www.canada.com CanWest News Service Published: Wednesday, January 24, 2007

John Paul Calderone on Survivor: Cook Islands.

A Survivor: Cook Islands competitor is coming out of the closet amidst reports that he was, or is, dating a fellow castaway.

JP Calderone is set to appear on the cover of an upcoming issue of Instinct, a gay magazine, in which he explains why he kept his sexuality under wraps while on the hit reality series.

Survivor: Cook Islands aired in Canada on Global last year.

Calderone, 30, reportedly addresses speculation that he dated his “tribe” mate Brad Virata, an openly gay fashion director.

Calderone’s coming out story will also be told on an episode of the reality show The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, which airs in Canada on TVtropolis. The former pro volleyball player and coach recently joined the agency as a model.

Prior to competing for the million-dollar prize on Survivor: Cook Islands, Calderone worked part-time as a bartender at a gay bar in Long Beach, California.

In an interview with AfterElton.com last November, Virata refused to talk about his rumored relationship with Calderone.

“Um, it’s all about timing in life. I can’t answer that,” he said. “JP is a great guy.”

Looks like it’s going to be a fun season!

Starpulse News Blog
CBS Announces Survivor: Fiji Cast; New Season Airs Feb. 8

Survivor host Jeff ProbstCBS today announced the 19 new castaways who will compete in Survivor: Fiji when the 14th installment of the Emmy Award-winning series premieres Thursday, February 8 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT on CBS. More… »

“Survivor: Fiji” begins Thursday, Feb. 8, on CBS.

cbs5.com

CBS NEW YORK “Survivor” returns in February with 19 castaways heading to the tiny South Pacific nation of Fiji, vying for the $1 million top prize.

As always, the challenge for each is to outwit, outplay, and outlast the others, this time in a country made up of many tiny islands.

There happened to be a real-life coup in Fiji during production of the show.

“Survivor: Fiji” begins Thursday, Feb. 8, on CBS.

The Early Show introduced the castaways to viewers Friday.

Some have already been through some tough times, in Iraq and during Hurricane Katrina, for instance.

Briefly, in alphabetical order, they are: More… »

Zap2it

It turns out that the racial diversity of “Survivor: Cook Islands” wasn’t just a one-time fluke.

On Friday (Jan. 12), CBS announced the cast members for the 14th installment of Mark Burnett’s hit reality franchise, the appropriately titled “Survivor: Fiji.” And, true to Burnett’s recent promises, the show’s cast is every bit as the stars of the race-baiting Cook Islands season.

The contestants range in age from 23 to 54 and the group includes players born in Hong Kong, Colombia, Venezuela and South Korea. Expect plenty of Hurricane Katrina subplots, as at least three players have direct ties to Louisiana.
More… »

BuddyTV January 11, 2007

Yul Kwon will go down as one the greatest Survivor contestants to ever play the game. His masterful planning, strategy and execution throughout the contest was a sight to behold and played a large part in Survivor: Cook Islands becoming one of the best seasons the show has yet seen.

Yul sat down with us yesterday to discuss how he wound up on Survivor, his time on the show, and his plans for the future.

Can you explain why you applied for Survivor and your expectations going in? More… »

Portsmouth Herald

PORTLAND, Maine AP — “Survivor” host Jeff Probst and his girlfriend, former contestant Julie Berry, served up Christmas dinner at a soup kitchen before being spotted the following day shopping at a Target store.

Probst said the experience of volunteering to serve meals at the Wayside Soup Kitchen was a chance to bring some perspective to the “frantic” holiday season.

“Its a chance to remember how fortunate you are,” he said Tuesday.

He made the comments as he and Berry shopped the following day at Target in South Portland, where they mingled with customers and posed for pictures.

“We keep running into friends of hers every other aisle,” Probst said. The couple spent the holiday with Berrys family in Gorham.

Probst is taking a break after filming the upcoming season of “Survivor.” Crew members get a couple of months off after shooting two seasons back-to-back, he said.

The last episode of “Survivor: Cook Islands,” aired earlier this month. The next season of “Survivor,” filmed in Fiji, begins in February.

Berry was a contestant on “Survivor: Vanuatu,” which aired in 2004. She began dating Probst after filming the show. Berry said she is pursuing a masters degree in counseling at California State University-Northridge.