“Pawn Stars” fans around the world are rallying around Rick Harrison after the beloved reality TV icon was hit with yet another heartbreaking loss.
Just 18 months after his son Adam’s tragic passing, Rick’s mother, Joanne Harrison, has died at the age of 85.
Two of his closest
Joanne passed away in a Las Vegas hospital on Wednesday, Rick’s representative Laura Herlovich confirmed to TMZ.
“Rick is handling things privately,” she said.
The 60-year-old businessman and television star is now grieving the loss of both his mother and his son, two of the closest people in his life.
Adam Harrison, one of Rick’s three sons, died on January 19, 2024, at just 39 years old. According to the Las Vegas coroner, his cause of death was accidental fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity.
Died from an overdose
Shortly after the devastating news broke, Rick confirmed to TMZ:
“Yes, I can confirm Adam died from a fentanyl overdose. The fentanyl crisis in this country must be taken more seriously. It seems it is just flowing over the borders and nothing is being done about it. We must do better.”
At the time, Rick also shared an emotional message on Instagram, writing:
“You will always be in my heart! I love you Adam.”
In a candid interview on In Depth with Graham Bessinger this past March, Rick opened up about the pain of losing his son.
“I think about him every day,” he said. “In his 20s, he had the drug problems, I mean, I put him in rehab so many times, and every time he’d do great and then fall back; you’ll hear the same story from a million people. It got really, really bad, and apparently it wasn’t heroin, he got some fentanyl and it killed him.”
Lost his father in 2018
The Pawn Stars fan favorite admitted that Adam’s death changed the way he sees life.
“When you lose a kid, you second-guess f—ing everything. It’s like, ‘Could I have done this? Could I have done this?’ It goes through your brain constantly. There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think about him. Could I have done something different? I think I did everything right.”
Sadly, Joanne and Adam’s deaths are not the only losses Rick has faced in recent years. In 2018, his father, Richard “Old Man” Harrison, who appeared alongside him on Pawn Stars, passed away after battling Parkinson’s disease.
At the time, Rick honored his father in a heartfelt Instagram post, writing:
“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.”
Rick concluded his tribute by saying his father “lived a very full life” and that, through Pawn Stars, “touched the lives of people all over.”
Now, fans are expressing their love and support for Rick as he endures yet another unimaginable loss.
For someone who has brought so much joy, history, and laughter to millions through Pawn Stars, this latest tragedy has left many in tears — and reminding him that he’s not alone in his grief.
