Pawn Stars‘ Rick Harrison drives a hard bargain with Gold & Silver Pawn Shop patrons. But, in his personal life, it seems Rick is an ol’ softy.
An anonymous woman on Reddit shared a touching story last week about Rick’s generosity toward a young fan with autism. It all began when the fan, “J,” offered to sell his cherished Game Boy to Rick for $30. J’s mom mailed her son’s note to Rick along with a cover letter describing J and his autism.
“Although I told them that I didn’t expect them to actually buy his Gameboy, I did ask if they could at least reply,” the mom told her friend, who posted the account online.
Rick decided to do better than that…
In his letter back, Rick gave J the $30 and an autographed photo of the Pawn Stars cast. Rick added, “I’m donating the Game Boy back to you for being such a loyal viewer, so keep enjoying it and think of us when you play with it. Chumlee says thank you, because he already has one and you were right, he does like it. You have a wonderful Mom who loves you very much. You are a lucky Boy. Always pay attention to what she tells you.”
Since it was shared on Reddit six days ago, the heartwarming letter has earned 1.7 million views. As one person commented, “Having worked in a pawn shop for 6 years when I was younger, I always make fun of the pawn shop shows because they’re so fake, but I see these guys in a new light now. Very classy, indeed.”
Word eventually got back to Rick, who verified to Fox News the letter is authentic.
Understating his act of kindness, Rick added, “Celebrities, especially people with shows that kids watch a lot — there’s a lot of kids that watch my show — should be doing this on a regular basis.”
