'Pawn Stars' Star Richard Harrison, 'The Old Man,' Dies

LAS VEGAS, NV — Richard Harrison, the cantankerous, black-hatted but soft-hearted "Old Man" on the History Channel show "Pawn Stars," has died, his son announced Monday. He was 77.

Harrison's son Rick Harrison announced the death on Instagram.

"Today I lost a friend, a father, a teacher and so much more," Rick Harrison wrote. "The Old Man lost his long battle with Parkinson’s this morning. Love you Dad. See you on the other side."

Rick Harrison wrote in a separate post that his father was his "hero." He died surrounded by those he loved.

"That I got to share him with so many others and they got to see what a great family man he was is something I am grateful to have experienced with him," Rick Harrison wrote. "He lived a very full life and through the History television show ‘Pawn Stars’ touched the lives of people all over, teaching them the value of loving your family, hard work and humor."

After serving in the U.S. Navy — and losing $1 million in the real estate market — the so-called "Old Man," moved to Las Vegas in the 1980s and opened the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop with his son, according to his bio on the History Channel's website. The store is located at 713 Las Vegas Blvd.

The History Channel called Richard Harrison the "king" of buying underpriced goods. Usually dressed in all black, he often appeared on the show asleep at his desk, a fedora atop his gray heard shading his eyes. When working with customers seeking a deal, he more than once informed them, "Young man, I have rent to pay."

Furthermore, Harrison wasn't keen on retiring. In a 2012 interview on the topic, he told Haggerty that retirement is "overrated."

"I've got a lot of my friends, a lot of people I know who retired, and a lot of them aren't too happy with it," he said. "People ask me many times, 'Well Richard, when are you going to retire?' I tell them the day that I walk through that door and it's not fun, I'll quit. It's still fun for me."

"Pawn Stars" debuted in 2009 and documented the day-to-day happenings of the family-run Las Vegas store, where Richard Harrison was the beloved patriarch. Harrison's grandson, Corey Harrison, and his friend, Austin Lee Russell, known as "Chumlee," are also cast members.

In addition to Rick, Richard Harrison is survived by his wife, JoAnne, and two other sons, Joseph and Chris.

Richard Benjamin ‘The Old Man’ Harrison passed away this morning surrounded by those he loved. He will be tremendously missed by our family, the team at Gold & Silver Pawn and his many fans the world over. He was my hero and I was fortunate to get a very cool ‘Old Man’ as my dad. That I got to share him with so many others and they got to see what a great family man he was is something I am grateful to have experienced with him. He lived a very full life and through the History television show ‘Pawn Stars’ touched the lives of people all over, teaching them the value of loving your family, hard work and humor. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers and ask that we are provided some privacy at this time.
A post shared by Rick Harrison (@rick_harrison) on Jun 25, 2018 at 6:57am PDT

Photo credit: Leftfield/History Channel/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock