(Las Vegas) – A Danville native who was the patriarch of the popular reality series Pawn Stars has died. Richard ‘The Old Man’ Harrison was 77.

Born in Danville, Virginia on March 4, 1941, Harrison was raised in Lexington, N.C. Much of his early adult life was dedicated to his family and to his 20 years in the U.S. Navy. Financially, Harrison would find wealth and success later in life, opening the Gold and Silver Coin Shop with his son, Rick.

Real estate sales caused the collapse of his first business in 1980, while his pawn business flourished. Harrison was worth about $5 million at the time of his death.

Much of this success in the pawn industry can be attributed to their reality TV show on the History Channel, Pawn Stars, which premiered in 2009.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but his son, Rick Harrison, said he died peacefully, surrounded by people he loved.