Wednesday, May 30, 2001

NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Sicily — Rudy Boesch, the third from last to be booted off the island on the TV show “Survivor,” might not have won the $1 million grand prize, but he has gained quite a fan base around the world.

The 73-year-old retired master chief petty officer and former Navy SEAL has been milking his 15 minutes of fame by appearing on TV and radio talk shows, and he’ll soon be crossing the big pond to visit commissaries in Europe.

Blue Box Toys has an action figure modeled after Boesch, and People magazine listed Rudy as one of the sexiest men of the year.

“He’s quite a character,” said Gerri Young, the Defense Commissary Agency Europe public affairs officer.

That’s part of the reason DECA chose him to come to Europe, said Young, adding that his time in service also played a big of a role in his selection. “Rudy is a great representative because of his distinguished military career, and the fact that he’s a retiree.”

Boesch served 45 continuous years on active duty in the Navy, including two combat tours in Vietnam. His decorated military record includes the Bronze Star and the Defense Superior Service Medal, an honor not normally bestowed upon enlisted personnel.

“The military folks love meeting him not only because of the great job he did on ‘Survivor,’” said Thomas Harper of Koeberle and Associates, the Pittsburgh, Penn.-based company coordinating Rudy’s European visit, “but because he did a great job in the Navy too.”

Rudy’s face now decorates commissary shelves in their “Best Value” promotional posters. He’s even the star of a 10-minute Defense Commissary Agency promotional video called “Commissary 101.”

Rudy Boesch's
schedule ...

Survivor and Navy vet Rudy Boesch will be at the following European DECA commissaries:

Rota, Spain: noon to 1:30 p.m. June 22.
Aviano, Italy: 11:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m. June 24.
RAF Lakenheath, England: noon to 1:30 p.m. June 26.
Bitburg, Germany: noon to 1:30 p.m. June 28.
Vogelweh, Germany: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 29.

“It’s pretty funny because he puts a lot of personality into it,” Young said of Boesch’s infomercial for DECA. “He points out the advantages of shopping at the commissary.” But Boesch adds a little island humor when he jokingly searches for some of the more exotic menu items like rat and snake that he ate while in the South China Sea.

Doug Ritchart, another executive at Koeberle and Associates, said Rudy is familiar with the commissary atmosphere. “He’s a resident of Virginia Beach, Va., and is a customer of the nearby commissaries.”

But even though Rudy knows his way around the store, DECA still had a little help hiring the celebrity. Boesch’s daughter Barbara used to work for DECA in the Norfolk, Va., area. “She was our insider once he became famous,” Young said. And DECA is betting that Rudy’s posters, video and autograph signing sessions will pull in more shoppers.

Near the end of June, Rudy will have meet-and-greet tours at various commissaries sponsored by Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream, Armour Swift-Eckrich, and Frito Lay.

“He’s really excited about coming over to Europe,” Ritchart said. During the tour, Rudy will sign pre-printed autograph cards and be available for photos as well. “We hope there is a good turnout. The more, the merrier.”

'Survivor' star Rudy headed for tour of European commissaries this summer