Rupert Boneham
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Rupert Boneham (born January 27, 1964) was a contestant on Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: All-Stars, who subsequently became amongst the most popular stars of reality television. He won one million dollars on Survivor: America's Tribal Council which was a special episode of Survivor: All-Stars. The prize was awarded after a popular vote in which Boneham received 85% of the votes cast for the Survivors.
During the game of Survivor: Pearl Islands, Rupert quickly became one of the most popular Survivor contestants, and was well-known for his huge beard, tie-dye shirt and size. Boneham's flawed strategy of providing food and expecting no one to vote for him earned him eighth place in Pearl Islands. Rupert remained more low-key during the "All-Star" season where he placed fourth.
Although Rupert's fans found him to be genuine, cool, and caring, Rupert's critics found him to be a bully and an intimidator with an issue with rage. In one instance, when tribemates Jon Dalton and Trish Dunn attempted to vote him out, he verbally abused Jon and even put his hands around Jon's neck, barely being able to control himself with anger. In another, during Survivor: All Stars, he got into a major fight with tribemate Jerri Manthey, who disagreed about digging into the beach to build a shelter for a challenge. Rupert refused to compromise, saying that Jerri did not know what she was talking about and that he had been building houses for years. As a result, the tribe lost the challenge and the shelter was filled with water during a storm. Many of those same critics believe that Survivor: America's Tribal Council was orchestrated by CBS for the sole purpose of giving him a million dollars following the overwhelming response from viewers when he was eliminated from Survivor: Pearl Islands. However, these suspicions cannot be confirmed, although one glance at the popularity polls before America's Tribal Council would have shown Rupert's popularity being a large amount more than the other survivors, in which case it was obvious Rupert would receive the most votes from the American public.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, he moved to Indiana at a young age. He attended Haworth High School in Kokomo, Indiana. After graduation, he moved to Texas to study nursing at Cisco Junior College and Angelo State University.
Boneham lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife Laura and daughter Raya. Prior to appearing in Survivor, he worked as a mentor for troubled teens. He has previously worked as a gravedigger and bartender. His hobbies include scuba diving, camping and coin collecting. His favorite sport is racquetball. Since his appearance on Survivor, Boneham has been a regular guest for the Indianapolis 500 pre-race ceremonies.
Boneham used his winnings to buy a home, set up a college fund for his daughter, pay off his and his mother's debts and start Rupert's Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping troubled teens, especially those mired in the juvenile court system. Since All-Stars ended he has appeared in promotions for local Indiana businesses as well as national promos for Survivor: Vanuatu. In 2006, Rupert appeared in the independent movie, "Open Mic'rs". Rupert is a frequent guest on the Bob and Tom Show – also done in Indianapolis – and is considered a "friend of the show". He has also done commercial work recently.
[edit] Quotes
- "I will never give up, I will never surrender, I will never admit defeat."
- "So much for my dreams..." (confessional when voted out of Survivor: Pearl Islands)
- "I portray a very strong and independent person. But in my head I'm that fat little terrified kid that was picked on in school all his life."
- "When I was done with my little stint at 27 days and I had 12 days on the jury, I realized that I didn't have to be that scared little kid anymore. I realized that I didn't need to go back to the people that didn't appreciate me as much. My safety zone was opening up a little wider. I could accept people taking me as ok. This was a great journey."
- "Throwing a challenge is the stupidest thing Drake could ever do." This is a reference to a decision made by Burton Roberts to throw an immunity challenge to rid himself of a perceived troublemaker. The end result was that he was eliminated, Rupert was chosen to spend time at the opponents' camp, and the tribe lost two more immunity challenges to pull even with the opposition at five players each.
