Entertainment
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ByWilliam Kennedy
A spin-off of the long-running reality TV show "Pawn Stars" on theHistory Channel, "Counting Cars" follows the exploits of Count's Kustoms, a Vegas-based high–end automobile restoration service with Danny "The Count" Koker at the helm (via IMDb). In production since 2012, central to the success of "Counting Cars" is, of course, the endless procession of tricked-out hotrods and choppers that pass through the doors of Count's Kustoms. But the show would also not be the same without the charismatic presence of main man Danny Koker and the sometimes unbelievable deals that he negotiates for vehicles that his shop then fixes up to sometimes flip for profit.
Like many reality TV shows, though, there's some question as to what's real and what's fake about "Counting Cars" and what the full story is on Koker (per HotCars). Could those deals be negotiated in advance? And as is often the case, when anyone is as successful in show business as "The Count ” is, legal troubles seem to follow. Such as they did in 2014 when a lawsuit was brought against Count's Kustoms just two years after Koker's History Channel series premiered (via Courthouse News). From the details of that court case to Koker 's childhood in Cleveland and his background in music, here's what happened to Danny Koker and what the future holds for "Counting Cars" as of this report.
Danny Koker spent his childhood summers in Motor City
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According to Biography Post, Danny Koker was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1964. Danny's father, Daniel Koker, was a musician, and so is Danny, who records and performs with his band Count's 77, among other projects (via AllMusic). The elder Koker, though, performed with groups such as Foggy River Boys, the Oak Ridge Boys, C.L. Franklin, Mahalia Jackson, and many others. It's no surprise, then, that Danny Koker followed the lead of his father as a child, performing in the Koker family band, The Koker Family Singers. The spotlight came early for Danny when he performed at Carnegie Hall when he was 11 years old, according to the official Count's 77 band website.
Despite the Koker family's success in music, Danny's dad needed a day job, as musicians often do, and he found it at the Ford Motor Company in Detroit (perBiography Post). For that reason, Danny — a self-taught mechanic, per hisHistorybio — was exposed to the automobile industry, and he became obsessed with not only fixing cars and motorcycles but also buying and selling them. It was this passion for vehicles that brought Danny to Vegas, where he met Rick Harrison — the owner of Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, on which The History Channel reality show "Pawn Stars" is based (via History). It was also around this same time that Danny acquired the nickname "The Count."
Koker introduced horror movies on late-night TV
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Danny Koker's time on "Counting Cars" was also not his first time appearing on TV. From 1990 to 2000, Koker introduced B-horror movies on Vegas TV station KFBT (via IMDb). While doing so, Koker dressed up like avampire-slash-Elvis impersonator — because, Vegas ... so why not? As a result, Koker came to be known as "The Count," a nickname that stuck with him from that point forward. After Koker's buddy Rick Harrison found success on "Pawn Stars," he made moves to rope Koker in on the action. His appearances on Harrison's TV show proved so successful that the "Counting Cars" spin-off was launched, centered on Count's Kustoms, a business that Koker began in his own garage back in the '80s (via Biography Post).
Not long after "Counting Cars" premiered, though, a 2014 lawsuit was brought against Koker's business by a Vegas-based couple who brought their 1967 Ford Mustang to be souped-up, hoping it would make it on TV, according toCourthouse News. The $50,000 lawsuit alleged that Koker's shop never intended to complete the work by the date they promised, nor did the couple's car ever appear on Koker's show. According to the lawsuit, when the couple found out that work had not even begun and the vehicle model was not even the one they had in mind, they asked for a refund, but it never arrived.
Koker got married in 2015
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Legal troubles continued for Danny Koker when in 2017, a $75,000 lawsuit was brought against a former Count's Kustom employee, accused of stealing money from Koker's company (per the Las Vegas Review-Journal). Lawsuits and allegations of staged scenes aside — and really, most reality shows are at least a little bit fake— things are going well in Koker's private life(via HotCars). In 2015, Koker married his girlfriend Korie Koker. She now plays a crucial part in the success of another Koker side hustle, Count's Vamp'd Rock Bar & Grill, where she coordinates live entertainment, among other aspects of the business (viaBiography Post).
In 2022, rumors spread online that Koker's wife Korie had died in a car wreck, but those turned out to be untrue, and she's alive and well (per Distractify).Otherwise, Koker's engine keeps running, and as of this report, "Counting Cars” will be renewed for further seasons on the History Channel after a successful Season 10 in 2021. All of Koker's hard work has paid off, with Celebrity Net Worth reporting his overall value at $13 million in 2022, with $100,000 earned per "Counting Cars"episode.
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