Bruce Kanegai

Bruce Kanegai was a 57-year-old Art Teacher from Simi Valley, California when he competed on Survivor: Panama as the oldest contestant of the season. A California State University Northridge graduate who taught art at Simi Valley High School for 34 years and held a fifth-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate having taught over 7,000 students in 40 years, Bruce was left unpicked during the tribe switch and sent to Exile Island before joining Casaya. He became the 'glue holding the dysfunctional Casaya tribe together,' building a rock garden and water filtration system that improved camp morale, and named the merged tribe 'Gitanos' meaning 'gypsies' in Spanish. Bruce was medically evacuated on Day 25 due to severe gastrointestinal problems, becoming the first contestant in Survivor history to be evacuated and still serve on the jury.