richard benjamin harrison jr. (also known by the nicknames the old man and the appraiser; march 4, 1941 – june 25, 2018) was an american businessman and reality television personality. he was born in danville, virginia, but raised in lexington, north carolina. he was best known as the co-owner of the world famous gold &amp; silver pawn shop, as featured on the history channel series "pawn stars".