Survivor: Russell Hantz’s Top 100 Greatest Survivors Ever (50-41)

46. Courtney Yates (China, Heroes vs Villains)

Oh Courtney. The queen of one-liners.

Despite being a waitress from New York City, she made it to the end in China and nearly won the game over two people who played a darn near perfect game. She was able to do that because of her kick ass final tribal council performance where she explained to people that she knew she wasn’t a threat and played that card throughout the season (though she did win an immunity challenge). 

In Heroes vs Villains, Courtney went out pre-merge, but made the jury. She didn’t get much air time, but whenever she did, it was usually something hilarious coming out of her mouth.

45. Rudy Boesch (Borneo, All-Stars)

Another Borneo contestant makes an appearance on this list and it’s Rudy, who recently passed away. Rudy was remembered the most for his comedic relief (whether or not he was trying to be funny) and being the oldest man on the Tagi tribe.

Despite that, Rudy aligned with the right people and made it to the final three only to be voted out by Kelly right before the end. He was the second one out in All-Stars, but still goes down as one of the most memorable contestants ever.

Something cool about Rudy was that despite his age and beliefs, he was still fine befriending Richard, a gay man, and was able to not only respect him, but look at him as a friend. I thought that was really cool for a 72-year-old Navy Seal to be able to learn and grow, even in 2000. Watching Richard’s tribute to him in the video was really touching.

R.I.P.