Sad News From "Deadliest Catch", Captain Phil Harris dies

[Motasyco]

Discovery Channel: 'Deadliest Catch' captain dies

Discovery Channel: 'Deadliest Catch' captain dies - Yahoo! News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the television show "Deadliest Catch", has died, the Discovery Channel said Tuesday night. He was 53.

Harris suffered what his family described as a massive stroke on Jan. 29 while the fishing vessel he captained, Cornelia Marie, was in port at St. Paul Island, Alaska. The fisherman was flown to Anchorage for surgery.

The reality show, which has filmed five seasons, has been one of the Discovery Channel's most popular and depicts the crab fishing industry in the dangerous waters off Alaska.

"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad - Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end," sons Josh and Jake Harris said in a statement released by the network. "For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down."

In a statement, Discovery Channel senior vice president Elizabeth Hillman says, "Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him."

"We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart," she said.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press, she said no additional information was immediately available Tuesday night.

Harris had seemed to be improving, and in a posting last Saturday on the ship's Web site, he was described as "talking to friends and family today; showing his greatest progress" since the stroke.

His sons wrote in a Feb. 3 posting that "No one ever said Captain Phil Harris wasn't tough. Today, dad showed some good signs of improvement, squeezing our hands and even summoning his trademark Captain's bluntness ... We are encouraged but still very cautious."

According to the ship's Web site, Harris started working on fishing boats at age 7 and started work 10 years later on a crab boat. When Harris turned 21, he ran a fishing vessel out of Seattle, making him one of the youngest to captain a vessel in the Bering Sea.

When Harris suffered the stroke, the family said a friend, Derek Ray, had flown to St. Paul to take over the role of relief skipper for the rest of the opilio crab season.

Harris' fishing vessel was based in Seattle.

[Punisher84]

Saw this earlier. Really bummed me out. Phil and his boys were my favorites on the show.

[Guest db99wj]

He almost died last season, he was coughing real bad and had to go in from sea. He was one of my favorites. That show is one of my favorites. He will be missed.

[Jasongar8]

Man I hate to hear that. I read last week that he had a stroke and I was hopeing that he would pull through it. My Mom has always told me that tommrow is never promised. RIP.

[Volzfan]

That is very sad news. My prayers are with his family and friends.

DC is one of my favorite shows but I can't explain why. Heck they just throw off pot after pot and then pull them back in. It's the same thing over and over again. I guess that I'm amazed at how all of these guys work such long hours in such horrible conditions.

RIP Captain Harris!!!

[poak]

Man, that's terrible. I've always enjoyed the show, and Captain Phil and his crew were always my favorites.

Here's to calm seas ahead for the late captain

[rentalguy1]

RIP Captain Phil! He was our favorite on the show! Prayers for his sons, family, friends and crew.

[peejman]

Bummer. Love the show.

[LagerHead]

That is sad news. Phil was definitely entertaining. Can't say I'm really surprised though. He needed to quit smoking a long time ago. RIP Phil.

[Luckyforward]

He was a Helluva man . . . RIP . . . blessings to his family.

[ShaunM]

I hate to here about this. He was one of my favorites on the show. Capt. Phil you will be missed!

[VERO1]

At least he got to spend his life doing something he loved! Sail on Captain. You'll be missed by a lot of people you never met.

[Guest Republican]

High stress, working days on end, smoking like a freight train. That is a recipe for a stroke. Sorry he is gone.

[Guest cjr]

3 packs a day and 12 red bulls a day, not good.Man I watch that show every chance I get.I hope his boys drop the smokes.

[poak]

That is sad news. Phil was definitely entertaining. Can't say I'm really surprised though. He needed to quit smoking a long time ago. RIP Phil.

High stress, working days on end, smoking like a freight train. That is a recipe for a stroke. Sorry he is gone.

3 packs a day and 12 red bulls a day, not good.Man I watch that show every chance I get.I hope his boys drop the smokes.

No one can argue that smoking and a stressful job certainly palyed it's part, these kind of things are sadly VERY genetic as well.

I remember him mentioning last season (when his issue with the blood clot that passed through his heart came up) that the same thing killed his mother.

[tntnixon]

DC is one of my favorite shows but I can't explain why.

I can explain why. Because a man can tell when another man is a hell of a lot tougher than he is. These guys are the toughest SOB's I've ever seen in my life. I've seen some of these "greenhorns" who you'd think would be tough (i.e. a professional bull rider), and they can't even make it a week. Discovery brought out the new show, "Swords: Life on the Line" last year, and watching them was like watching guys on a tropical vacation compared to the DC guys.

RIP Phil, you were a hell of a man. The thing I liked about Phil was he actually cared about his crew, unlike some of the other captains.