Since its debut in 2000, hundreds of castaways have played the game of “Survivor.” While many have been injured on CBS’s reality TV show, no one has ever died during filming. Sadly, several former players have passed away since leaving the island. In our “Survivor” deaths photo gallery above, we take a moment to remember all of the people who we’ve lost over the years, including most recently Sonja Christopher of Season 1 fame. Their torches will live on forever in our hearts.
Sonja Christopher (‘Survivor: Borneo’)
January 28, 1937 – April 26, 2024
Having the distinction of being the first person ever to be voted out of “Survivor,” Sonja was a sweet, fun-loving person who integrated well with her Tagi tribe members, serenading them with tunes from her luxury item of a ukulele. The Season 1 cast member was also a cancer survivor. She was eliminated after her stumble in the first-ever immunity challenge, costing...
Sonja Christopher (‘Survivor: Borneo’)
January 28, 1937 – April 26, 2024
Having the distinction of being the first person ever to be voted out of “Survivor,” Sonja was a sweet, fun-loving person who integrated well with her Tagi tribe members, serenading them with tunes from her luxury item of a ukulele. The Season 1 cast member was also a cancer survivor. She was eliminated after her stumble in the first-ever immunity challenge, costing...
- 4/26/2024
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
As the old saying goes, once you reach the top, the only way to go is down. Perhaps that’s a part of the reason why so many “Survivor” winners never returned to play again. There have been 39 winners over the past 41 seasons, and of those a whopping 27 played multiple times. Thus, over the past two decades, 12 “Survivor” champions took home the 1 million check and never looked back — or were never asked back. See the full list below.
Several winners found success on their second go-around, like Amber Brkich (“All-Stars”) and Parvati Shallow (“Micronesia”). For others it took a long while to get there, like Rob Mariano (“Redemption Island”), who didn’t prevail until his fourth season.
Some of the most recent champs like Chris Underwood (Season 38), Tommy Sheehan (Season 39) and Erika Casupanan (Season 41) haven’t had a chance to return to the game quite yet, but we’re optimistic...
Several winners found success on their second go-around, like Amber Brkich (“All-Stars”) and Parvati Shallow (“Micronesia”). For others it took a long while to get there, like Rob Mariano (“Redemption Island”), who didn’t prevail until his fourth season.
Some of the most recent champs like Chris Underwood (Season 38), Tommy Sheehan (Season 39) and Erika Casupanan (Season 41) haven’t had a chance to return to the game quite yet, but we’re optimistic...
- 5/25/2022
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
Clay Jordan, the runner up on Survivor’s Season 5 Thailand installment has died, according to a social media post by his daughter. He was 66.
Shanda Jordan wrote on behalf of herself and her brother, “Andy and I are so heartbroken.” She called her father “my Hero” and said that they took comfort in knowing their father was “no longer in pain.”
No cause of death has been announced, but People reported he “died Thursday after a short illness.” His wife Linda died earlier this year after coming down with Covid, according to People.
A Facebook account for Linda Reeves Jordan, which is linked to from his daughter’s announcement, includes a post from January 26 that reads, “Clay has had covid for 6 days and I have had it 5 days. It is kicking my butt! I can’t wait to feel like a human again. Prayers please. All I can do is sleep!
Shanda Jordan wrote on behalf of herself and her brother, “Andy and I are so heartbroken.” She called her father “my Hero” and said that they took comfort in knowing their father was “no longer in pain.”
No cause of death has been announced, but People reported he “died Thursday after a short illness.” His wife Linda died earlier this year after coming down with Covid, according to People.
A Facebook account for Linda Reeves Jordan, which is linked to from his daughter’s announcement, includes a post from January 26 that reads, “Clay has had covid for 6 days and I have had it 5 days. It is kicking my butt! I can’t wait to feel like a human again. Prayers please. All I can do is sleep!
- 5/20/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Survivor alum Clay Jordan, who was the second-place finisher in Season 5’s Thailand-set edition, died Thursday. He was 66.
Jordan’s daughter, Shanda, confirmed the news in a Facebook post, writing, “Clay Brooks Jordan, my sweetheart of a Dad, went to heaven to meet Jesus and be reunited with his beautiful bride! Andy and I are so heartbroken, but we get comfort from knowing they are together and he is no longer in pain. We love you, Dad! You will forever be my Hero!”
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Jordan’s daughter, Shanda, confirmed the news in a Facebook post, writing, “Clay Brooks Jordan, my sweetheart of a Dad, went to heaven to meet Jesus and be reunited with his beautiful bride! Andy and I are so heartbroken, but we get comfort from knowing they are together and he is no longer in pain. We love you, Dad! You will forever be my Hero!”
More from TVLineLittle House on the Prairie's Hersha Parady Dead at 78Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' First...
- 5/20/2022
- by Michael Ausiello
- TVLine.com
California lost nearly a fifth of its treasured giant sequoias trees in wildfires over the last two years, officials revealed on Friday.
Earth’s largest trees were consumed by fires in Sequoia National Park and surrounding Sequoia National Forest. More than a third of the groves in California were affected, with an estimated 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias destroyed.
Last year, 7,500 to 10,400 giant sequoias were lost. Added with this years’ total, that brings the losses to 13% to 19% of the trees, which are native to 70 groves along the western side of the Sierra Nevada range.
The parks have been the setting for numerous film and television projects, and are a large driver of the tourist economy in the region.
The sequoias can stand up to most fires, but the recent blazes were so intense that they burned hot enough and high enough to break the trees. Officials claimed global warming created hotter droughts and thick undergrowth fueled flames.
Earth’s largest trees were consumed by fires in Sequoia National Park and surrounding Sequoia National Forest. More than a third of the groves in California were affected, with an estimated 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias destroyed.
Last year, 7,500 to 10,400 giant sequoias were lost. Added with this years’ total, that brings the losses to 13% to 19% of the trees, which are native to 70 groves along the western side of the Sierra Nevada range.
The parks have been the setting for numerous film and television projects, and are a large driver of the tourist economy in the region.
The sequoias can stand up to most fires, but the recent blazes were so intense that they burned hot enough and high enough to break the trees. Officials claimed global warming created hotter droughts and thick undergrowth fueled flames.
- 11/20/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and a member of the jury on Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance. He has been blogging about Survivor strategy for People since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.
"Somebody had to be the first one kicked off, and somebody's gotta win the million" –Clay Jordan, Survivor: Thailand
Survivor is back with an episode so intense that it could crawl into your brain and live there forever. Kaoh Rong introduces three tribes – Brains, Brawn and Beauty – who are battling for island supremacy in the brutal heat of Cambodia's dry season.
Kaoh Rong has an old-school flavor,...
"Somebody had to be the first one kicked off, and somebody's gotta win the million" –Clay Jordan, Survivor: Thailand
Survivor is back with an episode so intense that it could crawl into your brain and live there forever. Kaoh Rong introduces three tribes – Brains, Brawn and Beauty – who are battling for island supremacy in the brutal heat of Cambodia's dry season.
Kaoh Rong has an old-school flavor,...
- 2/18/2016
- by Stephen Fishbach, @stephenfishbach
- People.com - TV Watch
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and a member of the jury on Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance. He has been blogging about Survivor strategy for People since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach."Somebody had to be the first one kicked off, and somebody's gotta win the million" -Clay Jordan, Survivor: Thailand Survivor is back with an episode so intense that it could crawl into your brain and live there forever. Kaoh Rong introduces three tribes - Brains, Brawn and Beauty - who are battling for island supremacy in the brutal heat of Cambodia's dry season. Kaoh Rong has an old-school flavor,...
- 2/18/2016
- by Stephen Fishbach, @stephenfishbach
- PEOPLE.com
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and a member of the jury on Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance. He has been blogging about Survivor strategy for People since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach."Somebody had to be the first one kicked off, and somebody's gotta win the million" -Clay Jordan, Survivor: Thailand Survivor is back with an episode so intense that it could crawl into your brain and live there forever. Kaoh Rong introduces three tribes - Brains, Brawn and Beauty - who are battling for island supremacy in the brutal heat of Cambodia's dry season. Kaoh Rong has an old-school flavor,...
- 2/18/2016
- by Stephen Fishbach, @stephenfishbach
- PEOPLE.com
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