Richard Harrison
Reality TV star BORN MARCH 4, 1941 DIED JUNE 25, 2018, AGED 77
FROM being on the verge of bankruptcy to becoming a self-made millionaire, Richard Harrison succeeded in turning his fortunes around when he opened the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas.
Selling everything from gold rings to guns, Harrison and his son Rick garnered the attention of the History Channel, which was interested in filming their day-to-day lives.
In 2009 Harrison took on the role as “The Old Man” who was at the heart of the hit reality television series Pawn Stars.
Born in Danville, Virginia, Harrison’s family moved to North Carolina when he was one. He attended Lexington High School but dropped out and took a job as a school bus driver to help support his family.
Three years later Harrison met his future wife Joanne at a barn dance and the pair married in 1960. However, before they wed Harrison was arrested for stealing a car and ordered to choose between prison or joining the military. Not surprisingly, he chose the latter.
Meanwhile, Joanne ran a real estate business and upon leaving the navy Harrison worked part-time in his wife’s office.
But declining sales and high interest rates led to debts of $1million and the business collapsed in 1981.
They moved to Las Vegas, where he embarked on his second career as a pawn broker.
In 2009, the History Channel premiered Pawn Stars, which followed three generations of the Harrison family, selling and pawning objects with unusual or historic value.
Business boomed and customer visits increased tenfold in 2009 alone. By February 2012, up to 5,000 people visited the store every day.
Harrison died following a battle with Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by Joanne and three sons.