Following Todd Meadows’ tragic death, here’s what happened to Deadliest Catch captain Phil Harris

Captain Phil Harris was one of Deadliest Catch’s biggest stars, and years after his death, people are still talking about the heartbreaking way he died.

The Discovery series has seen its fair share of tragedies over the years, but the recent death of 25-year-old deckhand Todd Meadows has once again put the dangers of the job into focus. Todd died while working aboard the Aleutian Lady, with the incident now under investigation by the United States Coast Guard.

“February 25, 2026 was the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea,” Captain Rick Shelford wrote on Facebook. “We lost our brother, Todd Meadows. Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family.”

Following the news, many viewers have been revisiting the devastating death of former Deadliest Catch captain Phil Harris.

Phil was the captain and part-owner of the Cornelia Marie, and quickly became a fan favourite thanks to his blunt humour, chain-smoking habits and close bond with his sons, Josh Harris and Jake Harris.

But in January 2010, things took a sudden turn.

While offloading crab in St. Paul Island, Alaska, Phil suffered a massive stroke. According to reports at the time, an engineer found him collapsed on the floor of his room, unable to move. Phil then called for Josh, who phoned emergency services.

“The whole left side of his face was in paralysis, and that was hard,” Josh later told PEOPLE. “He couldn’t move his arms or anything, he was just paralyzed on the floor.”

Phil was airlifted to a hospital in Anchorage, where he underwent emergency surgery for an intracranial hemorrhage, a severe brain bleed caused by the stroke.

For a short time, it seemed like he might recover. Phil came out of a medically induced coma and was surrounded by family and friends as they spent time with him in hospital.

But on 9th February 2010, Phil died aged 53.

“We had nine days total that we were there to enjoy a few moments with him,” Josh said afterwards. “We had our closest people there, and it was awesome.”

Phil’s death became one of the most emotional moments in Deadliest Catch history, with Discovery later airing the aftermath in an episode watched by millions. Even now, he remains one of the show’s most remembered captains.

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