The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 24, 2000, Page A12, Image 12
Wlit (Samtcotk
Rich edges out final castaways to win 'Survivor'
by Frazier Moore
Associated Press
NEW YORK—The tribe spoke one last
time.
It said: Rich.
Richard Hatch, the ruthless strategist
on CBS’ “Survivor,” proved his mettle
Wednesday night by wangling the mil
lion-dollar prize. i
During the two-hour finale, Hatch
edged out three rival castaways on the
tropical island that served as the setting
for this game-show hit. Outlasting Susan
Hawk, Rudy Boesch and Kelly
Wiglesworth, Hatch became the sole sur
vivor from the 16 who marooned
themselves on remote Pulau Tiga at the
series’ launch in May.
The final choice — between Hatch
and Wiglesworth — was handed down
by a jury of seven former tribe-mates.
Their vote was a squeaker: 4 to 3.
“I wouldn’t change anything that I
did,” Rich told the jury in a final state
ment.
Then, waiting for the ballots to be tal
lied, he admitted, “I can’t breathe.”
“Survivor’’host Jeff Probst called out
his name. There was a sprinkling of ap
plause from the group and Rich looked
stunned.
At the Newport Athletic Club in
Hatch’s hometown, Middletown, R.I.,
where he trained before going to the is
land and still works out, the crowd of
about 40 who had gathered to watch
the final show erupted in cheers.
Jon Smyth, Hatch’s personal trainer,
thought back to a moment before
Hatch left for the island.
“He looked me dead in the eye and
said ’I’m going to win this competition’
and I said ‘I know,”’ Smyth recalled. “It
was strange, but he said it with the most
confidence I’ve ever seen.”
Smyth said the Machiavellian
Hatch seen by millions on TV is not the
man he knows.
“That’s a side of Rich I’ve never seen
before,” he insisted. “In real life Rich is
a warm, fun guy to be around. He’s fun
ny.”
Even so, Hatch concocted an alliance
that helped carry him to victory.
With the castaways originally divid
ed into two tribes, one of them, “Tagi,”
faced a tactical buzzsaw from the other,
“Pagong.” The final four contenders all
were part of that “P^goqg” alliance, which
was left to consume itself.
Rich eme'iged from the rubble with
$ 1 million in cash and a new car. (As run
ner-up, Kelly wins $100,000.)
But when Hatch got back home he
faced an unforeseen challenge. Just days
after returning from the island last April,
he was chaiged with second-degree child
abuse.
His then 9-year-old son told police
Hatch pulled him by the ear and wrapped
his hands around his neck when the young
ster tired on a run. The criminal case is
pending. Hatch is suing police and state
child welfare officials for false impris
onment and defamation and is seeking
more than $1 million in damages.
When “Survivor” premiered three
months ago, critics called it “Gilligan’s
Island” meets “Lord of the Flies.”
But the TV show more directly com
parable was “Dallas.” Since that drama’s
“Who Shot J.R.?” stunt in 1980, noth
ing on television had gripped the nation
in quite the same way—until Survivor.
An audience that experts said might reach
40 million viewers awaited the final res
olution.
A half-hour into the show, Susan, the
trucker from Palmyra, Wis., was sacked
in a tribal vote. -
River guide Kelly had won immuni
ty from that vote after correctly answering
the most questions about former cast
aways. She also won the second immu
nity challenge by standing the longest
with one hand touching the immunity
idol. Her rival in that contest, Rudy,
dropped out after 4 hours, 11 minutes.
Then, in the second tribal council,
Kelly was placed in the odd position of
single-handedly deciding the fates of
Richard and Rudy. Rudy, the retired Navy
SEAL from Virginia Beach, Va., was
picked off by Kelly.
“I never thought I’d come this far,”
said Rudy, many oddsmakers’ favorite to
win.
That left Kelly and Rich.
By then, “Survivor” buzz, predic
tions and, most of all, hype had reached
epic proportions.
So had festivities by fans who threw
“Survivor” viewing parties, complete
with tropical costumes and the ever-pre
sent threat of getting voted out of the
bash.
Jumping on the reality-TV band
wqgon, CBS launched the 13-week “Sur
vivor” on May 31 to breathe life into a
prime-time schedule largely filled with
reruns. The show had been taped during
39 days last spring on the island of Pulau
Tiga near Borneo.
On opening night, the 16 volun
teers were seen arriving on the tiny trop
ical isle. By the end of the hour — ac
tually three days later—the first among |
them had been voted off the island dur
ing a solemn tribal council.
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