{{Short description|American pawnbroker, reality TV star, author, and media personality}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Les Gold | image = | caption = | birth_name = Leslie Gold | birth_date = {{birth date and age |1950|6|20}} | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | television = ''Hardcore Pawn'' | occupation = {{Flatlist| * Pawnbroker * reality television star * author * speaker }} | years_active = 1962–present | spouse = {{marriage|Lili Gold|1975}} | children = 2 | website = {{URL|pawndetroit.com}} | signature = }} '''Leslie "Les" Gold''' (born June 20, 1950) is an American pawnbroker, reality television star, author, and media personality.<ref name="Gold2013"/><ref name="pw2013">{{cite web |url= http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59184-639-0 |title= For What It's Worth: Business Wisdom from a Pawnbroker |date= June 6, 2013 |access-date= July 7, 2013 |work= Publishers' Weekly }}</ref><ref name="booking">{{cite web |url= http://pawndetroit.com/meet-the-golds/booking-inquiries/ |title= Booking Inquiries |access-date= July 7, 2013 |publisher= Pawn Detroit |archive-date= July 13, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150713180429/http://pawndetroit.com/meet-the-golds/booking-inquiries/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> He is known for his role on truTV's reality series, ''Hardcore Pawn''.
==Early life and career== Gold is a third generation pawnbroker/salesman, the grandson of a pawnbroker who once owned the company "Sam's Loans", a now-defunct pawnshop on Michigan Avenue in Detroit, Michigan.<ref>{{cite episode |title= Gold at Gunpoint |series= Hardcore Pawn |network= truTV |date= September 27, 2010}}</ref> Sam's Loans was where Gold made his first sale, at age 7.<ref name="Marechal2013"/><ref name="Lagorio2013">{{cite web |url= http://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/les-gold-hardcore-pawn.html |title= What The Pawnbroker Knows |work= Inc. |first= Christine |last= Lagorio |date= June 24, 2013 |accessdate= July 7, 2013 }}</ref> In 2014, the Sam's Loans building was remodeled into a pawn shop-themed restaurant, named "Gold Cash Gold".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://detroit.curbed.com/2014/4/17/10113112/gold-cash-gold-blows-out-facade-as-remod-marches-forward|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630132751/http://detroit.curbed.com/2014/4/17/10113112/gold-cash-gold-blows-out-facade-as-remod-marches-forward|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 30, 2016|title=Gold Cash Gold Blows Out Facade, Remod Marches Forward|first=Paul|last=Beshouri|date=April 17, 2014|website=Curbed Detroit}}</ref> The restaurant closed in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Houck |first=Brenna |date=2020-01-12 |title=Corktown Brunch Favorite Gold Cash Gold Will Close Its Doors in February |url=https://detroit.eater.com/2020/1/12/21062329/gold-cash-gold-detroit-restaurant-closing-permanently-february |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Eater Detroit |language=en}}</ref>
Gold began his first business at age 12, buying pizzas and reselling them by the slice to fellow students at Hebrew School.<ref name="pw2013"/> Gold opened his own pawn shop, American Jewelry and Loan, in 1978, at the Green Eight Shopping Center on 8 Mile Road in Oak Park.<ref name="dfp"/> In 1993, he moved it to its present location on Greenfield Road in Detroit near 8 Mile - a 50,000 square foot building that was formerly a bowling alley. The business now has 5 locations,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pawndetroit.com/contact/ |title=Contact American Jewelry and Loan » American Jewelry and Loan |website=pawndetroit.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624122929/http://pawndetroit.com/contact |archive-date=2013-06-24}}</ref> employs up to 200 people<ref>https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-jewelry-and-loan/about/ {{Self-published source|date=June 2022}}</ref> and serves about 1,000 customers a day.<ref name="Lagorio2013"/><ref name="Gunelius2011">{{cite web |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/08/22/meet-hardcore-pawns-leading-lady-ashley-broad/ |title= Meet Hardcore Pawn's Leading Lady: Ashley Broad |work= Forbes |first= Susan |last= Gunelius |date=August 22, 2011 |accessdate=July 7, 2013}}</ref>
==''Hardcore Pawn''== {{Main|Hardcore Pawn}} Gold, his family, and his pawn shops are central to the truTV series ''Hardcore Pawn.''
In 1998, independent producer Richard Dominick saw Gold's TV ads which ran during the local commercial breaks of ''The Jerry Springer Show'', which Dominick was working on at the time. He saw potential in Les and his business as a reality TV show and approached the Gold family with this idea. Les's son, Seth, was initially reluctant, but Les overruled him and agreed to let the cameras in. The pilot aired in late 2009. Dominick was the series co-executive producer with Mike Gamson.<ref name="Marechal2013">{{cite web |url= https://variety.com/2013/tv/news/trutv-strikes-pure-gold-with-hardcore-pawn-1200330948/ |title= Family Drama and Thousands of Clients Draw Millions of Eyeballs and a Ratings Hit for Niche Net |work= Variety |first1= AJ |last1= Marechal |first2= Carole |last2= Horst |date= April 10, 2013 |accessdate= July 7, 2013}}</ref> Les and Seth Gold were also credited as executive producers, beginning with the third season.<ref>Per the credits on [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1674417/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast IMDB's entry for ''Hardcore Pawn''].</ref>
The series premiere (August 16, 2010) attracted two million viewers, thus setting a record as truTV's most-watched premiere.<ref name="dfp">{{cite web |url= http://www.talkofdetroit.com/news_entry/367/hardcore-pawn |title= Masters of pawn get a reality check |first= B.J. |last= Hammerstein |work= Detroit Free Press |date= August 15, 2010 |accessdate= August 18, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110108175825/http://www.talkofdetroit.com/news_entry/367/hardcore-pawn |archive-date= January 8, 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |first= Karen |last= Cassell |url= http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2010/08/HARDCORE_PAWN_Delivers_2_Million_Viewers_Setting_New_08-17-2010.php |title= 'Hardcore Pawn' Delivers 2 Million Viewers, Setting New Record as truTV's Most-Watched Series Premiere Ever |publisher= Time Warner |date= August 17, 2010 |accessdate= August 18, 2010 |archive-date= February 21, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140221102147/http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2010/08/HARDCORE_PAWN_Delivers_2_Million_Viewers_Setting_New_08-17-2010.php |url-status= dead }}</ref> As of June 2013, the viewership exceeded 3 million.<ref name="pw2013"/>
Production was halted and the show was canceled in 2015.<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite web |url=https://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/arts-entertainment-living/tuned-in/item/39702-tv-q-a-once-upon-a-time-hardcore-pawn-and-the-returned |title=TV Q&A: 'Once Upon a Time,' 'Hardcore Pawn' and 'The Returned' |website=communityvoices.post-gazette.com |access-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085757/https://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/arts-entertainment-living/tuned-in/item/39702-tv-q-a-once-upon-a-time-hardcore-pawn-and-the-returned |archive-date=22 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Publications== Gold's autobiography, ''For What It's Worth: Business Wisdom from a Pawnbroker'', was published on June 1, 2013, by Penguin/Portfolio. The book deals with his personal experience in establishing a successful pawn shop, and gives details on how he did it, and how anyone in any field can "think like a pawnbroker".<ref name="Gold2013">{{cite book |first= Les |last= Gold |title= For What It's Worth: Business Wisdom from a Pawnbroker |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wu-nUSDgmFcC |accessdate=March 21, 2013 |date= 2013 |publisher= Penguin |isbn= 978-1-101-62155-4}}</ref> Writing for Forbes, fellow entrepreneur Josh Linkner explains how he has learned from Gold's advice.<ref name="Linkner2013">{{cite web |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshlinkner/2013/06/18/for-what-its-worth-6-pieces-of-advice-from-a-hardcore-pawnbroker/ |title= For What It's Worth: 6 Pieces Of Advice From A Hardcore Pawnbroker |work= Forbes |first= Josh |last= Linkner |authorlink= Josh Linkner |date= June 18, 2013 |accessdate=July 7, 2013 }}</ref>
The book ranked #4 on The New York Times Best Seller list in the ''Advice, How-to, and Miscellaneous'' category for the week of June 30, 2013,<ref name="NYTBS201306">{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2013-06-30/advice-how-to-and-miscellaneous/list.html |title= The New York Times Best Sellers: Advice, How-to, and Miscellaneous: June 30, 2013 |work= The New York Times |date= June 30, 2013 |accessdate=July 7, 2013 }}</ref> and #8 in the ''Hardcover Business Books'' category for the month of July 2013.<ref name="NYTBS201307">{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2013-07-07/hardcover-business-books/list.html |title= The New York Times Best Sellers: Hardcover Business Books: July 7, 2013 |work= The New York Times |date= July 7, 2013 |accessdate= July 12, 2013 }}</ref>
Gold, the book, and his "three simple steps to successful negotiation" were featured on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' on June 18, 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://pawndetroit.com/39353/from-les-gold/les-gold-three-simple-steps-to-successful-negotiation |title= Les Gold: Three Simple Steps to Successful Negotiation |last= Les |first= Gold |accessdate= July 12, 2013 |date= July 3, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/hardcore-pawns-les-golds-tips-buying-selling-goods-19427614 |title= 'Hardcore Pawn's' Les Gold's Tips for Buyers, Sellers |accessdate= July 12, 2013 |date= June 18, 2013 |publisher= ABC |work= Good Morning America }}</ref>
==Personal life== Gold has been married to Lili Gold since 1975.<ref name="Gold2013"/> Together they have two children, Ashley and Seth, who were featured pawnbrokers on Gold's reality show.<ref name="Marechal2013"/><ref name="Gold2013"/>
==Philanthropy== Gold supports The Heat And Warmth Fund ("THAW Fund"), which helps local families pay their heat and electricity bills. In February 2013, a fund-raising party dubbed "Hardcore THAW" was held after-hours in his store and raised more than $40,000 for the organization.<ref name="Marechal2013"/><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.thawfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/DFP20130207_82.pdf |title='Hardcore Pawn' bash to benefit THAW |work= Detroit Free Press |first= B.J. |last= Hammerstein |date= February 7–13, 2013 |accessdate=July 7, 2013 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Les}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:American businesspeople Category:Writers from Detroit Category:American philanthropists Category:21st-century American Jews