Deadliest Catch Captain Dies

Fishing boat captain Phil Harris of the reality series The Deadliest Catch has died at the age of 53. On Jan. 29 he had a stroke while unloading crabs in an Alaskan port. He was hospitalized and appeared to be doing better until he took a turn for the worst.

"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad, Captain Phil Harris," his sons Jake and Josh Harris said in a statement on the Discovery Channel website. "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."

Harris was a central character on the wildly popular Discovery Channel show which depicted the dangerous crab fishing industry in the waters off Alaska.

Discovery Channel senior vice president Elizabeth Hillman issued a statement saying, "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."

Harris started working on a fishing boat at age 7, and he was running a fishing vessel out of Seattle by age 21.