Austin “Chumlee” Russell from “Pawn Stars” being found dead from a marijuana overdose or heart attack is a celebrity death hoax. There is no truths that the TV personality has passed away.
Russell is one of the stars of the popular reality show and is just like a son to Rick Harrison. He has been around the shop since he was a kid. Everybody loves Chum, but he is often the “resident clown.” Part of the reason he is not taken seriously is that he constantly begs Corey Harrison to buy items that entertain him like video games and circus paraphernalia that usually do not make good business sense.
Where did the death hoax originate? Beginning in May 2013, a rumor was circulated on the Internet claiming that Chumlee had recently passed away from a “marijuana overdose.” The Internet Chronicle published the article that Chumlee had died as a result of a drug overdose.
In what may come to be a medical landmark, “Chumlee” Russell of Pawn Stars fame died from a marijuana overdose Monday night and was found by friend “Big Hoss” Harrison on Tuesday morning. Earlier this year, “Chumlee” was arrested with seven pounds of marijuana which he asserted were all for personal use.
According to Dr. Angstrom H. Troubador, “The only possible way he could have died from a marijuana overdose without first clogging his lungs with soot is through the use of vaporizers. Reportedly, Chumlee had rigged up to 90 vaporizers into one tube and had a team of groupies constantly loading them up with the stickiest and most potent of marijuana available on the market.”
Fans and family mourn the loss of “Chumlee” and have taken the opportunity to speak out against drug abuse. “To die like that, it’s just a shame,” said Rick Harrison, manager of the world famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, as he teared up. “It’s just a shame to lose such a fun guy as Chum. Rest in peace, buddy.”
However, Snopes reported that the rumor was nothing more than a hoax. The Internet Chronicle frequently posts fake obituaries of celebrities and the above story is just another one of those hoaxes.
In March 2014, a similar spoof article published by eBuzzd created more false Chumlee death rumors. In this fake story, images were included of fake reaction tweets from other celebrities. However, this fake story reported that the Pawn Stars personality had passed away of a heart attack.
Austin Russell, also known as Chumlee, star of History’s reality series “Pawn Stars,” has died from an apparent heart attack, sources confirm to eBuzzd. He was only 31 years old.
The news comes as a shock considering Chumlee’s [sic] had just recently altered his lifestyle habits, and lost 75 pounds in a year by exercising at a gym six days a week and improving his diet, including drinking more juice, eating more vegetables and abstaining from red meat, a change that was inspired by his father’s death at age 54 from pancreatic cancer, two weeks before Pawn Stars debuted.
But fear not as the real Chumlee remains very much alive and well. Some examples to prove that is his ongoing tweets and his appearances at his newly opened candy store in Las Vegas.
Buy some candies for @somahe80 at Chumlee’s candies shop. Thanks @chumlee_ for the photo pic.twitter.com/i6E8sXKBGm
— Gérôme (@G72T1) July 3, 2017
What did you think of the death hoax about Chumlee? Did you believe it or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.
Photo Credit: Source