Fans of the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch are in mourning, after learning that Captain Phil Harris died on February 9. He suffered a stroke while unloading his boat, the Cornelia Marie. Fans have been sharing their condolences on a message board (there are currently 274 pages of condolences), and the Discovery Channel just sent me the video clip below showing some of Phil’s best catches — it’s worth a look if you’ve ever seen the show.
“Discovery mourns the loss of dear friend and colleague Captain Phil Harris. Â He was more than someone on our television screen. Â Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him. Â We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart. Â We share our tremendous sadness over this loss with the millions of viewers who followed Phil’s every move. Â We send our thoughts and prayers to Phil’s sons Josh and Jake and the Cornelia Marie crew.”
Elizabeth Hillman
Senior Vice President, Communications
Discovery Channel
According to the Discovery Channel’s page about Captain Harris, he was still feisty to the end, telling his doctors and nurses: “Don’t [expletive] up.” Sadly, the damage was done and Harris died after more than a week in the hospital.
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meth is a helluva drug.
posted by ee the c on 2-11-2010 at 2:45 pm
thats what stress,smoking,and hardcore drinking will do to ya. sorry to see ya go.
posted by ron t on 2-11-2010 at 3:25 pm
@ ee
Did he do meth? If you’re alluding to the Dave Chappelle Rick James bit, it was “Cocaine is a helluva drug.”
Not a surprise to see him die. What do you expect w/ his chain-smoking volatile lifestyle. He went in to the hospital for a blood clot, and was sneaking out for cigarettes. At least as much as one can when cameras follow you outside to film you smoking.
His sons who appear on the show should take notice and stop smoking. You can honor your father w/out making the same mistakes.
posted by Big Jonny on 2-11-2010 at 4:04 pm
Absolutely LOVE “Deadliest Catch”. RIP, Captain Phil!
posted by Pete on 2-11-2010 at 4:16 pm
That’s a great show. It is sad that he passed. I pray that his boys can stay strong through this hard time.
posted by Chelsea G. on 2-11-2010 at 4:35 pm
what a bunch of idiots if ya dont say something nice then beat it …. phil harris i thought just as a viewer u were the kind of guy id like to have as a friend ….rip man u were one of the best :)
posted by nick on 2-11-2010 at 5:28 pm
It’s a great show, and one that can be difficult to watch. Sorry to hear of his passing. I remember last season (?) he took himself to the hospital and was warned then that he needed to take better care of himself. I also seem to recall that he checked himself out a bit sooner than he should have…the irony, to die at such a young age.
My condolences to his family and crew.
posted by shirleyfeeney on 2-11-2010 at 6:34 pm
Captain Phil was my favorite captain on one of my favorite shows. He took no sh!t, and pulled no punches. I will miss him. RIP fella….
posted by mrs.arno on 2-11-2010 at 7:08 pm
My condolences to Captain Phil’s family. May he rest in peace.
posted by Deb on 2-12-2010 at 1:30 am
When it was all said and done, he lived life the way he wanted to.
Was he a poster child for some PC standard of healthy living? No.
His lifestyle was his business and all this BS about how he ‘shouldn’t have done this or that’ is not the the way he choose to live HIS life.
posted by Bobsen on 2-12-2010 at 4:21 am
My uncle was a crabber in the deep south (bayou parish LA.) he actually fell off his boat while crabbing. (some whiskey was likely involved) When they found his body, he was covered in about a 1/2 bushel of bluecrabs.
We had a crab boil for his wake and ate the same aforementioned crabs. it seemed a very fitting thing to do to celebrate the life of this bayou bred and hardworking cajun.
You yankees may not understand. But, this is something different about man who make their life on the water
posted by cajun bob on 2-12-2010 at 11:11 am