A two-time Survivor player and Navy SEAL great, friends and family of Rudy Boesch have unfortunately revealed he is in hospice care.
One of the first players to play Survivor, Rudy Boesch, has reportedly undergone assisted-living care for Alzheimer’s, TMZ reports. Despite messages of condolences from friends in the show’s community, as well as family friends, Rudy has not passed.
TMZ has spoken to Rudy Boesch’s daughter who has said Rudy has been placed in a Virginia Beach facility to provide more intensive care, as his ailment requires it. However, doctors have not yet indicated he is not “necessarily at the end stage” of hospice care.
Rudy Boesch is perhaps one of the most iconic Survivor players in the show’s history despite his most recent season airing a decade and a half ago. His no-nonsense approach to surviving out on the island and his serious, rigid personality worked well to contrast with his ally Richard Hatch, whose sheepish grin, strategic mind and open approach to nudity made them the show’s most unlikely friendship.
Rudy Boesch is a decorated Navy SEAL who became famous for his appearance on the First Season of CBS SURVIVOR in the…
Posted by Rich Gipson on Tuesday, July 30, 2019
So many of the show’s early iconic lines came from Rudy. An openly gay man to someone in a world filled with machismo, top-line military individuals, was the least of his concerns. Instead, as he rationalized his qualms with Hatch, “He’s fat, but he’s good.” Richard challenged him on his preconceived notions of homosexuality and reckoned that he was wrong, with Rudy accepting that he was the tribe’s natural leader.
That internal struggle to recognize his biases and work through them was a major turning point for television in the year 2000, as it was a small part in the long battle to correct disruptive behaviors facing LGBT individuals at the time. If Rudy, a Navy SEAL who rose to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer after 45 years of service, could do it, so could America.
Here’s hoping for the best for Rudy Boesch as he faces this next great challenge in his life.