Rudy Boesch's Survivor: All-Stars Web Chat Transcript
2.6.04
Host: Rudy thanks for being here today are you ready to take some questions?
Rudy: Yeah...
Q: After TC did you suspect Rupert might have broke your alliance and voted you off?
Rudy: No. I trusted Rupert right from the beginning. Me and Rupert made an alliance and I said I could trust him and we'll stay together until the end of the program. I trusted Rupert and as you can see at the end of the show Rupert voted against Ethan
Q: Do you have friends in the Mafia? It sounded like you were gonna put a hit out on your tribe...hehe.
Rudy: You know when you get voted off you're mad at the world and I made a couple of dumb statements. Since then I've thought it over and the tribe was exactly correct in voting me off. They did the right thing.
Q: U was happy to see you on Survivor again Rudy. Was it harder this time around?
Rudy: Survivor wasn't any harder this time. It's not a matter of the elements it's putting up with the people. Probably this time the people are a little smarter because they've been there before and I'd predict there's going to be alot of cut-throating before the end of the game
Q: Rudy Rudy Rudy, I love you man Did you ever get sick from drinking the water without boiling it?
Rudy: When we first got there they said we're gonna give you water but you have to boil it before you drink it. I said to myself right then I don't care if I boil it or not because over the year's I've had dirty water before and it didn't phase me so I was sure this wouldn't either.
Q: Describe the four remaining Saboga tribe members in one word.
Rudy: Rupert - a man you can trust. He gave me his word and stuck by it. Jenna - is kinda hyper. She's a good athlete. I thought I was kinda mad at Jenna because I thought it was her fault I was voted off. Jerri - was going along with Jenna so I couldn't blame her much. Ethan - is a very good athlete. They need him on this tribe and Ethan's name was never mentioned so I can't blame him for nothing
Q: Who is the most interesting people you've met through the game?
Rudy: Probably Richard. You know, of all people it'd have to be Richard.
Q: I think you were amazing out there. Was there anybody out there that you were surprised they brought back?
Rudy: It surprised me that Jenna from the first Survivor was back but no, not really. The rest of them are pretty outstanding people. They all stood out for some reason or another.
Q: Who were the two guys that were spooning on last night's episode?
Rudy: You know, I don't know! I can't pick them people out. They were under... it seemed like they were under Tshirts. I won't say blankets because we didn't have any. I don't know who they were, it wasn't me.
Q: Did you hate the tribe that you were in when you found out who the All Stars were?
Rudy: No I was together with these 6 people for about 3 days before they actually told us we were a tribe and I was glad to be with them. Rupert had a good name. Jenna is a good athlete. I didn't know about Jerri. Didn't know her well. So I really couldn't complain about the people in our tribe.
Q: What do you think of Richard Hatch walking around naked all the time?
Tina: Richard is a homosexual nudist and y'know what else are you going to say about the guy. He made that public all over the world. When I came out of the water and saw a familiar scene... Richard naked and bending over and when I say familiar I mean that I looked at it for 39 days on the first show...
Q: Why didn't you guys get rid of Jenna, she is useless in challenges and bossy at camp.
Tina: Well that's your opinion of Jenna. To me she's a pretty good athlete and was needed on that tribe. Jenna sort of sounds like on TV that she was running the tribe but really she wasn't. We disagreed with what she said. When you first start this thing you don't have a reason for voting somebody off. She suggested to vote off the people who already won and that's reason enough so we just went along with what she said.
Q: Which was tougher, acting on JAG or being back on Survivor?
Rudy: Being on Survivor was tougher. Being on JAG to me was almost a pleasure except for I told them they're going to have to put cute cards up for me to say anything.
Q: How's that ankle doing?
Rudy: My ankle's back to normal. I think what caused it was from the one challenge where Ethan was running up the beach with the logs like and throwing them up making the ladder. I was on one side of the ladder and had to get the rung in and I think the last one he hit me in the ankle and made it sore for a little while.
Q: Rudy were you surprised at anything when watching on TV what was going on between the other two tribes?
Rudy: No I didn't... every tribe is on their own... we each had 6 people and were doing our thing the best we could. A couple of challenges the other people had better ideas than we did. Why we didn't think of them I don't know. Consequently we lost two challenges in a row and that resulted in me being voted off second.
Q: Given the choice, would you have liked to have had Richard or Sue on your team once again?
Rudy: If I had a choice I would pick Sue. They're both strong, dependable and I would just pick Sue. Richard is just a wise guy but he's pretty smart but anyway, I'd pick Sue.
Q: If you had to make an alliance out of members of the other tribes, who would you choose and why?
Rudy: For one, I'd pick Sue and I would probably pick Richard because I could trust both of them people in the first Survivor. I would pick Rupert because he's a man of his word and he stuck to it. And 4 people in an alliance is enough to win in that show. That gets you to the final 4 and it's cutthroat between you four.
Q: What was your reaction when you got the call from the producers about another shot at it? Are you happy with your decision to do the show?
Rudy: Yeah, I'm happy with my decision to do the show. The first inkling I had I might be on the show was when we were in NY in Carnegie Hall. When I got on stage I got probably the biggest standing ovation of all the people. Later Jeff Probst came up to me and asked how I'd feel about doing an All Star Survivor and I say sure I'd do it and that's all I said and I guess it went from there.
Q: How do you feel JP has changed from the first Survivor to now. How has the show changed?
Rudy: I think the first show, Jeff was new... he was as new as were and even CBS didn't realize how big this was going to be. Since the first show, we just finished the 8th one, I think Jeff's refined himself after each show and now it's almost automatic to him what he's going to do. When I left the show the comments he made to me made me feel happy with him and I guess other people feel that way with him too.
Q: Rudy it was sad to see you leave, you're great. Did Rupert give you any sign that the others were going to vote for you?
Rudy: No Rupert didn't give me any sign and I don't know if he knew anything or not but actually there was nothing he could do about it even if he did know -- it was 3 to 2. Rupert stood by me because it showed him making his vote at the end of the show and he voted for Ethan just like I did.
Q: How far could Jeff Probst or Mark Burnett make it competing in Survivor?
Rudy: Laughs. Everybody in the world knows who those are and I think just on that they'd vote 'em off right away. If nothing else, for someone to get even with them.
Q: Are you taking your wife on any fun trips now that you are back?
Rudy: I got an agent and I told her that if she wants to send me someplace if my wife don't get to go, I don't go. My wife goes every place with me. I'm glad she's there because I hardly have to think. She does all the thinking for me and I like that.
Q: Was there someone from previous Survivors that you expected to be there but wasn't?
Rudy: Yeah. Colleen from the first show. I thought I'd see her there but didn't. Just a day or so I read she was asked to come back but turned it down. She's pretty quiet. Once we parted from the first Survivor I'd never seen her again. Everyone else I saw at least once.
Q: How do you feel about the girls lying to you about voting you off?
Rudy: At first I was mad. I made a couple of dumb statements but since then I've thought about it and they were absolutely correct. I agree with it.
Q: You're an inspiration to people of all ages. Who did you find the most annoying out there.
Rudy: Nobody was really annoying. I wasn't there long enough to be annoyed! I got voted off I think on the fifth day and that's before the infighting starts. I think if you get through about 4 or 5 TCs you have it made because you're just about merged and then the in-fighting starts. You sit back and watch and they vote against each other. That's the way to win.
Q: Would you encourage more mature people to apply for the show?
Rudy: Boy. Y'know the older you are, the harder time you're going to have. In the beginning there's alot of athletics which leaves the older people dragging. After a while, they throw some stuff in where you gotta use your head and this eliminates the athletes. And you get to a certain place in the show were a mature person has a chance to win. Unless you get into an alliance then you got a chance.
Q: Do you agree with voting off previous winners first?
Rudy: I don't agree with voting them off first. If you don't have another excuse to vote someone off that's a good enough excuse but I wouldn't deliberately go after these people. There's nothing wrong with winning twice. If they can do it, good luck.
Q: Rudy what was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in the game?
Rudy: Really nothing embarrassed me. You know I wasn't there that long.
Q: Was your Seal team friends happy to see you not paired up with Richard this time? And did you get any friendly ribbing from them about your first time there?
Rudy: The first show I rubbed suntan lotion on Richard's back before I found out he was a homosexual and when I got back I apologized to the Atlantic Fleet about that. My fellow members still let me know about rubbing suntan lotion on his back.
Q: Have you watched all the Survivor shows since the beginning? If so which is your favorite?
Rudy: I watched all the shows and as far I'm concerned, they are all good. This one right here now might be the best yet, if not, the first one was the best.
Q : Do you think that Jerri is playing a different game this time...like keeping her mouth shut...
Rudy: I think Jerri is playing a different game this time. In fact, when I got voted off she actually had tears in her eyes which surprised me but I'm going to have to y'know thank her for the way she felt about me when I see her.
Q: How come you couldn't start a fire being a Navy Seal?
Rudy: *laughs* We don't learn how to start fires in the SEALS and I couldn't show you 600 SEALS that can rub sticks together and start a fire. After the first show every boy scout or adventure person I ran into I asked if they could start a fire rubbing two sticks together and they all said yes but no one's shown me yet. And don't go to a lumber yard and find two pieces of dried wood, go into the woods and find two sticks that have been rained on and try it!
Q: Specifically what did you talk about with your tribe that made you believe that you were not going to be voted off?
Rudy: Early on in the game Jenna came around and said let's get rid of the two people that won, Tina and Ethan. I said that sounds like a good idea to me and by that time Rupert and I were already allied and he agreed. As far as I was concerned that's the way we were going to vote. Then, we had a few competitions and people saw I was lagging a little, maybe a bit slower than I was three years ago and they changed their mind. That's how I got voted off.
Q: Everybody talks about Survivor being tough, are there times when you actually have fun out there?
Rudy: Yeah, there's some funny situations out there. I don't know if they'd seem funny to anyone else but to us they seem funny. For instance, all we had was white rice, no salt, no pepper. I used to spray salt water on my rice for some flavor and then that salt water is where'd I'd peed two hours ago too!...and that adds some flavor too!
Q: Why do you think Tina Wesson called you "Grouchy" in her chat? Did you do anything to her that we didn't see?
Rudy: I didn't know she called me that *laughs* They call me whatever they want, I don't care. I probably was grouchy to her for some reason or another.
Q: Do you remember Gretchen? Do you think she should have been asked back?
Rudy: Gretchen was an outstanding contestant. Yeah, she probably should have been asked back. I'm probably one of the big reasons why she got voted off and that was because she was good. Anybody that's good you gotta get rid of because they're the reason you can't win. You gotta vote 'em off.
Q: Who if any, is your least favorite Survivor of all time? And how is your most liked?
Rudy: I am probably my favorite Survivor of all time and I just can't pick a least favorite.
Q: Did you ever talk to Ethan about going against the girls?
Rudy: No, I never did talk to Ethan about that. I didn't think I had to. The way things were set up, Ethan would have been the second voted off but it's probably better for the tribe that he wasn't because he's a much better athlete than I am and they needed him
Q: Is Sue as tough as she appears to be?
Rudy: Sue Hawk is a real strong girl. I mean I seen her come down the beach with big logs on her back I don't think I'd even think about picking up. She could probably work like that all day long and I think she got that from Wisconsin, where she's from. She's a real good girl and she's strong.
Q: With all of your accomplishments, what in your life are you most proud of?
Rudy: I'm most proud of being a SEAL all my life. Y'know, being a SEAL is not an easy task. I was one of the original SEALS which were picked in 1962, about fifty of us out of the Navy and I was just glad to be a SEAL.
Q: Who do you think is the smartest player out there right now?
Rudy: That's hard to say because the only people I was associated with was Hatch, Sue and Jenna. The rest I watched on the show but really didn't work with them so I really couldn't tell ya who the smartest would be... whoever's the most conniving...
Q: What was the most difficult survival situation you've ever been in?
Rudy: Boy, I went to alot of survival schools. In fact, some right there in Panama and it's hard to say. I was in the military for 45 years and we had all kinds of hard situations and I can't say any one of them was easier than the next.
Q: There's some real run down 75 year olds out there, but look at you! To what do you attribute your youthfulness?
Rudy: Like I said I was in the SEALS for most of my life and for the first hour and a half of the day we did physical training. I left in 1990 and I kept it up. I might have gotten slower, but I kept it up. That's the most important thing, keeping your health and it takes a lot of discipline to do that.
Q: Sorry to see you go so soon. Who will you most miss not being able to do "battle" with?
Rudy: Really our tribe was getting along pretty good. I think Ethan was worried about getting kicked off next but it turned out he didn't have anything to worry about. I wasn't battling anyone, really. We all got along
Q: How has fame changed you?
Rudy: Fame didn't change me at all. I retired in 1990, in the year 2000 I put in for Survivor, was picked and did it. Ever since 2000 I've been running around the world showing my face. It didn't change me at all. The money I got, I have most of it to my kids. I'm doing okay money-wise so I don't need nothing.
Q: Have you met the two Robs and what do you think of them?
Rudy: I met one, Rob C and he seems like a nice buy. The other Rob I never met so I couldn't comment on him. I've seen him on TV and he seems like a wise guy. But the other one was a good conniver and I thought he was going to win that Survivor he was on but he didn't. They're both probably nice guys but both have their ways of doing things.
Q: Are you going to be on any other TV shows soon?
Rudy: As far as I know right now, I don't have nothing scheduled as far as TV but I wouldn't doubt that something comes up.
Q: Our time with Rudy is up. Rudy thanks for being here. Do you have any final comments for the Survivor fans?
Rudy: If I was you people out there I'd go out for Survivor and maybe you can get on the 9th one. It's coming up so be prepared!
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Couple of things hit me:
Q: Did Rupert give you any sign that the others were going to vote for you?
Rudy: No Rupert didn't give me any sign and I don't know if he knew anything or not but actually there was nothing he could do about it even if he did know -- it was 3 to 2. Rupert stood by me because it showed him making his vote at the end of the show and he voted for Ethan just like I did.
So we know Rupert didn't tell him anything.
Q: Have you met the two Robs and what do you think of them?
Rudy: I met one, Rob C and he seems like a nice buy. The other Rob I never met so I couldn't comment on him.
Patagonia spoiler, anyone?