Colby Donaldson

Colby Donaldson (born April 1, 1974 ) is an American television personality.

He played high school football for and graduated in 1992 from Christoval High School.

He earned a college degree in business marketing from Texas Tech University in 1996.

Then he briefly worked as an HMO's sales representative and then became a self-employed car tuner in San Angelo.

He moved his business to Dallas in late 2000.

Donaldson's father, an architect in San Angelo, and mother divorced a few years before Survivor.

He became the runner-up of Survivor: The Australian Outback (2001).

Donaldson first appeared on Survivor: The Australian Outback (2001) as part of the Ogakor tribe, which was divided between two alliances: one led by bartender/actress Jerri Manthey, whose flirtations Donaldson grew weary of; and another including Keith Famie and Tina Wesson.

His Texan flag was notoriously used as a rooftop for the tribe's camp.

After two Ogakor members were voted off, in the season's fourth Tribal Council (and Ogakor's third), Manthey's alliance voted against Famie, but Donaldson voted alongside Wesson's alliance against a member of Manthey's alliance and singer-songwriter Mitchell Olson, leading to the 3–3 tie and then the 2–2 retie.

Votes cast in prior Councils weighed in to break the deadlock.

Famie was not voted before, but Olson was voted once, leading to Olson's elimination.

When the Ogakor and Kucha tribes merged into the Barramundi tribe, ten overall contestants remained—five each of their own tribe.

Furthermore, the former Ogakor tribe was still divided between the two alliances.

One of ex-Ogakor members Keith Famie won the season's first Individual Immunity challenge, making ex-Kucha members unable to vote against Famie.

In Barramundi's first Tribal Council, the ex-Ogakors, despite division among them, voted against an ex-Kucha member Jeff Varner, but ex-Kucha members, still unable to vote against Famie, voted against an ex-Ogakor member Colby Donaldson, leading to the 5–5 tie and then the 4–4 retie.

To break the second tie, Varner was eliminated based on votes cast against him in prior Councils, while votes against Donaldson had never been cast previously.

The ex-Ogakors held majority advantage and voted out another ex-Kucha member.

Then heavily disliked Manthey was voted off.

Then eliminations of other remaining ex-Kucha members and another ex-Ogakor member Amber Brkich, who still aligned with Manthey post-merge, followed.

When three players remained, Donaldson won the season's final immunity challenge, "Fallen Comrades", the quiz about eliminated contestants.

This was his fifth consecutive individual immunity win.

As the only player eligible to vote while possessing the Individual Immunity necklace, Donaldson voted off Famie, whom Donaldson found unworthy to be one of the final two, placing Famie third, and kept Wesson as promised.

In the Final Tribal Council, Donaldson and Wesson revealed onscreen to the jury their own core alliance that helped maintain the Ogakor tribe's strength.

They both further revealed using and holding Famie as part of their voting strategy from Olson's elimination to the final three.

Donaldson became the runner-up to winner Tina Wesson by the 3–4 jury vote.

For the runner-up placement, Donaldson earned $100,000.

Donaldson later sold on eBay a Pontiac Aztek that he won in one of the season's reward challenges.

After The Australian Outback, Donaldson appeared alongside other Survivor players in the May 8, 2001, episode of The Rosie O'Donnell Show and received from Rosie O'Donnell a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, one of his answers he made in The Australian Outback Final Tribal Council.

He was one of Australian Outback players appearing on Hollywood Squares on the week of May 14, 2001.

Donaldson moved from Dallas to Los Angeles in summer 2001 and then began taking acting lessons.

He was a representative and spokesman for a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraising event at its West Texas branch (Permian Basin) on May 16, 2002.

He appeared in a Saltgrass Steak House commercial.

He debuted his acting career in a television film Another Pretty Face, which first aired on PAX on November 8, 2002.

In the film, his character has marital issues and is the son-in-law of its main character (Mel Harris), a middle-aged newscaster who is fired from a news station for being too old and then, after makeover and plastic surgery, poses as a younger woman for her new job in another news station.

Donaldson narrated an IMAX film Texas: The Big Picture, which premiered in the IMAX Theatre of the Bullock Texas State History Museum on May 3, 2003.

He then competed on two more Survivor seasons, Survivor: All-Stars (2004) and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (2010).

He has also hosted reality competition shows, such as Top Shot, Top Guns, The Butcher and Alone, all on the History network.

Donaldson grew up in Christoval, Texas.

He also appeared in televised Schick commercials by no later than early 2004.