Dan Dotson

Dan Dotson
Nationality United States
Occupation Auctioneer, television personality
Known for Storage Wars
Spouse(s) Laura Dotson
Website
americanauctioneers.com

Dan Dotson is an American auctioneer who has been in the auctioneering business since 1974. Dan and his wife, Laura Dotson, run American Auctioneers, a full service auction company in Riverside, California. Dan is best known for being the auctioneer on A&E Network's Storage Wars.

Early life

Dotson became familiar with auctioneering, having been around the business since 1974.[1] His grandfather, Sam Fancher, was a cattle and farm auctioneer in the Ozark Mountains region of northwest Arkansas. His grandfather was apprenticed as an auctioneer by Detmen Mitchell in 1945.[2]

At the age of 11, Dotson was taught to auctioneer by his grandfather, with whom he worked as an auctioneer during the next four summers when he was not in school. At the age of 16, Dotson would skip school and instead go to the Chino auction in California, where he sold furniture for an auctioneer named Merl Bernard.[2]

Career

American Auctioneers

Dotson started American Auctioneers in 1983. In the 1980s and 1990s, Dotson ran an auction house in Riverside that specialized in collectibles, pottery, porcelain, dolls and furniture. In 1996 Dotson met Laura, who later became his wife. Laura also became Dan's business partner, and now is co-owner and manager of American Auctioneers.[2]

American Auctioneers currently specializes in auctions of storage units, estates, business inventories, and equipment, plus legal/foreclosure auctions, fundraisers, and appraisals. Dotson averages two auctions a day, six days a week.[3]

Storage Wars

In December 2010, both Dotsons began appearing on A&E's Storage Wars, a reality series which follows four professional buyers and their teams as they bid on storage units that are in default. Ordinarily, Dan acts as the auctioneer and Laura as the ringman, but these roles are occasionally reversed (often at Laura's request). Dan's auction chant on the show utilizes slurred multi-syllabic filler rattled out very quickly, while Laura's auction chant uses more distinct filler words and therefore sounds slower than her husband's.

Dotson is also co-creator of and chief advisor to Storage Treasures, an internet portal focusing on providing self-storage auction listings throughout the United States and Canada.

Illness

On June 16, 2014, Dan Dotson suffered from a double aneurysm.[4] He awoke at 1:30 AM asking "weird questions" in his sleep. When he awoke again at 7:30 AM, he complained of double vision and not feeling right. He went back to sleep and woke to take a shower. He collapsed and his wife Laura dialed 911. It is reported that she was given instructions from the 911 operator on how to administer CPR. Dotson underwent surgery to repair the damage.[5]

Television appearances

References

  1. ↑ della Cava, Marco R. (January 28, 2011). "The treasures people dig up from storage units". USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "About Us". American Auctioneers. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  3. ↑ Hillard, Gloria (May 29, 2006). "Storage Facility Bidders Betting on Hidden Gems". All Things Considered (NPR). Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ Jerreat, Jessica (June 20, 2014). "Storage Wars auctioneer Dan Dotson in critical condition after suffering double aneurism". Daily Mail. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ "'Storage Wars' star Dan Dotson suffers double brain aneurysm". TMZ. June 20, 2014.
  6. ↑ Stanhope, Kate (April 16, 2012). "Exclusive: Hot in Cleveland Packs In Storage Wars Cameos". TV Guide. Retrieved September 5, 2012.

External links