The reality show, "Hardcore Pawn," first aired in 2010 on TruTV, and soon became wildly popular. The last season was in 2015.
The star was Les Gold, a third-generation pawnbroker who runs American Jewelry and Loan with his family at Greenfield and 8 Mile Road in Detroit.
The show was at its best when customers stomped their feet, screamed and had hissy fits -- and Gold, his feisty clan and employees barked back. Gold would get particularly enraged when a customer made an anti-Semitic remark. He stood up to the angriest and meanest of customers. It never hurt that a burly security guard often stood just feet away.
We caught up with Gold at American Coney Island in Detroit on Thursday, where he helped judge a hot dog eating contest involving the Detroit Police Department, the Detroit Fire Department and the Windsor Fire Department. (The local fire team won, eating 47 hot dogs in seven minutes).