obits

Rudy Boesch, Survivor Star and Oldest Contestant, Dead at 91

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

According to People, Rudy Boesch, star of Survivor’s premiere season and the series’ eldest contest to date, has died at the age of 91 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to his late-in-life turn in the limelight, Boesch was a United States Navy SEAL, becoming one of the first members of the special-ops team in 1962, and eventually becoming the longest-serving SEAL team member on active duty. In 1990, Boesch retired after 45 years in the Navy. Ten years later, he joined host Jeff Probst and his 15 fellow contestants in CBS’s Survivor: Bornea. Boesch came in third to winner/infamous reality-show villain Richard Hatch. In 2004, Boesch bested himself to set a new age standard for Survivor contestants, competing in Survivor: All-Stars on Panama’s Pearl Islands at the age of 75.

Rudy Boesch, Survivor Star and Oldest Contestant, Dead at 91