Tom Westman
Encyclopedia
Tom Westman is the $1,000,000 winner of the tenth season of the reality show Survivor
, Survivor: Palau
. Westman is a husband, father of three, and former firefighter
. Westman has a deaf daughter. He announced his retirement from the department effective August 8, 2005. He plans to begin a career as a motivational speaker.
. However, when it came time to pick tribes, LaGrossa ended up on Ulong, whereas Westman, Rosenberger, and Gallagher all ended up on Koror. The alliance between Westman, Rosenberger, and Gallagher stayed strong on Koror, despite the loss of LaGrossa.
Originally planning to hide behind the younger males of his tribe, Westman soon became known for leadership skills. Koror team-members secured early immunity
wins in Episodes 1-4. Westman, Rosenberger, and Gallagher joined together with Gregg Carey and Jenn Lyon to control the numbers on Koror. In Episode 5, both tribes faced tribal council regardless of the challenge outcome, and Tom joined the rest of his tribe to vote out tribal annoyance Willard Smith.
In Episode 7, Westman caught a shark for his tribe. Ulong continued to suffer until only LaGrossa remained. She joined Koror in Episode 9 in an unofficial merge. Together with LaGrossa, Westman's alliance controlled the game and voted out Coby Archa.
At the Final 8, Westman's allies Carey and Lyon decided to vote out LaGrossa, despite Westman's campaigning for her. But Janu Tornell
unexpectedly quit the game at tribal council after LaGrossa broke down once. At the Final 7, LaGrossa tried to organize an alliance of women against Westman, but Caryn Groedel would not commit and informed Westman of the plan, leading to LaGrossa being unanimously voted out.
At the Final 6, Westman was comfortable with his immunity wins and his alliance. However, he received a shock when Rosenberger informed him that Carey and Lyon had swayed Gallagher to their side to turn on Westman at the Final 5. When Carey, Lyon and Gallagher were enjoying a reward, Tom, Ian and Caryn conspired to get rid of Carey instead. They even contemplating drawing rocks in random elimination. But it never came to that stage as Rosenberger informed Gallagher of the plan minutes before tribal council and she had no choice but to comply or risk elimination by random rock drawing, and Carey was voted out.
At the Final Five, the alliance of Westman, Rosenberger and Gallagher were on shaky ground due to the betrayal of Westman and Rosenberger instigating Carey's departure. Gallagher and Lyon agreed to team up with Caryn to control the game. This was further pushed when Rosenberger took Westman on a reward, despite promising to take Gallagher. This angered Gallagher and led to an argument with Rosenberger after he returned. But after the two reconciled, they agreed to get rid of Caryn instead, abandoning the all-female alliance. At the Final Four, Rosenberger contemplated turning on Westman and siding with Gallagher and Lyon to vote off Westman. But when Westman enjoyed another immunity win, Rosenberger agreed that Lyon would be the next to go. However, when Westman found out about Rosenberger's plan, he sided with Lyon and voted for Rosenberger. But Gallagher stayed true to Rosenberger, resulting in a 2-2 tie. Both Rosenberger and Lyon participated in a fire-building tie-breaker competition. Rosenberger won, and Lyon was voted out.
At the Final 3, heavy arguments took place, especially between Rosenberger and Westman. Rosenberger felt as if he had betrayed his friends, and protested that he did not come to play the role of the villain. In the endurance immunity challenge, after close to 12 hours, Rosenberger agreed to step down and be voted off in a sign of repentance for betraying Westman and Gallagher. Westman accepted and Rosenberger was voted out. This immunity win was Tom's fifth out of only seven individual immunity challenges, a feat matched only by Colby Donaldson
(Survivor: The Australian Outback
), Terry Deitz
(Survivor: Panama
), and Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth
(Survivor: Cook Islands
) who won five out of only six individual immunity challenges.
In the end, Westman defeated Gallagher in a 6-1 vote to become the Sole Survivor. He managed to gain the votes of Tornell, LaGrossa, Carey, Groedel, Lyon and Rosenberger.
and James Thomas, Jr.
. The tribe beat the villains at the first reward challenge, but lost at immunity. On Day 3, Westman and the rest of the tribe voted out Jessica Kiper
because of her emotions and her weakness. After going to tribal council a second time, Tom was one of only three people who attempted to vote out Amanda Kimmel
, but failed to do so when fellow Survivor Palau contestant Stephenie LaGrossa
was voted out. Tom found the hidden immunity idol at the Heroes campsite and got a target on his back. At the fourth (third for the Heroes) tribal council, Tom played the idol which negated three votes cast against him which ended up sending Cirie Fields
home. After James Clement had injured his leg at the following reward challenge, Westman attempted to ensure the elimination of Clement. After losing their fourth immunity challenge, Westman attempted to vote out Amanda, however the Heroes tribe elected to keep Kimmel and Clement over Westman, and he was voted out 5-2. He played Survivor for a combined total of 53 days.
Survivor (U.S. TV series)
Survivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. The series premiered on May 31, 2000 on CBS...
, Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of the United States reality show Survivor. Its preview appeared during the final episode of Survivor: Vanuatu. Survivor: Palau premiered on February 17, 2005. The complete season, including the Live Reunion Show, was released on DVD by CBS Home Video on August...
. Westman is a husband, father of three, and former firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
. Westman has a deaf daughter. He announced his retirement from the department effective August 8, 2005. He plans to begin a career as a motivational speaker.
Survivor: Palau
Starting the game of Survivor, Westman was not immediately targeted. When the game began with all 20 castaways on the same island, it was revealed later in the show that Westman was in an early alliance with Ian Rosenberger, Katie Gallagher and Stephenie LaGrossaStephenie LaGrossa
Stephenie LaGrossa was a contestant in Survivor: Palau, Survivor: Guatemala, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. She was one of the most popular players ever to play the game, with her popularity peaking at 97%...
. However, when it came time to pick tribes, LaGrossa ended up on Ulong, whereas Westman, Rosenberger, and Gallagher all ended up on Koror. The alliance between Westman, Rosenberger, and Gallagher stayed strong on Koror, despite the loss of LaGrossa.
Originally planning to hide behind the younger males of his tribe, Westman soon became known for leadership skills. Koror team-members secured early immunity
Immunity (reality television)
Immunity in reality television is a concept that is widely used in weekly elimination-type reality television shows by which a contestant participating in such a show may not be "kicked off" or eliminated from competition in a particular time period...
wins in Episodes 1-4. Westman, Rosenberger, and Gallagher joined together with Gregg Carey and Jenn Lyon to control the numbers on Koror. In Episode 5, both tribes faced tribal council regardless of the challenge outcome, and Tom joined the rest of his tribe to vote out tribal annoyance Willard Smith.
In Episode 7, Westman caught a shark for his tribe. Ulong continued to suffer until only LaGrossa remained. She joined Koror in Episode 9 in an unofficial merge. Together with LaGrossa, Westman's alliance controlled the game and voted out Coby Archa.
At the Final 8, Westman's allies Carey and Lyon decided to vote out LaGrossa, despite Westman's campaigning for her. But Janu Tornell
Janu Tornell
Janu Tornell is an American reality show contestant and former Las Vegas showgirl and beauty pageant contestant of Cuban descent.- Early life :...
unexpectedly quit the game at tribal council after LaGrossa broke down once. At the Final 7, LaGrossa tried to organize an alliance of women against Westman, but Caryn Groedel would not commit and informed Westman of the plan, leading to LaGrossa being unanimously voted out.
At the Final 6, Westman was comfortable with his immunity wins and his alliance. However, he received a shock when Rosenberger informed him that Carey and Lyon had swayed Gallagher to their side to turn on Westman at the Final 5. When Carey, Lyon and Gallagher were enjoying a reward, Tom, Ian and Caryn conspired to get rid of Carey instead. They even contemplating drawing rocks in random elimination. But it never came to that stage as Rosenberger informed Gallagher of the plan minutes before tribal council and she had no choice but to comply or risk elimination by random rock drawing, and Carey was voted out.
At the Final Five, the alliance of Westman, Rosenberger and Gallagher were on shaky ground due to the betrayal of Westman and Rosenberger instigating Carey's departure. Gallagher and Lyon agreed to team up with Caryn to control the game. This was further pushed when Rosenberger took Westman on a reward, despite promising to take Gallagher. This angered Gallagher and led to an argument with Rosenberger after he returned. But after the two reconciled, they agreed to get rid of Caryn instead, abandoning the all-female alliance. At the Final Four, Rosenberger contemplated turning on Westman and siding with Gallagher and Lyon to vote off Westman. But when Westman enjoyed another immunity win, Rosenberger agreed that Lyon would be the next to go. However, when Westman found out about Rosenberger's plan, he sided with Lyon and voted for Rosenberger. But Gallagher stayed true to Rosenberger, resulting in a 2-2 tie. Both Rosenberger and Lyon participated in a fire-building tie-breaker competition. Rosenberger won, and Lyon was voted out.
At the Final 3, heavy arguments took place, especially between Rosenberger and Westman. Rosenberger felt as if he had betrayed his friends, and protested that he did not come to play the role of the villain. In the endurance immunity challenge, after close to 12 hours, Rosenberger agreed to step down and be voted off in a sign of repentance for betraying Westman and Gallagher. Westman accepted and Rosenberger was voted out. This immunity win was Tom's fifth out of only seven individual immunity challenges, a feat matched only by Colby Donaldson
Colby Donaldson
Colby Donaldson is an American television actor, best known as the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback and as the host for the show Top Shot.-Personal life:...
(Survivor: The Australian Outback
Survivor: The Australian Outback
Survivor: The Australian Outback is the second season of the United States reality show Survivor. Filming took place at Goshen Station in northern Queensland during 2000 and aired from January 28, 2001 to May 3, 2001 on CBS...
), Terry Deitz
Terry Deitz
Terry Deitz is a pilot, television host, and former contestant on the American reality television show Survivor: Panama.-Biography:...
(Survivor: Panama
Survivor: Panama
Survivor: Panama — Exile Island, also known as Survivor: Exile Island and Survivor: Panama, is the twelfth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama. This location was previously used for Survivor:...
), and Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth
Ozzy Lusth
Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth is a reality show contestant who first appeared on Survivor: Cook Islands. He finished as the 1st runner-up in a 5–4–0 vote to Yul Kwon. Lusth later competed in Survivor: Micronesia as one of the returning favorites...
(Survivor: Cook Islands
Survivor: Cook Islands
Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
) who won five out of only six individual immunity challenges.
In the end, Westman defeated Gallagher in a 6-1 vote to become the Sole Survivor. He managed to gain the votes of Tornell, LaGrossa, Carey, Groedel, Lyon and Rosenberger.
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
Westman participated on the Heroes tribe. He had discovered several chickens on Day 1, which all of his tribe was able to surround and catch. At the beginning of the game, he made an alliance with Colby DonaldsonColby Donaldson
Colby Donaldson is an American television actor, best known as the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback and as the host for the show Top Shot.-Personal life:...
and James Thomas, Jr.
James Thomas, Jr.
James "J. T." Thomas, Jr. is the US$1,000,000 winner of the American television show Survivor: Tocantins.-Early life:Thomas was raised in Samson, Alabama and he currently resides in Mobile, Alabama...
. The tribe beat the villains at the first reward challenge, but lost at immunity. On Day 3, Westman and the rest of the tribe voted out Jessica Kiper
Jessica Kiper
Jessica Michele Kiper is an American actress and singer. Kiper was also a runner-up contestant on Survivor: Gabon where she placed third. She was more commonly known to the viewing audience during her run on Survivor as Sugar. She returned to Survivor to compete on the show's 20th season:...
because of her emotions and her weakness. After going to tribal council a second time, Tom was one of only three people who attempted to vote out Amanda Kimmel
Amanda Kimmel
Amanda Lee Kimmel is an actress, model and former beauty queen who has competed in the Miss USA and Miss Earth pageants. Kimmel gained international notoriety as a runner-up contestant on both Survivor: China and Survivor: Micronesia. She also competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains...
, but failed to do so when fellow Survivor Palau contestant Stephenie LaGrossa
Stephenie LaGrossa
Stephenie LaGrossa was a contestant in Survivor: Palau, Survivor: Guatemala, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. She was one of the most popular players ever to play the game, with her popularity peaking at 97%...
was voted out. Tom found the hidden immunity idol at the Heroes campsite and got a target on his back. At the fourth (third for the Heroes) tribal council, Tom played the idol which negated three votes cast against him which ended up sending Cirie Fields
Cirie Fields
Cirie Fields is a married mother of three children and a repeat contestant on CBS's Survivor television series. Fields has appeared in three seasons, Survivor: Panama, Survivor: Micronesia, and Survivor: Heroes vs...
home. After James Clement had injured his leg at the following reward challenge, Westman attempted to ensure the elimination of Clement. After losing their fourth immunity challenge, Westman attempted to vote out Amanda, however the Heroes tribe elected to keep Kimmel and Clement over Westman, and he was voted out 5-2. He played Survivor for a combined total of 53 days.