Even 'Survivor' Losers Are Winning
Former Castaways Cash In On 15 Minutes Of Fame
Soon after the episode in which each survivor is voted off the island is shown, offers to appear on TV shows, in commercials and in magazines have flooded in, making each castaway's earnings potential skyrocket.
Most notably, Jenna Lewis reportedly turned down an offer to pose nude in Playboy for $775,000.
"It may hinder some of my other career moves. But it would also take care of me and my daughters for many, many years to come," Lewis told the Toronto Sun.
Lewis later said that she would rather work at a 7-11 store than pose nude, a family friend told reporters.
Playboy also approached Colleen Haskell, a student from Miami Beach, but she said she never gave the offer to pose any serious thought.
Haskell says that she isn't looking to cash in on her 15 minutes of fame and wants to concentrate on her studies. But she has been offered a job at a radio station in the Miami area.
Dr. Sean Kenniff has accepted a lucrative deal to be a medical correspondent for the TV magazine "Extra." He'll also appear on an episode of "The Guiding Light" and has written a novel described as "an erotic thriller."
Also entering the acting arena is Gervase Peterson, who has signed on to guest star in a "Survivor"-themed episode of "The Hughleys," airing on UPN this fall. He told reporters that he's received several other TV offers, most in a hosting capacity.
Several other castaways have received commercial endorsement deals.
San Francisco attorney Stacey Stillman and B.B. Andersen, a retired contractor from Mission Hills, Kan., both filmed Reebok ads.
Substitute teacher and dairy farmer Dirk Been of Spring Green, Wis., has signed on to endorse an herbal cold remedy.
Biochemist Ramona Gray of Edison, N.J., told CBS that she has been asked to become a motivational speaker for teen and young adults. She will also be a judge in the Miss Teen U.S.A. pageant.
Despite the myriad of media attention that the 16 "Survivor" members are getting now, industry analysts say that they should take advantage of their fame while they can.
"Most instant celebrities do in fact have 15 minutes of fame. That will be true of virtually all of (the survivors)," Alfred Geller, head of New York-based Geller Media Management Inc., told reporters. "It's a limited shelf life and it's a limited range."
Geller said that if any of the castaways want a long career in the spotlight, they will have to prove that they have talent and lots of personality.
"In the last analysis, you have to have the goods," Geller said.
Kenniff, for example, can succeed "if he has any natural ability and ('Extra') can help him grow," Geller said.
The contestants who showed the least amount of "star potential" while on the island, like "Survivor" finalists retired Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch and Wisconsin truck driver Susan Hawk, are the least likely to have Hollywood come knocking.
"Is Rudy going to become a star on 'As the World Turns'? Is he going to have a television career?" Geller said. "It's very unlikely. And what do you do with the woman truck driver?"
On the other hand, Geller said that fellow finalist Richard Hatch, a corporate trainer, might have a good chance of making a name for himself.
Geller said that the Machiavellian contestant whom many viewers love to hate is articulate enough to take a stab at television.
Hatch said that he has already has been deluged with offers for appearances.
Sticking with his current profession and possibly writing a book might be his best option, Geller suggested.
"He could become a bigger celebrity in the corporate training field as a result of this and will be able to capitalize like crazy on it," he said.
While some of the offers that the "Survivor" cast members get might be out of left field, CBS isn't allowing them to say "yes" to just anything.
In a contract that each of the 16 castaways signed with the network, CBS reserved the right to "protect the 'Survivor' brand."
"We're very fond of these 16 people and what they went through for us, and want to make sure they're not taken advantage of," CBS spokesman Chris Ender said.
