Jon Dalton

Jon Dalton (infamously known as Jonny Fairplay) was a contestant in Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Micronesia.

One of the series most recognisable and polarising villains, Dalton became notorious for the "Dead Grandma Lie" in Pearl Islands and his subsequent misdemeanours whilst competing for the million dollar prize.

Profile
Originally from Danville, Virginia, Jon Dalton attended George Washington High School followed by college at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg. After college, he moved to Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon before settling in Los Angeles. He is currently single and most recently worked as a senior art consultant for the Tamara Bane Gallery. He previously worked as a production assistant for a pro wrestler; he also worked in radio ad sales and phone sales. His three favorite hobbies are girls, music and television. He describes himself as sharp, quick and amazing. He is most proud of being the first person in his family to go to college and leave his hometown. His favorite sport is college football. His hero is Hugh Hefner. He believes he's a perfect candidate for SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS because he claims he is "smarter than the average bear" with great organizational skills, leadership ability, has a strong work ethic and doesn't leave things unfinished. His birth date is March 11, 1974.

Survivor: Pearl Islands
On Survivor, Dalton constructed what host Jeff Probst called "the greatest lie in Survivor history." Before Dalton left to compete on the show, he told a friend of his that if the friend were ever invited to the Pearl Islands as part of the loved-one-related challenge to tell Dalton that his grandmother had died. There was indeed such a challenge, and Dalton's friend told him, according to plan, that his grandmother had died. Probst has also publicly said:
 * "drake"

- ...then you have Jonny Fairplay, who's completely despicable. It was actually fun to work with Fairplay on the show because he's a producer's dream. When he shows up drunk or flips somebody off, he's bringing you gold every time. I wish we had a Jonny Fairplay every season. Personally, however, he's an absolute jackass whose actions at the Vanuatu finale after-party pissed me off so much that he's banned from any event that I'm at from now on. I'm done with Jonny Fairplay.

Dalton was a member of the Drake tribe where he was known for his frequent clashes with tribemates Shawn Cohen and Sandra Diaz-Twine. The Drake tribe ultimately threw the fourth Immunity Challenge on Day 12, causing Dalton to backstab his close friend and ally Burton Roberts. At the next Immunity Challenge, which was where both tribes had to eat blended-up delicacies of disgusting foods, Michelle Tesauro, who had no trouble eating the food was instructed by Drake to appear as if she had trouble downing the food so that Morgan would pick her for the tie-breaker, which would help Drake win. However, Michelle did not go along with the plan, ultimately costing Drake the Immunity Win after they picked Sandra in the tiebreaker. An annoyed Dalton flipped over the camera and stated that it was what he thought of Michelle's ego and Michelle was voted out. Drake lost a third straight Immunity Challenge, and Dalton, along with tribemate Trish Dunn voted for Rupert, but Trish left 4-2. An angered Rupert argued with Dalton, knowing that Dalton had voted for him. The two men however made amends. Both tribes learned of the Outcast twists, and were ultimately beaten by the Outcasts at the Immunity Challenge. Dalton voted out his rival Shawn, much to his glee.

Dalton then had a close alliance and friendship with Burton after his return to the game, despite Dalton backstabbing him.

At the Final 7, Dalton commited the move that he would be famous for in Survivor history. Dalton's friend Thunder D arrived to accompany Dalton at the Loved One's Reward Challenge and informed him that his grandma was dead, and his grandma was his original choice to come to the Island. Out of sympathy, the other members of the Balboa tribe decided to let Dalton win reward so that he could get more information on his grandmother's death. Unbeknownst to the 6 of them, it was a pre-planned move orchestrated by Dalton before his arrival to the island and his grandmother had been in fact, alive and well.

The closeness of Burton and Jon eventually caused Burton's demise at the Final 5 after the woman were able to plot against the two after Burton took Jon along after winning a Reward Challenge. Dalton, knowing he was the next to go at the Final 4, managed to save himself an additional 3 days by exposing that Darrah Johnson nor Sandra had any intentions on taking Lillian to the Final 2 and that Lillian was a jury threat due to her ability to play the "sympathy card", causing a rift between the women. At Tribal Council, Darrah was voted out 3-1.

At the Final 3, Jon once again found himself vulnerable after losing the Immunity Challenge. Ultimately, he was voted out by Lillian at the following Tribal Council due to Lillian being touched by Sandra's motivation of providing for her family.

Survivor: Micronesia
Dalton returned as part of Malakal, the tribe of returning contestants who would compete against Airai, the tribe of die-hard Survivor fans. At the first individual Immunity Challenge on Day 1, where tribes were to retrieve an individual Immunity Idol (which would protect its wielder the first time his/her tribe goes to Tribal Council), Jon found the other tribe's idol, which was tied at the bow of a boat. Realizing his mistake, he rushed to the other boat, only to be accidentally tackled by fellow favorite Yau-Man Chan, to his anger. During his three-day stay, Jon's support was sought by two conflicting alliances: a budding "couples" alliance consisted of Parvati Shallow, James Clement, Ozzy Lusth and Amanda Kimmel; and another foursome consisted of Ami Cusack, Yau-Man Chan, Eliza Orlins and Jonathan Penner.

During the first tribal Immunity Challenge, the Malakal tribe found themselves to be too confident they would win against the fans, only to lose, in which Jon pointed out during their first Tribal Council. The same night, Jon expressed he was not fully committed to the game because he was thinking about his expectant girlfriend—going as far as to ask his tribe to vote him out. Regardless of the tribe's mixed reactions due to his infamous past as a schemer (e.g. lying about her grandmother's death to win a Reward Challenge), Jonny Fairplay's request was honored by the tribe, and was voted out after an unanimous 9-1 vote.

Post-Survivor
Dalton dated Michelle Deighton, a fourth season contestant from America's Next Top Model. They had a daughter born in January 16, 2008 which they named Piper Addison Dalton. The two separated in 2011.

Trivia

 * Jon Earned the title of "Best Survivor Villain" in America's Tribal Council.
 * Jon is the only contestant to be the last person voted out in one season, and the first person voted out in another.
 * Jon is one of two contestants to come in third place in one season, and twentieth place in another, along with Sugar Kiper.
 * Jon is the first person to receive nine votes against him at one Tribal Council. This record would be broken by Erik Cardona in Survivor: Samoa.
 * Fairplay was initially cast for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, but was cut once Richard Hatch could not make it.