Deadliest Catch Captain Phil Harris Death
Deadliest Catch Captain Phil Harris Death, Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the cable 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.
Deadliest Catch Captain Phil Harris Death was first posted on February 10, 2010 at 4:50 pm.
Deadliest Catch Captain Dies
Deadliest Catch Captain Dies, Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the coast of Alaska were captured on the hit Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch, died at a hospital near Anchorage late Tuesday. He was 53.
Harris suffered a stroke while in port off-loading at St. Paul Island in Alaska on Jan. 30. Despite promising reports about his health, Phil never fully recovered and passed away with his family at his side.
According to The Associated Press, Harris started working on fishing boats at age 7 and started work 10 years later on a crab boat. When he was 21, he ran a fishing vessel out of Seattle, making him one of the youngest to captain a vessel in the Bering Sea. Deadliest Catch, now in its fifth seasons, has been one of the Discovery Channel’s most popular series. Fans seem to be fascinated with the crab fishing industry in the dangerous waters off Alaska.
“He was more than someone on our television screen. Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him,” the network said in a statement overnight. “We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart. We share our tremendous sadness over this loss with the millions of viewers who followed Phil’s every move. We send our thoughts and prayers to Phil’s sons Josh and Jake and the Cornelia Marie crew.”
The captain’s sons — Josh and Jake Harris — also released released a statement. The men praised their late dad as a brave warrior who battled on until the day of his final breath: “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. For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down. We will remember and celebrate that strength. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.”
Deadliest Catch Captain Dies was first posted on February 10, 2010 at 3:56 pm.
