One thing you can say about the Harrison men in charge of the Pawn Stars shop in Las Vegas, Nevada, is that they never shrink from saying what they think and dole out tough love.
Rick Harrison had a heart that was melted on the most recent episode of Pawn Stars, entitled, “Love Me Spender”.
The name of the episode is a play on the title of an Elvis Presley tune, “Love Me Tender.”
A sweet little lady named Joyce who really needed the money came in to visit the Pawn Stars in their now world-famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on the outskirts of Vegas, with a contract in her possession she believed was an original with Elvis Presley’s signature.
Dated 1955, the contract was for an appearance by Elvis to sing at the City Auditorium in Beaumont, Texas for the nights of June 20 and 21.
His fee was all of $225.00 a night. At that time, it was a huge price for a relative unknown as Rick kindly pointed out to the typically clueless Chumlee.
The contract if legitimate would be a “gold mine” Rick opined. Joyce said a friend in the music business gave the document to her leading her to believe it was valuable.
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Rick began to salivate because it is a single-page document, easy to frame and dated the year prior to his national and international fame. He noted that if authentic it is rare and could start a feeding frenzy among Elvis collectors.
Rick didn’t flinch when Joyce said she was looking to sell for $8-10,000, giving her hope.
One of his experts would have to come and vouch for it before any deal was struck.
It gave the customer time to gush about Elvis and converse with Rick about having seen him in his early years. “He was sure good lookin’,” Joyce noted.
Rick said, “Sounds like you had a crush on him,” to which the customer responded, “Oh I did,” in that way that made you know it was a BIG crush.
Fans of Pawn Stars have come to know the routine, which includes a history lesson on the item being offered for sale, particularly if it is very old or attached to a famous person.
This contract gave Rick the opportunity to inform Chumlee and viewers about what Elvis was like in 1955.
His gyrating hips were considered so over the top risque that when he appeared a year later on the top rated variety show on television, cameras were forbidden to shoot him below the belt line.
Oh yeah, that would have shocked the conscience of America at that time.
Once expert Drew arrived on the scene he had hopes for the authenticity.
The typed terms were not precisely on the lines provided for them and it boded well for it being real, he told Rick and Joyce.
Drew estimated that it could net $15,000 from a collector.
Unfortunately when he examined the ink he came to the conclusion that while the contract was authentic, it was a copy of the original which was practically worthless. A few tears spilled down Joyce’s cheeks.
“I’m heartbroken, completely,” she said. “This makes me feel terrible when this happens to someone as sweet as you,” Rick answered as he shook his head, shook her hand and apologized.
Big, tough, hard-hearted Rick melted in front of Joyce. Chumlee on the other hand looked like he usually does, mouth slightly open, eyes half closed.
Just another day with the Pawn Stars. Read another Huliq story on Pawn Stars: Chumlee has a crush and Rick gets suckered
Pawn Stars airs new episodes every Monday night beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET with replays throughout the week on History.
