Captain Phil Harris Dead

On the Discovery Channel show’s website the news was broken by his sons, Jake and Josh Harris. They had been regularly posting their dad’s condition on the website since January 30, when the elder Harris suffered a stroke. The website said, “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. — Jake and Josh Harris..

Harris was 53 when he suffered the stroke last month during offload of crab. He was later air-lifted to Anchorage, Alaska where he had to go a painful 12 hours surgery. Surprisingly Phil was making a steady recovery till yesterday. He had started to breathe on his own instead of the breathing tubes and the doctors were “extremely impressed” by his progress. He also gave a suggestion to his doctors when he said, “Don’t fuck up” when waking up from a coma last week.

Soon after the emergence of the shocking news, Phil’s fans started to head over to the show’s message boards and offered their condolences to the grieved family. Discovery Channel also remembered Phil by posting that he was “more than someone on our television screen. 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.”

The captain will definitely be missed by his sailors and TV fans alike.

Captain Phil Harris Dead