Captain Phil Harris was 53.

Fans of Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch” were saddened in February by the death of Phil Harris, one of the series’ featured crab boat captains. On Friday evening, a public memorial service for Harris will be held in Seattle, and it’ll be webcast live starting at 6:30 p.m. (PDT) at discovery.com (click here).

His sons Jake and Josh, who were both deckhands for their father’s boat, will speak at the service, as will several close friends, fellow fishermen and Discovery executives. There’ll also be a video tribute sure to have you reaching for a Kleenex.

Harris suffered a stroke while in port during filming of the current sixth season, and died a week later in an Anchorage hospital. Camera crews caught Harris’ final moments on the boat and in the hospital. The network is reportedly working with Harris’ family to chronicle his final days appropriately, and will include that footage in episodes later in the season.

The series won’t be the same without Captain Phil’s gravelly voice and crusty demeanor; he’ll be missed, and it’s nice that Discovery is putting together a fitting tribute to a guy who was “just” an ordinary fisherman before becoming a star of the network’s most popular series.

There’ll be more “Deadliest Catch” events — though considerably more upbeat — streamed live Saturday, as the “CatchCon 2010” fan fest in Seattle. Captains Sig Hansen, Jonathan and Andy Hillstrand and Keith Colburn will be on hand to answer questions and show off their boats, and there’ll be exclusive previews of coming episodes. Go to discovery.com (click here) from noon to 6 p.m. (PDT) for that.

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