27 Facts About Rupert Boneham

Rupert Frederick Boneham is an American mentor for troubled teens who became known to reality television audiences in 2003 as a contestant on Survivor: Pearl Islands.

Rupert Boneham later appeared on the All Stars, Heroes vs Villains, and Blood vs Water seasons of Survivor, placing fourth, sixth, and 20th, respectively.

Rupert Boneham was ultimately a fan favorite among Survivor viewers, who voted him a million-dollar winner on Survivor: America's Tribal Council, a special episode of Survivor: All-Stars.

Rupert Boneham was the 2012 Libertarian nominee for governor of Indiana, losing to Republican nominee, and future Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence.

Rupert Boneham was a preselected member of the Drake tribe, before his arrival on the island for Survivor: Pearl Islands.

In episode four, Rupert Boneham's tribe lost immunity, but he was kidnapped by the Morgan tribe and did not attend Tribal Council.

Rupert Boneham temporarily looked after a wounded python he found named Balboa, who became the namesake of the merged tribe.

On Day 39, Rupert Boneham cast his jury vote for Diaz-Twine, who would be named the winner of the season.

Less than a month after Rupert Boneham returned home from the competition, he returned to compete in the All-Stars season, the only player from Pearl Islands to do so, and thus the first contestant in Survivor history to compete in two consecutive seasons.

Rupert Boneham went on to finish fourth, being voted out in Episode 15 and being the fifteenth person eliminated.

Rupert Boneham 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.

Rupert Boneham returned to participate in the Survivor: Heroes vs Villains as part of the Heroes tribe.

Rupert Boneham was spared again at the Final Seven Tribal Council, due to Hantz and Manthey siding with him to get rid of Danielle DiLorenzo.

The four villains voted for Rupert Boneham thus eliminating him from the game.

Rupert Boneham was the fifteenth person eliminated, came in sixth place and was the seventh member of the jury.

At the reunion show, Rupert Boneham narrowly lost the fan favorite award to Hantz.

However, Rupert Boneham traded places with her and sent himself to Redemption Island in her place in order to give Laura a chance at playing the game.

Rupert Boneham ultimately lost the first duel at Redemption on day four, and became the first person eliminated from Survivor: Blood vs Water, finishing in 20th place.

Shortly after his Survivor appearances, Rupert Boneham briefly appeared at charity events sponsored by the Indiana Ice and Hardee's.

Rupert Boneham made a cameo appearance as a homeless man in "The Radford Reshuffle", the sixth-season premiere of the show Yes, Dear.

Rupert Boneham makes an appearance as an extra in the bar fight scene in A Million Ways to Die in the West.

In 2016, Rupert Boneham appeared in a special episode of The Price Is Right which featured multiple former Survivor contestants competing on the show.

In 1983, before appearing on Survivor, Rupert Boneham worked with mentally handicapped children in Abilene, Texas.

Rupert Boneham then moved to Indiana to work with troubled young adults.

Rupert Boneham won their nomination and ran against Republican nominee Mike Pence and Democratic nominee John R Gregg.

Rupert Boneham and running mate Brad Klopfenstein received 101,868 votes, 3.95 percent of the total.

In 2021, Rupert Boneham revealed that he had undergone two surgeries for throat cancer.