OMG!Discovery Channel: 'Deadliest Catch' captain dies

[civil war hunter]

HE DIED
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.

[sniffer]

I loved watching him get into it with his sons.
gotta admit though he was a true captain, he was made for the sea

[civil war hunter]

Fine i won't post anymore, if it makes you so damn happy. Naa, you know I will never stop posting.

And here we go with the famous dead people again !!!!

[Woodland Detectors]

And here we go with the famous dead people again !!!!

lol.

Man that's a bummer but, hey! We all knew it was a matter of time right? The guy smoked like a chimney and didn't take care of himself. He was a cool guy though.

[Iron Patch]

A heavy smoker, lived off caffeine, probably didn't eat well when he did eat, and went many a night on little to no sleep..... is it really that much of a shocker? That said, he was good for the show and it's too bad when someone dies. I hope at least one person decides to change their ways and improve their health from seeing his death.

[Hemisteve]

Being a father of three boys I can relate to the way the way Phil related to his sons during the show. One minute you want to give them a big hug, being proud of what they accomplished, the other, you want to strangle them and kick them over the side and let them swim to shore. I have enjoyed the Deadliest Catch since the first episode and will miss Phils humor and tenacity.

[truckinbutch]

A heavy smoker, lived off caffeine, probably didn't eat well when he did eat, and went many a night on little to no sleep..... is it really that much of a shocker? That said, he was good for the show and it's too bad when someone dies. I hope at least one person decides to change their ways and improve their health from seeing his death.

And then we'll all be drinkin that free BubbleUp and eatin that rainbow stew , courtesy
of you folks that are hellbent to save us from ourselves .
Well , NO THANKS ! Mind your own bidness and I'll choose my own road to hell ......

[Iron Patch]

A heavy smoker, lived off caffeine, probably didn't eat well when he did eat, and went many a night on little to no sleep..... is it really that much of a shocker? That said, he was good for the show and it's too bad when someone dies. I hope at least one person decides to change their ways and improve their health from seeing his death.

And then we'll all be drinkin that free BubbleUp and eatin that rainbow stew , courtesy
of you folks that are hellbent to save us from ourselves .
Well , NO THANKS ! Mind your own bidness and I'll choose my own road to hell ......

Absolutely not. I have zero interest in saving you.

[Woodland Detectors]

A heavy smoker, lived off caffeine, probably didn't eat well when he did eat, and went many a night on little to no sleep..... is it really that much of a shocker? That said, he was good for the show and it's too bad when someone dies. I hope at least one person decides to change their ways and improve their health from seeing his death.

And then we'll all be drinkin that free BubbleUp and eatin that rainbow stew , courtesy
of you folks that are hellbent to save us from ourselves .
Well , NO THANKS ! Mind your own bidness and I'll choose my own road to hell ......

Absolutely not. I have zero interest in saving you.

Yeah, Hey if buble up and rainbow stew is what turns you on.
More power to ya man.
We only try to change the kids lives here at this center.

[Excavator]

RIP Capt. Phil

[kuger]

Dont smoke,Civil War Hunter

[civil war hunter]

Can't id me dead before i could even get it my mouth.

Dont smoke,Civil War Hunter

[kuger]

Can't id me dead before i could even get it my mouth.

Dont smoke,Civil War Hunter

Thats right!

[redneck13126]

its a shame about phil he was the best on that show

[romeo-1]

A heavy smoker, lived off caffeine, probably didn't eat well when he did eat, and went many a night on little to no sleep..... is it really that much of a shocker? That said, he was good for the show and it's too bad when someone dies. I hope at least one person decides to change their ways and improve their health from seeing his death.

And then we'll all be drinkin that free BubbleUp and eatin that rainbow stew , courtesy
of you folks that are hellbent to save us from ourselves .
Well , NO THANKS ! Mind your own bidness and I'll choose my own road to hell ......

Absolutely not. I have zero interest in saving you.

LOL...

[Tubecity]

Well , NO THANKS ! Mind your own bidness and I'll choose my own road to hell ......
================================================== ================
Egg-zackly. Let a man live his life as he chooses. Look at Ewell Gibbons & his 'tastes like wild hickory nuts',
where is he - - dead. Jim Kick, father of American jogging craze - dead around 50 years old. We all will
leave this world in a box & that crap of 'doesn't he look good' or 'wasn't he in great shape' is hogwash.
Some people smoke 2 packs a day & drink a bottle of whiskey a day & live into their 90's. So why eat wheat
germ, yogurt & bushes when you're hungry for a fat, juicy T-bone? Live it up, time is short.

[truckinbutch]

Well , NO THANKS ! Mind your own bidness and I'll choose my own road to hell ......
================================================== ================
Egg-zackly. Let a man live his life as he chooses. Look at Ewell Gibbons & his 'tastes like wild hickory nuts',
where is he - - dead. Jim Kick, father of American jogging craze - dead around 50 years old. We all will
leave this world in a box & that crap of 'doesn't he look good' or 'wasn't he in great shape' is hogwash.
Some people smoke 2 packs a day & drink a bottle of whiskey a day & live into their 90's. So why eat wheat
germ, yogurt & bushes when you're hungry for a fat, juicy T-bone? Live it up, time is short.

My point ,'zactly ! Thanks , Tube .

[kawalabear]

we will miss him on the show

[Digging Fool]

Bummer about Phil. He lived hard. But if we were not all living, we would be dead, too.

[Idig4beer]

I did get to meet Capatian Phil and Jake here in Oregon last spring. He was a great guy,really friendly and just a normal father and fisherman.I hope the shows go on,as he would want that. Idig