Rodger Bingham

Rodger Bingham was a contestant in Survivor: The Australian Outback. He placed fifth.

Profile
Rodger was born and raised in Crittenden, Kentucky. He and his wife, Patricia, have one daughter, Angela. Rodger worked as a school teacher, teaching at least one carpentry class, and as a farmer prior to his time on Survivor: The Australian Outback. He now works for the Department of Agriculture. Rodger also speaks in schools about the importance of remaining healthy, especially in not using tobacco, and his Survivor experience.

Rodger told Louisville Life that though his time on Survivor “was the adventure of a lifetime”, his grandchildren (Parker (born c. 2002) and Macy Fran (born May 2005)) are the highlight of his life.

Survivor: The Australian Outback
Rodger, despite his age, was able to help out at camp by using his knowledge in construction to help build a shelter for Kucha tribe on Day 1. On the second day, he tore out a few pages from his luxury item, a bible, to help make fire. While doing so he found a personal note from his son inside wishing him the best of luck and to try his best.

His tribe lost the first immunity challenge, and he was on the chopping block because of his age. However, Debb and Jeff were both trying to get the other voted off, and that took the pressure off of Rodger. He voted unanimously with the rest of his tribe against Debb.

The reward challenge on Day 4 proved difficult for Rodger. It involved jumping off a cliff and swimming. Rodger had just learned to swim awhile before coming on the show and was terrified of heights. He performed in the challenge anyways, but dragged his team behind, letting Ogakor win the blanket reward. His tribe won the immunity challenge though, saving him from almost certain elimination.

He formed a close bond with Elisabeth, a sentimental father-daughter relationship that saw Liz do her best to make sure she he was not targeted by the rest of the tribe.

Post-Survivor
After Survivor, Bingham was honored by the leaders of the Commonwealth on Feb. 20th in the Legislature and the Governors Office in February 20, 2001.

Trivia

 * Bingham was the second contestant who had brought a bible as his luxury item, the first one being Dirk Been from the previous season.
 * He was the oldest contestant on The Australian Outback.
 * Rodger was the last male Kucha member standing.
 * His tribemates and Jeff Probst gave him the moniker, Kentucky Joe"