Phil Robertson

Phil Alexander Robertson (April 24, 1946 – May 25, 2025) was an American professional hunter, businessman and television personality who was the founder of hunting products company Duck Commander. A reality television star on the popular television series Duck Dynasty, he was also featured on the television show Duck Commander, a hunting program on the Outdoor Channel. He served as patriarch of the Duck Dynasty Robertson family.

Robertson attended Louisiana Tech University, where he played football. He received a master's degree in education and spent several years teaching prior to founding Duck Commander, a hunting equipment company.

He was the subject of controversy after a 2013 interview he did with GQ magazine, where he said that homosexual behavior was sinful. As a result, A&E suspended him from Duck Dynasty. Facing a strong backlash from his supporters, A&E lifted the suspension after nine days.

In September 2023, a biographical film on the early life of Robertson, The Blind, was released in theaters.

Robertson was born in Vivian, Louisiana, on April 24, 1946. He was the fifth of seven children of Merritt (née Hale) and James Robertson. Because of financial setbacks during his childhood, the family lived in rugged conditions, having no electricity, toilet or bathtub. The family rarely went into town to buy groceries, and instead "lived off of the fruits and vegetables they grew in their garden; the meat from deer, squirrels, fish, and other game they hunted and fished; and the pigs, chickens, and cattle they raised".

In his book Happy, Happy, Happy, Robertson recalls that "It was the 1950s when I was a young boy, but we lived like it was the 1850s ... but we were always happy, happy, happy no matter the circumstances."

Halfway between Vivian and Hosston is Robertson's restored log cabin birth home. The property is owned by Robertson's cousin, Nathan Hale.

As an athlete in high school, Robertson was all-state in football, baseball, and track, which afforded him the opportunity to attend Louisiana Tech in Ruston on a football scholarship in the late 1960s. At Tech, he played first-string quarterback for the Bulldogs, ahead of Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL draft. When he arrived at Tech in 1966, Bradshaw caused a media frenzy on account of his reputation of being a football sensation from nearby Shreveport. Robertson was a year ahead of Bradshaw, and was the starter for two seasons in 1966 and 1967, and chose not to play in 1968.