LOS ANGELES, June 22 (UPI) -- The Discovery Channel says it plans to air footage of the final days of Capt. Phil Harris, the late star of its popular U.S. reality series "Deadliest Catch."
Harris, the skipper of a ship that fished for Alaskan king crab, died last February nearly two weeks after he suffered a stroke on his boat at the age of 53. He had appeared on the show for six seasons.
The New York Times said upcoming episodes of the show feature footage of Harris minutes after his stroke, with paramedics in the ambulance and with his tearful sons, Josh and Jake, who also work with him and appear on the series. There also reportedly is footage taken inside Harris's hospital room.
Clark Bunting, the president and general manager of Discovery Channel, told the Times the episodes "are reflective of issues that every family has to deal with."
"We always talked about having a beginning, a middle and an end," added Todd Stanley, Harris's longtime friend and cameraman. "Without one of those three things, you don't have a story."
Stanley and Josh Harris told the newspaper several days after the stroke, Phil Harris instructed Stanley, "Keep filming ... . There has to be an end to this story."
The elder Harris was recovering from the stroke when he succumbed to a pulmonary embolism.
The Times said Discovery Channel cameras were not present when he died.
"That was a time to not have the cameras going," Stanley said.
