Tony Lara, Star of Discovery’s ‘Deadliest Catch,’ Dead at 50

Veteran commercial crab fisherman took over as captain of the Cornelia Marie after the 2010 death of Phil Harris

Tony Lara, a commercial fishing ship captain who appeared on Discovery’s reality show “Deadliest Catch,” died Saturday while attending the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. He was 50.

Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin said Lara died early Saturday morning in a private home in Sturgis, the Associated Press reported Monday. Autopsy results were not yet available to determine the cause of death.

Lara was a crabbing veteran who joined the cast of “Deadliest Catch” several years ago  following the 2010 death of Phil Harris at age 53.

Like Harris, Lara served as captain of the Cornelia Marie, working with Phil’s son Josh in commercial crab fishing out of Kodiak, Alaska.

As of Friday, the 75th annual rally in Sturgis had claimed 12 lives in motorcycle crashes — making this year’s event the deadliest in its history, according to ABC station KOTA from Rapid City, S.D.

For the record: Lara attended the 75th annual motorcycle rally. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that it was the 55th.

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