’s antique store in Savanna, IL as needed.

“Conservator is hopeful [Frank] will be able to participate in selection and pricing of items as he did previously.”

BATTLE AFTER DEATH
Jerry previously told The U.S. Sun how loved ones initially planned to honor the star’s final wish by having a memorial in the Spring of 2025.

He said of the original plans, “This was his will, he wanted to come on the back of a motorcycle or a sidecar with his ashes in an urn with a big ride and go back to the Quad Cities.”

But Frank’s final ride through the Quad Cities was delayed because of a battle over his fortune.

The U.S. Sun previously reported an Iowa judge approved Frank’s “will prior to death.”

But his dad, Bill, filed court papers to fight for his late son’s entire estate.

Bill previously told The U.S. Sun of the court battle, “It is a fake will. He did not have a will. He did not sign it.

“I am his only loved one. I am his only survivor. None of them are related to him. I am the only relation he has.

“All the others are trying to get money. They are nothing but people who worked for him.”

One of Frank’s friends pushed back to The U.S. Sun, claiming, “His father had very little to do with Frank. He only came to see Frank once when he suffered the stroke.”

The insider maintained that the will is “valid.”

The source told The U.S. Sun, “His close motorcycle family planned a motorcycle run that includes riding Frank’s ashes to Savanna, Illinois where his longtime friend Jerry runs his antique store.

“They planned to have live music, possibly blocking off streets.”

“His friends were in the process of planning the memorial when his dad challenged the will.”

The insider claimed Frank is the one who wanted a “grand celebration with his friends” and that Bill “did not know what his son wanted.”

FINAL YEARS
The stroke left Frank wheelchair-bound and in a rehabilitation center.

A source previously told The U.S. Sun in August 2023, “He can walk, but he’s always going to need the wheelchair because he can’t walk long distances.

“Basically, you lose motion. He lost motion. A stroke can affect your left or your right side, it affected his right side.”

Jerry previously gave insight into Frank’s health struggles in his final days.

He said, “He felt really, really bad. You would go to see him in the nursing home and one-half of his body was completely done. He would lift his arm up and it would just drop.

“That’s got to be tough to be totally bedridden.”

Jerry added, “I’ve seen this when people get tired, they get tired. I think if you don’t have the will to live, you won’t.

“I think Frank could’ve lived a lot longer if the will to live would’ve been there.”

Frank’s American Pickers co-star and longtime friend Mike Wolfe was the one who announced his friend’s passing.

He was by his side when he passed away.