Survivor 20: Heroes Versus Villains, The Return of Rupert Boneham, America’s Sweetheart Pirate

Slimmer, trimmer, healthier Rupert Boneham, ready for third season of Survivor

“When I did Survivor: Pearl Islands, I went out there to show that I was the toughest Survivor. Never in a million years did I go out there thinking I was going to be America’s sweetheart.”
Rupert Boneham

Survivor 20: Heroes Versus Villains airs February 11, 2010 on CBS. The show consists of former castmates with no exile island and no tribal swap and includes Survivor’s most “favorite” tribe member, Rupert Boneham, the burly, scraggly bearded pirate from season seven’s Survivor: Pearl Island and Survivor 8: All Stars. We’ve heard this time around Rupert is cast as a member of the Hero Tribe.

Rupert Boneham, 49, former gravedigger, bartender, nurse, and troubled kid mentor burst on the Survivor scene in 2003 season seven’s pirate themed Survivor: Pearl Island. A member of the Drake Tribe, Rupert encouraged members of his tribe to swipe “booty”, the shoes of the Morgan tribe, in the pirate themed reality season. Rupert Boneham didn’t win the million dollar last standing Survivor prize but he did win the hearts of millions of American viewers as the burly, scraggly bearded man clad in a tye-dye t-shirt and a makeshift skirt with a good heart. A heated exchange with tribe member Jon Dalton, aka Johnny Fairplay, was ultimately voted “best” Survivor fight.

Born in Detroit in 1964, Rupert attended Haworth High School in Kokomo, Indiana, then studied nursing in Texas. Rupert currently resides in Indianapolis whose life-work includes vocational and clinical mentor for troubled teens. Rupert’s married and has a daughter Raya.

Rupert made it to the final six on Pearl Island. He returned in Survivor 8: All Stars where he finished in the final four but wound up with a million dollar check after being voted by fans as the show’s “Favorite Survivor”.

Rupert donated a large chunk of the money to Choices, Inc., in Indianapolis where Rupert was a former mentor for Dawn Project. Choices created Rupert’s Kids. a non-profit organization to help troubled youth ages 18-24 in the community.

From Rupert’s Kids:

Indianapolis-based Rupert’s Kids serves youth, typically ages 18-24, who have received intensive services in nearly every social service system in the region. Because these young men and women are unable to achieve and sustain stable housing and employment, most return to situations that originally led to the challenges they currently face. Through programs such as the Indy Parks Program, Rupert’s Kids participants learn skills and values that will lead them towards stability in their lives, their employment and relationships.

From AssociatedContent.com:

In February of 2007, LifePress published Rupert Boneham’s book entitled “Rupert: Just Being Me.” “Rupert: Just Being Me” is about Rupert Boneham’s life before Survivor. So, in addition to being a big part of Rupert’s Kids, Rupert also spends a lot of time on the road doing motivational speaking and book tours. Rupert has also done a couple TV pilots. In 2004, he played the role of Paul in Half & Half: The Big My Little Pony. Then, one year later, he took on the role of a homeless man in an episode of Yes, Dear: The Radford Reshuffle.

Rupert’s jury speech on Survivor: All Stars