By Gavin Boyle
DUCK DYNASTY: THE REVIVAL just started last Sunday, and many fans wondered if the late Phil Robertson will appear on the show at all.
The extent of his appearance is the in-memoriam segment that aired at the end of the first episode.
The tribute featured archival footage of Willie Robertson reading an introduction for the series to his dad Phil: “So, ladies and gentleman, start your engines. Only one will earn the bandana, so let the games begin,” Willie read, asking his father, “What do you think?”
Phil responded with a big thumbs up which the memorial faded to black on before showing an in-memoriam tribute.
Phil died on May 25 at the age of 79. Though no cause of death has been confirmed, his family revealed last December that he was battling Alzheimer’s and heart disease. In later months, members of the family shared the heartbreaking news that Phil’s health was only on the decline.
“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 Robertson said in April. “We’re making him comfortable and we’re doing the best we can. I think that’s just what you do.”
Since his passing, the Robertson family has shared just how much Phil meant to them and how his unashamed faith in Jesus influenced their own walk with the Lord.
“I can’t stop thinking about how he lived in the middle of nowhere, in a small, humble home with no cell phone or computer, and yet his life touched millions with the hope of Jesus,” granddaughter Sadie Robertson Huff wrote on an Instagram post.
“He reminds me of people in the Bible. Not many lived with the end goal in mind as much as he did, and not many chose to spend their lives telling everyone they encountered like he did,” she continued. “He really believed it, and I know that he is alive in Christ fully today! What a life of authenticity. What a legend.”
Along with boldly sharing his faith throughout the run of the original DUCK DYNASTY, Phil made his walk with the Lord extremely public through 2023’s THE BLIND, which recalls his radical encounter with Christ while he was on the road to destruction. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
THE BLIND is a good movie as a Christian testimony. That said, it doesn’t follow the rules of filmmaking. So, it may not win a big audience. The movie is propelled by the jeopardy, and vice and drinking, but Jesus is extolled . THE BLIND is a rough movie. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution, especially for children and young teenagers.
Phil Robertson lived a life of service to the Lord and will be remembered for the millions of people he helped see Jesus in a new way. Please keep his family in your prayers as they continue to mourn his loss.
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