Deadliest Catch Captain Phil Harris Dies

In a sad turn of events, Captain Phil Harris has passed away. (Discovery Images)"]
Captain Phil Harris (center) was always the strong leader of the Cornelia Marie, one of the fishing boat's featured on Discovery's reality show about crab  fishing,  The Deadliest Catch. On January 29, however, Harris suffered a stroke while in port at St. Paul Island in Alaska. The 53-year-old was flown to Anchorage for surgery and he seemed to be getting better, even cursing - which doctors had hoped was a good sign. Sadly though, the captain took a turn for the worse and has passed away.

"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.   "For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down."

In a statement the network said, "Discovery mourns the loss of dear friend and colleague Captain Phil Harris.   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.   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."