Duck Dynasty Star Phil Robertson Dead At 79
Reality TV star Phil Robertson, the bearded, camo-donning hunter who became a household name thanks to the hit series "Duck Dynasty," has died. He was 79 years old.
His son, Willie, and daughter-in-law, Korie, confirmed his passing via a joint post shared on Instagram on Sunday, May 25. In a statement signed by the Robertson family, they penned, "We celebrate today that our father, husband, and grandfather, Phil Robertson, is now with the Lord. Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus." They added, "We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again." The Robertsons also noted that they are keeping things private at this time with an intimate service, but promised a public celebration of life down the line for fans or anyone else who may want to pay tribute to the Robertson patriarch.
Though no official cause of death has been released as of this writing, the family previously shared that Phil was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in December 2024. He was also revealed to have been dealing with a blood-related illness that reportedly triggered a host of other health issues.
Prior to his death, Phil Robertson was reportedly 'struggling'
Phil Robertson's passing may be a gut punch for "Duck Dynasty" fans, but it wasn't entirely unexpected — especially to his family. The Robertsons had been candid for months about the patriarch's declining health, with much of it centering around a blood-related illness that medical professionals struggled to pin down. "Phil's not doing well," Phil's son, Jase, shared in an "Unashamed with the Robertson Family" episode. "I think I spoke on the 1000th podcast. We were trying to figure out the diagnosis, but according to the doctors, they are sure that he has some sort of blood disease that's causing all kinds of problems." It also didn't help that all these things are compounded by Phil's Alzheimer's diagnosis. "He has early stages of Alzheimer's so if you put those things together, he's just not doing well. He's really struggling."
Despite his condition, Phil apparently still had the itch to get back to work, even if it meant just chiming in on the family podcast. But Jase quickly shot that idea down. "I'm like, 'Well Phil, you can barely walk around without crying out in pain, and your memory is not what it once was,'" he added. "He's like, 'Tell me about it.' So he is literally unable to — I think he would agree — to just sit down and have a conversation."
By April 2025, the family had no choice but to shift to just making Phil as comfortable as possible. "The No. 1 question I get everywhere I go [is], 'How's your dad doing?' Now, I'm just giving the blunt truth. I say, 'Not good,' " Jase said in another episode of the podcast. "We're making him comfortable and we're doing the best we can. I think that's just what you do."