Discovery Channel: 'Deadliest Catch' captain dies (merged)

[BreckTxLonghorn]

Captain Phil Harris passed away yesterday :(. He had a stroke a month ago and his health got the better of him.


Rest In Peace Captain Phil.:(

[BullsFan]

He's been in bad health for a while, and it didn't seem he ever gave up any of his bad habits. I'm sorry to hear about this, though, and sorry for those he left behind, especially his boys.

[NateDawg39]

Wow I remember the show when he had to leave for the health issues...sad to see him go. Prayers to his boys and all family

[JasperDog94]

The show won't ever be the same without him. I'm sure they will pay a special tribute to him this season.

[Gobbler Fan]

http://tv.yahoo.com/deadliest-catch/show/41661/news/tv-news.en.ap.org/tv-news.en.ap.org-20100210-us_obit_phil_harris


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.




Man I loved watching this show ... RIP Capt. Phil

[wildstangs]

Gonna be sad watching the show this year knowing it was his last. The lifestyle those guys live on the boats (tons of caffeine, cigarettes, very little sleep) probably takes years off of your life.

[LE Dad]

Dude smoked like a chimmney. Hate it for his boys. That is one show that I wish would last forever.

[sinton66]

He had a stroke or something while they were at sea a year or two ago. The doctor told him then to get off the boat and stay off. He missed several episodes that year.

[sinfan75]

Sad to see Captain Phil gone. Love the show. Reminds me of why I hate cold weather.

[CHS_CG]

I can't believe Captian Phil is gone... He will be missed. He was my favorite captian on the show! Prayers to his family and he crew, the show won't be the same!

[BullsFan]

He was one of my very favorites. Loved him, loved him with his crew, and especially loved him with his boys.

[GreenMonster]

Didn't he have some disorder that caused him to throw blood clots randomly? I thought that is what the original issue was when he was caughing up blood and had to leave the boat for a while. Seems like he spoke about it at the end of season captain's show last year and that he wasn't out of the woods yet and could die at any point if a blood clot let loose and lodged in the wrong place. In all, I think everything will be just fine. Phil was not an old man by any means but I feel like he was comfortable with his Maker and was always prepared to go at any time. He was a man that lived hard in a business that demanded tough men and a hard way of life. I hope his boys are able to continue the family business because I think that is what Phil would have wanted.