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Feb 8, 2007 11:34 pm US/Central
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Meet The 'Survivor' Contestant From Ramsey
by Jason DeRusha
(WCCO)
If he can survive driving high school kids in Anoka on the big yellow bus, reality TV should be a breeze for 55-year-old Gary Stritesky.
Gary, of Ramsey, Minn., is one of 19 contestants on the CBS-TV reality program "Survivor," which premiered its 14th season Thursday night. He ended up on the Moto tribe, and helped his tribe win an immunity challenge, so he was not voted off the island.
"It's pretty shocking," said Kara Stritesky, Gary's youngest daughter. "I still see him on TV in the commercials and it's pretty unbelievable for me and my family."
CBS and the producers of "Survivor: Fiji" don't let contestants talk to the media until they're voted off the island or they win the show. So Kara's doing the talking now: "I think he's going to be portrayed as the lovable, token old guy."
Indeed, Gary is the oldest of the 19 contestants -- and, not to criticize, but he doesn't exactly look like most of these tribe members either. Instead of a six-pack stomach, Gary's got the whole keg. Some of Survivor's rabid fans have already taken note.
"He doesn't do exactly that well in heat," noted his daughter. "It was like 110, 115 there. I imagine he probably got pretty sweaty, and that was one of the comments I did read online. I was like, 'What do you expect, it's hot! He's a big guy!'"
His coworkers at Laidlaw Bus Company in Anoka think Gary's got what it takes.
"Yeah he's a liar," according to Janelle Kletzin. "He said he was going to Australia to help his daughter with her new house, and then he told me that he had his background being checked for a seniors' Meals on Wheels thing he was doing. But it was 'Survivor' that called me to check on him."
Of the tens of thousands of "Survivor" wannabes, one thing set this 55-year-old Minnesota guy apart: his audition tape. Gary's daughter helped him make it -- she showed her dad as a survivor in the arctic northland, with a weird sense of humor.
"Between him being buried in the snow and popping out, and asking about iceberg lettuce and snow peas, they thought, 'This guy is a character, we have to call him,'" she said.
Kara's family will be watching every episode at big parties in their Anoka County homes. They don't have any inside information, so they'll find out how he does, as we do.
"I think my whole family is so overwhelmed, but we're so proud of him. No matter how far he gets, it's just super exciting," she said.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)