A parrot, skulls, fake Rolexes: Pawn Star’s Corey talks about the family business
VIEWERS OF Pawn Stars — the high-stakes pawnshop reality TV show on the History channel — would be familiar with Corey Harrison, the son of Rick Harrison, the proprietor of the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. While the show offers insights on the interesting items that are brought to the shop either to be pawned or sold, as well as exciting negotiation scenes, it also made stars of the Harrison family and their associates, including the elder Mr. Harrison’s father, Richard Benjamin Harrison (frequently referred to as the Old Man), and Austin Russell, more popularly known as Chumlee.
The youngest Mr. Harrison was in Manila recently for a second time ( his first visit was in 2013) to participate in History’s History Con which was held at the World Trade Center from Aug. 10 to 13.
Pawn Star fans listened in rapt attention to his insights about the trade and about being a reality show star. Before this, Mr. Harris talked about his experiences on the show during a press conference.
Corey Harrison is the older child of Rick Harrison from his first wife (his father has since been married twice more) and is the older brother of Adam Harrison, who had a short stint on the show.
There is a rags- to- riches aspect to the family tale. “My dad, back when they were poor, sold fake Gucci bags at the swap meet,” Mr. Harrison said at the press conference. His father opened the pawnshop in 1989, and by the time Corey was nine years old, he was working at the shop.
By the 2000s, they were making and lending large sums of money, to the tune of millions of dollars. A show about the pawnshop was pitched several times in the 2000s before it was picked up for a pilot in 2009.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that we would be [seen] in 150 countries and 38 languages,” said Mr. Harrison. The show is about to enter its 15th season.
Mr. Harrison is being groomed to become his father’s successor, and he spoke about how his father’s experiences helps in the business.
“Of course, we own a pawnshop where you have to be able to tell what’s real and fake,” he noted.
While they often come across expensive items in the pawn shop — think extremely rare sports memorabilia, White Russian jewelry, and celebrity costumes — some items still make Mr. Harrison’s eyes pop. “I had a guy who showed up in a Rolls Royce with a trunk full of silver,” he recalled. “That was a few million bucks right there.”
Of course, being located near the Vegas Strip, gamblers come in almost like clockwork to pawn their possessions for more cash to hit the games, with Mr. Harrison recalling someone coming in at 7 a.m. in the morning to pawn his Ferrari.
As for the most bizarre thing he has handled in the store, he remembers someone coming in to try to pawn a live parrot — which he declined.
“I’ve had somebody bring in eight human skulls,” he said, but was assured that they came from a dental school. He passed on the offer, in any case, because of the possible legal repercussions. Mr. Harrison and his father often come into conflict on the show due to their differing views, as well as their differing judgments on a purchase. When asked how Mr. Harrison trains his eye, he said: “When I was 19 years old, I thought I knew more than everybody in the world, and bought five fake Rolex [watches]... luckily, I work for my Dad; otherwise, I’d be unemployed.
“Once you lose a bunch of money one time, you’d never make that mistake again.”