Two-time Survivor contestant and fan-favorite Keith Nale has died. He was 62.
Nale’s son, Wes, broke the news to Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday.
“He passed away this afternoon. He’d been battling cancer for the past few months. We found out about it in January,” Wes told the outlet.
It is not immediately clear what kind of cancer Nale had.
Nale’s brother, Kevin Nale, told ET that Nale’s death was “a life taken way too soon.”
“It happened so quickly. Cancer ate him up. He passed this afternoon at his home in Shreveport, Louisiana,” said Kevin.
Nale, who was a firefighter, competed on Survivor: San Juan del Sur in 2014 and Survivor: Cambodia in 2015. His son Wes also competed alongside him in San Juan del Sur.
In San Juan, Nale succeeded in making it to the final four contestants, but was eventually bested by Natalie Anderson, who won the season. An underdog, Nale won several Immunity Challenges and possessed a Hidden Immunity Idol.
‘Survivor’ host Jeff Probst awards Keith Nale with the Immunity Necklace during the seventh episode of Survivor 29, ‘Survivor: San Juan del Sur.’.
Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images
While competing in Cambodia, Keith took a more collaborative approach, but ultimately lost the winning title to Jeremy Collins. Nale was eliminated from the game just two days before the final Tribal Council.
Kelley Wentworth, who competed with Nale in Cambodia, tweeted a tribute on Tuesday.
“Keith – a man with the purest heart, who brought humour into moments where it was needed most. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to meet Keith & share memories together on the beaches of Nicaragua & Cambodia,” she wrote. “My heart is with the entire Nale family. This is a devastating loss.”
Wentworth shared a clip from Survivor in which Nale drives a tuk-tuk, a motorized rickshaw popular in Cambodia.
Several other Survivor alumni also shared condolences.
“He was always a delight, had great humour, told hilarious stories and found so much joy in life,” wrote Stephen Fishbach, who competed on Survivor: Tocantins and Survivor: Cambodia. “We were never once aligned, but he couldn’t have been nicer. He taught me to pluck a chicken.”
Collins, the Survivor: Cambodia winner, wrote, “You will be missed Keith, but your legacy will live on. Rest in power my firefighter/survivor brother.”
Jon Dalton, commonly known as Jonny Fairplay, wrote that Nale “made me laugh so many times.” Dalton competed on Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Micronesia.
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‘Survivor’ can be watched on-demand or on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Global TV.
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