Why Do We Love Chumlee From Pawn Stars?

Chumlee, nick-named after a cartoon character with a similar look and shape as he, is the chubby guy (which one?) on the History Channel reality show Pawn Stars; he is the one on the show who is often razzed by his co-stars for being dumb and lazy. I guess I want to show how he gets the last laugh. Well, because Chumlee is the Fonz of reality shows; though not the purported protagonist of the show, he, nevertheless, steals the show; he is only, possibly, outdone by grumpy and equally cuddly Old Man Richard Harrison. Hard-nosed Rick Harrison and Corey Harrison don't hold a candle to Chumlee (sorry, guys).

Seems to me, Chumlee is Everyman, or Everyguy, and people appreciate it. In spite of the fact that he has appearances of being ordinary, his charisma romances viewers. Some women like ordinary guys and guys, well, are ordinary guys, mostly. We like the idea that such a fellow is a massive success.

So, let's talk about Chumlee's massive success and whatever else is fun about him.

Chumlee was the childhood friend of the pawn shop owner's son, Corey. He worked as a manager of Quizno's and McDonalds and then eventually got a job at the pawn shop when he was 21. Then, as you know, they made a reality show about the pawn shop and he got famous. And he got rich. Chumlee has a net worth of $5 million dollars and gets paid $25,000 per show. He aint hurtin'. And not a bad salary for acting like you don't know what's going on.

So, I guess picking on him for supposedly being dumb and lazy really has little effect on Chumlee. Now, with a couple hundred shoes and a load of fancy cars (including a Mazerati, Escalade, 64 Impala and a Rolls Royce), going around partying with his entourage and listening to his favorite Rap music, Chumlee is the common man gone wild. He's living the dream.

I guess many people wonder if some guys will ever have a girlfriend (the guys themselves wonder this) and whether she will be a decent girlfriend. It's a rough world out there.

Well, Chumlee hit both those nails on their heads: He has a girlfriend, named Tany Hyjazi, and she looks pretty decent.

In fact, when his girlfriend wanted implants, Chumlee foot the bill. He figured he only has to work maybe an hour for the cost of the plastic surgery and he said she works very hard as a chef at a casino, so he got her the implants for her birthday. I think that's cool.

It's also cool that he lost 75 pounds: Partly because of encouragement from his girlfriend, but also because he wanted to get healthier. He had seen his father pass away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 54, two weeks before Pawn Stars first aired.

So, Chumlee eats his veggies and stays away from the red meat, has a smoothie for breakfast in the mornings, eats a balanced diet, avoids junk food and works out 6 days a week.

He's got the girl and staying in shape. Can't beat that!

I guess you know you've "made it" if people are spreading rumors that you're dead. I think there's a Jackie Chan death hoax every two seconds. So, it's no wonder Chumlee was a "victim" of a death hoax.

There have been at least two death hoaxes about Chumlee, circulated by spoof websites. One of the hoaxes was that he died of a drug overdose and the other was that he died of a heart attack. The false rumor was also spread that he was arrested for drug possession.

When the media gives you that much attention, you know you're rich and famous.

Fact is, Chumlee is just likeable. He's the perpetual little brother: Harmless but not boring, funny and fun. It is no mistake that the pawn shop's biggest seller right now is Chumlee merchandise: Chumlee T-shirts and Bobble Heads. Chumlee gives Rick license to sell stuff with his name on it. Why not?

Meantime, he is also enjoying his success. I suppose there are many of us who would have wanted to be in the right place at the right time, like Chumlee, and end up with everything you want and need. We appreciate the fact that it happened to someone as cool as Chumlee.