He may be remembered as a legendary reality television competitor, one of its first true stars. But Rudy Boesch, who died Nov. 1 at age 91 after a protracted battle with Alzheimer’s, was a legend on more than just Survivor.
Boesch competed on the show’s first season, Survivor: Borneo, when he was a spry 75 years old. He was the oldest person to ever star on the program, which strands a dozen people on a deserted island and forces them to compete to survive each round of voting. He made it to the final three before losing in an endurance competition, but by the time the show’s finale rolled around, Boesch was a certified star and fan favorite.
An estimated 51.7 million people watched the Survivor: Borneo finale, where Boesch got voted “off the island” over an injured ankle, forfeiting the prize to Richard Hatch.
Hatch was first to offer his condolences to Boesch’s family, saying on Twitter that “Ours was an interesting bond, Dear Rudy! You and I helped open minds and undermine prejudices. While your time here has passed, you will remain loved and iconic, dear friend!”
But Boesch had an extensive record of survival before ever setting foot on the beaches of Borneo. In fact, he had so many service stripes on his Navy uniform when he retired from the service as a master chief petty officer in 1991 after an incredible 45 years of continuous activity that his sleeves looked like little more than a stack of gold bars sewn together.
Boesch enlisted the Navy in March 1945, according to CBS’s official profile, published when Boesch joined the cast of Survivor: All-Stars in 2003 (his official obituary says he enlisted in 1944). He immediately volunteered for “secret and hazardous duty” and served in a “highly classified naval commando unit” for the next 11 years, serving on active duty in China, in the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean with the Naval Amphibious Forces.
In 1962, he was part of a team of “suicide” soldiers tapped to parachute into Cuba to support the Bay of Pigs invasion and reportedly “fielded direct calls from President John F. Kennedy” on his team’s readiness before the White House called off the mission.
His official biography says that he was “one of the 50 hand-selected officers” to join the very first SEAL Team Two, eventually becoming SEAL Team Two’s “Chief SEAL.”
He was deployed to Vietnam in 1968 and served first as a platoon chief in the Mekong Delta, leading dangerous nighttime amphibious raids on North Vietnamese strongholds. Then, on his second tour, he trained South Vietnamese forces in daring underwater missions. He earned the Bronze Star for his “heroic action during more than 45 combat operations” in-country.
In the 1980s, Boesch was selected as the senior enlisted adviser to USSOCOM and advised on some of the Navy’s most complicated missions. He also set physical fitness standards for the SEALs, earning a reputation as a “physical fitness fanatic” — he even had “PT,” or physical training, listed as his religion on his dog tags, according to former SEAL and Boesch colleague, James Watson.
He hardly slowed down once he was out of the service. He sailed, volunteered for the Red Cross and the Virginia Beach Police Department, helmed the UDT-SEAL Association, and served on the Board of Directors of the Special Operations Fund, all before making a name for himself as a tough-as-nails reality television competitor.
The Naval Special Warfare Command Force Master Chief Bill King saw fit to issue his own statement on Boesch’s death, calling him instrumental in supporting the “next generation of warfighters who still follow in his footsteps.”
Survivor host Jeff Probst also sang Boesch’s praises in his own statement.
“The Survivor family has lost a legend. Rudy Boesch passed at the age of 91,” Probst wrote on Twitter. “He played in the first season of Survivor at the age of 72. He is one of the most iconic and adored players of all time. And he served our country as a 45-year Navy SEAL. Rudy is a true American hero.”
Emily Zanotti is the senior editor of the Daily Wire.
