Rupert Boneham

Rupert Fredrick Boneham is a contestant from, , , and.

With his trademark long beard, tie-dyed shirt, and signature victory cry, Rupert is one of the show's most popular castaways ever. He is one of only four contestants to compete four times on Survivor. He is also the only contestant to win $1,000,000 via public vote, an event which sparked much controversy.

In Pearl Islands, Rupert won the hearts of fans with his colorful personality, as he showcased a grizzled, piratical persona that melded well with the theme of the season. He is known for getting into a heated argument with Jon Dalton after Jon voted against him during a Tribal Council. His strong physical and social showing led to his being perceived by his rivals as a threat, culminating in his blindside at the final 8.

He returned in All-Stars where he became known for being the first player to appear in back to back seasons, building one of the worst shelters ever, and being a member of the Chapera Alliance. He was ultimately blindsided at the final 4 after Jenna Lewis flipped on him because she was scared of being eliminated by a rock drawing tiebreaker. During the live Reunion Show, he was awarded $1,000,000 as a result of the America's Tribal Council which allowed the fans to vote for one of the castaways to win $1,000,000.

In Heroes vs. Villains, he was known for being part of the Heroes Alliance. However, this season exposed his shortcomings in his social game as he was perceived as overbearing. His game came to an end at the final 6 when the intended target Parvati Shallow won immunity, and he put blind faith in notorious villain Russell Hantz, who betrayed him.

In Blood vs. Water, Rupert became notable for being the second four-time Survivor player and the only contestant to switch places with their loved one on. This move proved to be fatal, as he ended up being the first person eliminated that season despite never receiving a single vote.

Profile
Retrieved from CBS.com

Pearl Islands
Regarded as the likeable pirate, Rupert began his time on Survivor as part of the Drake tribe. Upon arrival at the local fishing village to obtain supplies for their time at camp, he noticed that the rival Morgan tribe had left their raft, which contained their shoes, unattended.

"drake"

- Everything that was in their raft, I took. I've always said I'll lie, cheat, and steal to win this game. There's my stealing. I stole for the Drake.

Using these items to help boost their chances in securing more goods, Drake benefited from a more luxurious camp. After enjoying much success with their continuous victories, Boneham became the target of Burton Roberts and Jonny Fairplay after he fashioned a makeshift sarong, much to their enjoyment. Despite all this, Rupert became the resident fisherman, which kept him in good steed with the rest of his team he was never put up for the chopping block.

During the events of, Boneham was kidnapped by Morgan and joined his rivals at their camp. Surprised by his work ethic, Morgan briefly flourished and came together with Rupert as the catalyst - although when he was offered the opportunity to switch tribes he rejected the proposal and became a member of Drake once again. Although he did not obtain Tribal Immunity with his original side, Rupert remained in a solid position, but after the elimination of Trish Dunn, he was upset to learn that Fairplay had voted against him, and confronted the art dealer at camp.

"drake"

- You're starting this s***!

After the outburst, Boneham apologized for his actions and stated that the team will be stronger after these events. When The Outcasts returned to compete in a challenge to win the opportunity to return, Drake lost, with Boneham and his alliance voting out Shawn Cohen, and then having Burton return to camp shortly afterwards.

Upon merging the next day, Rupert opted to name the tribe Balboa after a small pet snake which everybody accepted. Due to Lillian Morris originally becoming outcasted by the Morgan tribe, led by Andrew Savage, she became the crucial swing vote in destroying the Morgan voting bloc. He enjoyed the next six days under the protection of Individual Immunity, but it was short-lived, as Rupert was deemed too likeable and blindsided by the former Outcasts, the remaining Morgan women, and Fairplay, finishing as the second member of the jury.

Rupert voted for his friend and ally Sandra Diaz-Twine to win the game.

Voting History
In Pick a Castaway... Any Castaway, Rupert was kidnapped by the Morgan tribe, granting him immunity from Drake's Tribal Council. In What the...? (Part 2), Burton originally won immunity, but gave it to Rupert during Tribal Council.

All-Stars
Rupert returned for the following season, Survivor: All-Stars, becoming the first person in Survivor history to play in consecutive seasons. He was placed on the yellow Saboga tribe. Early on, Rupert made a strong alliance with Rudy Boesch, seeing him as a father figure. Both pairs of Jenna L./Jerri and Ethan/Tina relied on Rupert's vote to vote off either Jenna or Tina at the ensuing Tribal Council. Both of them joined Jenna's alliance to get rid of the past winners Tina Wesson and Ethan Zohn. At the first Tribal Council on Day 3, their alliance successfully eliminated Tina.

Saboga continued losing, attending the second Tribal Council. Although the original plan was to eliminate Ethan, the alliance targeted Rudy for his weakness and injured foot. Rupert pleaded to the alliance to vote out Ethan, refusing to vote for Rudy. Unfortunately for Rupert, the rest of the alliance and Ethan decided Rudy was too much of a burden and he was blindsided in a 3-2 vote.

Luckily for Rupert, Saboga remained safe when Mogo Mogo member Jenna Morasca quit the game on Day  9. On Day 12, Saboga finally won immunity keeping Rupert safe for another three days. After the Day 13 Reward Challenge, Saboga was dissolved. Rupert and Jenna were sent to Chapera, while Jerri Manthey and Ethan joined Mogo Mogo. Rupert and Jenna quickly joined Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich's alliance.

While on Chapera Rupert did not have to visit Tribal Council, only losing a member on Day 17 when Susan Hawk quit. Rupert enjoyed safety throughout the pre-merge stage of the game. On Day 23, the tribes expected a merge, but were shocked when Jeff Probst revealed a tribe switch. Rupert, along with four other members of the Chapera tribe, were switched to Mogo Mogo and won the sole switched Immunity Challenge.

After the two tribes merged into Chaboga Mogo Rupert stuck with Rob's alliance and eliminated Lex van den Berghe and Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien in the first two Tribal Council's. On Day 30, after the intended target Shii Ann Huang won immunity Rob convinced his alliance to vote out Alicia Calaway. When Shii Ann failed to win the next Immunity Challenge, Rupert voted with his alliance and eliminated her.

At the final five, Tom Buchanan became the swing vote between Rupert and Jenna's alliance and Rob and Amber's alliance. Not wanting to force a tie, Rupert and the other three blindsided Tom. When Amber won the final four Immunity Challenge, Rob and Amber aimed to vote out Rupert, while Rupert aimed to oust Rob. Jenna decided to betray her original alliance with Rupert and he was sent to the jury in a 3-1 vote.

At the Final Tribal Council, Rupert asked the finalist what they did to make it to the final two and why he should vote for them. Amber said it was by playing the game day by day. She stated she had she many obstacles like the tribe switch and had never lost focus. Rob said that Rupert was a man of his word. Rupert chuckled and thanked the finalists. In the end, Rupert respected Rob's game play more than Amber's so he cast his jury vote for Rob to win the million.

At the finale of All-Stars, viewers were given the opportunity in a fan vote dubbed, Survivor: America's Tribal Council, to select one of the eighteen contestants to win $1 Million. The finalists were Rupert Boneham, Colby Donaldson, Tom Buchanan, and Rob Mariano. Rupert won the $1 Million, receiving 85% of the 38 million votes cast. He spent his prize money on his family's debts, a college fund for his daughter, a new house for his family, and the creation of his charity, Rupert's Kids, which mentors troubled children.

Heroes vs. Villains
Rupert's popularity in his two prior seasons earned him a spot on the Heroes tribe. When the Heroes lost the first Immunity Challenge, Rupert joined the majority in voting out Sugar Kiper. When Heroes lost thes second Immunity Challenge, Rupert joined the Heroes Alliance, and aided them in voting out Stephenie LaGrossa. At the Hero's third Tribal Council, he voted for Colby Donaldson, but after alliance leader J.T. Thomas voted against Cirie Fields, she was blindsided. When the Heroes went to their fourth Tribal Council, he contributed to Tom Westman's elimination. On Day 15, both tribes had to go to Tribal Council. While Colby was the outsider, Rupert and his allies minus James Clement spared Colby and voted out James because of his foot injury. At the next Reward Challenge,the Heroes particularly Rupert believed that an all girls alliance was formed on the Villains tribe, and Rupert pointed that out. The Heroes won the remaining Immunity Challenges before the merge.

When the merged occurred, Rupert and his allies believed Villains member Russell Hantz whom they perceived was the outsider was on their side. However, after Villains member Sandra Diaz-Twine told him Russell was in control on the Villains tribe and there was no all girls alliance, Rupert voiced his concern to his allies. At Tribal Council, Rupert voted for Jerri Manthey, but Parvati Shallow gave Hidden Immunity Idols to Sandra and Jerri, blindsiding J.T.

On Day 30, Sandra talked to Rupert and told him that Russell had to go. However, at Tribal Council, Sandra sided with Russell, and alliance member Candice Woodcock flipped to Russell's alliance, thus blindsiding alliance member Amanda Kimmel. Rupert and Colby were now the only loyal Heroes left. The following morning, Rupert voiced his disgust at Russell by calling him out during breakfast for being a terrible human being. Russell said all of his actions are just part of the game, but Rupert said he has played twice before and never stooped as low as Russell. The argument quickly devolves into personal insults and attacks between the two men as the rest of the tribe watches on. Rupert was unable to win immunity.

At camp, Rupert, knowing he is the main target of the Villains at this point, hatches a plan to keep himself around by faking that he has the idol. Rupert takes a large stone from the river and puts it in his pocket to make it look like he has an idol. As Rupert returned to camp, Russell saw him and the bulge in Rupert's side pocket and immediately believed that Rupert found the idol. Colby and Rupert met out in the jungle to talk about what the Villains planned on doing. Colby said they'd probably split the votes three on Rupert, and another three on either Colby or Candice. They came up with a plan to put their own votes on Candice, so if the Villains do ended up splitting on Candice, she would go home five votes to three. At the vote, the Villains split the votes three each for Rupert and Candice, while Rupert and Colby voted for Candice, blindsiding her unexpectedly 5-3.

Russell narrowly defeated Rupert to win the next Immunity Challenge. At camp, Russell targeted Danielle DiLorenzo, and recruited Rupert and Colby. At Tribal Council, Rupert received three votes, but Jerri, who was upset after Danielle stated Jerri was on the bottom, sided with him so Danielle was blindsided. On Day 35, Jerri won the Loved Ones Challenge and chose to take Parvati and Sandra on reward. At camp, Russell was angry that Jerri did not take him, Rupert played off Russell and built him up into being even more upset and angry at his alliance, then Russell aligned with Rupert and Colby and they agreed to vote out Parvati. However, Parvati won immunity. Sandra approached Rupert and told him she hated Russell and was sick of him. Sandra told him the only reason the girls keep Russell is around is because everyone hates him so bad they know they'll win against him at the end. Rupert, however, shunned Sandra and went back to Russell. Rupert talked to Russell by the campfire as Parvati and Sandra lay in the shelter. Rupert whispered and told Russell the girls still wanted him out, calling out Sandra. At Tribal Council, Rupert and Colby voted for Sandra, but Russell betrayed them and voted for Rupert, Sandra played her idol which negated Rupert's and Colby's votes so Rupert was voted out. After his torch was snuffed, he angrily glared at the final 5.

At the Final Tribal Council, Rupert berated Russell for his numerous lies and betrayals, thanked Sandra for trying to help the Heroes, and praised Parvati for her challenge performances. He voted for Sandra to win again, which she did in a 6-3-0 vote over Parvati and Russell.

Voting History
In Going Down in Flames, Parvati used a Hidden Immunity Idol on Jerri, negating Rupert's vote against her. In Loose Lips Sink Ships, Sandra used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating Rupert's vote against her.

Blood vs. Water
Rupert arrived to play the game for a fourth time with his wife, Laura Boneham. After Laura was the first contestant voted out of the game on Day 1 due to her tribe trying to weaken Rupert, he decided to go to in place of his wife, while Laura took his place on the Galang Tribe. On Redemption Island with Candice Cody, Rupert attempted to preserve his energy by not doing any work, saying he had worked his butt off for his tribe in the past and that's why he didn't have energy for Individual Immunity Challenges. The two were joined by Marissa Peterson on the night of Day 3, and competed in their first duel on Day 4; Candice won coming in first place. Rupert was in second the majority of the way until his stack fell over near the end, allowing Marissa to catch up causing Rupert to come in last place in the duel and be the first person eliminated from the season, placing 20th.

Voting History
In, Rupert was given the opportunity to switch with his wife, Laura B., after she was voted out from her tribe, which he accepted, sending himself to Redemption Island.

Post-Survivor

 * After being awarded one million dollars on Survivor: America's Tribal Council, Rupert used a large percentage of his winnings to establish Rupert's Kids, to help "at-risk teens" in his hometown. The organization joined with the City of Indianapolis to create the Park Adoption Program.
 * Shortly after his Survivor appearances, Boneham briefly appeared at promotional appearances for the 's restaurant chain. In 2004 he appeared as a stable hand named "Paul" in The Big My Little Pony Episode, the third-season premiere of the TV series '. In 2006, he appeared in the independent movie . He also made a cameo appearance as a homeless man in The Radford Reshuffle, the sixth-season premiere of the show '.
 * In 2005, Rupert appeared as a contestant in a Castaway Special episode of , where he competed with Jon Dalton, Richard Hatch, Rudy Boesch, and Ethan Zohn. The five competed against Shii Ann Huang, Susan Hawk, Tijuana Bradley, Christa Hastie, and Jenna Morasca.
 * In 2008, Rupert appeared on the Canadian show .
 * In 2009, Rupert appeared in the Israeli version of Survivor, Survivor 10: Philippine Islands, as part of a Reward Challenge.
 * On January 9, 2010, Rupert attended Survivor ' s 10-year anniversary party along with all of his Heroes vs. Villains cast mates.
 * In February 2010, Rupert appeared on  as Top Ten List Presenter #1 along with nine of his Heroes vs. Villains cast mates.
 * In fall of 2010, Rupert appeared in a "Stand Up 2 Cancer" commercial along with Colby Donaldson, Ethan Zohn, Rob Mariano, and Parvati Shallow.
 * On December 19, 2010, Rupert was seen in the audience attending the Reunion Show. Though Jeff didn't speak with him, Jeff mentioned him along with Cirie Fields, also at the Reunion, as examples explaining how  for the upcoming season would work.
 * In 2011, Rupert developed a casino game called Rupert's Island Draw, which was featured at Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas.
 * In 2012, Rupert ran for Governor of Indiana as a Libertarian, but lost to Republican candidate, receiving 4% of the vote.
 * Rupert, along with Tina Wesson, Rob Mariano, Cirie Fields, Woo Hwang, Natalie Anderson, Jeremy Collins, Kelley Wentworth, and Joe Anglim, competed on a Survivor edition of The Price Is Right primetime special in 2016.  Rupert and his partner, Jessica, lost their pricing game and failed to make it to the Showcase.  While spinning the wheel, Rupert gave a shout out to his wife, Laura, and their daughter.
 * Rupert was inducted into Xfinity's Survivor Hall of Fame in 2016.

Trivia

 * Rupert is the first contestant from the state of Indiana. He would be followed by his wife, Laura and Lindsey Ogle.
 * Rupert is the first contestant to be kidnapped by another tribe.
 * Rupert went the longest time without visiting Tribal Council in Pearl Islands. He, along with the rest of the Drake tribe, was immune from the first three Tribal Councils, which were all attended by the Morgan tribe, then when Drake attended their first Tribal Council, Rupert was kidnapped by the Morgan tribe, meaning he did not attend that Tribal Council.
 * Rupert had the most confessionals in Pearl Islands with 59. This makes him the first castaway to get the most confessionals of a season without reaching the season's finale episode.
 * Rupert was the first contestant from Pearl Islands to become a Returning Player. He was followed by Jon Dalton, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Andrew Savage.
 * Rupert is the first contestant to compete in back-to-back seasons.
 * On Survivor: All-Stars, Rupert, along with Jenna Lewis and Jerri Manthey became the first castaways to be on three tribes before the merge. They were followed by Andrew Savage in, Cirie Fields in , and Laurel Johnson and Sebastian Noel in . Rupert, Jenna, Andrew, and Cirie are the only castaways to be a member of four separate tribes with a season.
 * Rupert has won the most money out of the winners of the Fan Favorite Award, with $1,000,000. Subsequent fan favorite winners Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth won a car. Starting with James Clement in, all fan favorites earn $100,000.
 * Rupert is the first male castaway to have his torch snuffed three times and the second overall after Cirie Fields.
 * Rupert is the first of two contestants to be a member of the jury in three different seasons. The other contestant is Ozzy Lusth. Coincidentally, they have never competed on the same season.
 * Rupert is tied with Rob Mariano for highest number of tribe affiliations with nine.
 * Rupert is one of seven contestants to make the merge three times. The others are Parvati Shallow, Amanda Kimmel, Rob Mariano, Ozzy Lusth, Cirie Fields, and Andrea Boehlke.
 * Rupert, along with Jerri Manthey, Rob Mariano, and Tyson Apostol were the only returning players to never participate in a Survivor Auction, either not having one in their seasons or not lasting long enough to be in one.
 * Rupert is one of only seven returning contestants to play more than 100 days playing the game, along Cirie Fields, Parvati Shallow, Ozzy Lusth, Amanda Kimmel, Andrea Boehlke, and Rob Mariano. Rupert's 100th day was on his last day on Heroes vs. Villains (Day 36).
 * Rupert was on a blue tribe at one point in his first three seasons.
 * Rupert is so far the only player to vote for the same person in two different Final Tribal Councils. In both and, he voted for Sandra Diaz-Twine to win.
 * Rupert, along with Colby Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, Tina Wesson, Rob Mariano, and Coach Wade are the only six castaways to compete in seasons with 16, 18 and 20 castaways.
 * Rupert lost 30 lbs. during his time on.
 * Rupert is the first contestant to live at Redemption Island without getting voted off, due to switching with his wife.
 * He is the third castaway to place last in a season while never have a single vote cast against him (after Jonathan Libby of, and Kourtney Moon of ).
 * He is the second person to intentionally send themselves to Redemption Island with the intention of eliminating the current inhabitant and returning to the game, following Ozzy Lusth from.
 * He is the fourth castaway to be eliminated not through medical evacuation or quitting, without receiving any votes cast against him during a season after Paschal English, Jonathan Libby, and Wanda Shirk. They were followed by Cirie Fields in Survivor: Game Changers.
 * Rupert is the first contestant to be eliminated from the game on Day 4.