Stretch Those 15 Minutes, Baby!
Since leaving the island, most of the Survivor castaways have done everything they can to keep their newfound fame afloat.
Most of the 16 former castaways have attacked celebrity like it was a bag of tortilla chips in a college dorm.
Every click of the remote brings another sighting: Richard getting knocked down by a wrestler on MTV or strolling into the Emmy Awards. Rudy casting his line on ESPN fishing show. Sean talking about diets on Extra. Gervase sitting in on Hollywood Squares. Jenna introducing a video on VH-1.
While times may have been rough on the island -- Jenna Lewis is all smiles these days. The 23-year-old mother of twins has become one of the show's breakout stars. In addition to VH-1, she has appeared on MTV, and teamed up with several of her former islanders on The Hollywood Squares.
Lewis isn't the only one bitten by the acting bug. Gervase Peterson made his acting debut on UPN's The Hughleys.
Next week, a different former castaway will be the co-host on Live With Regis! each day: Jenna, Gervase, Colleen Haskell, Susan Hawk and finally, million-dollar survivor Richard Hatch.
Obviously, they're only getting warmed up.
"It's a storm like I've never seen before," said Hollywood agent Sherri Spillane. "The interest in everyone is 10 times what you might have expected."
Spillane suspected there might be a market demand for survivors. She moved swiftly to sign six of them as clients. Most of the other contestants are scattered among other agents.
"I've heard that it's 15 minutes of fame and it will fade," Spillane said. "Well, for some of them, it will fade. It depends on how they deal with it. Some will shrink from the spotlight because they can't handle it. Others will go on for a very long time. I happen to be a master at dragging out instant celebrity."
Agents say at least some of the survivors - Jenna, Gervase and Joel Klug are mentioned most often - are intent on leaving their past lives behind for show biz. Jenna was "born to be on camera," said her agent, Nicole Hampton.
Expect most survivors to fade away after this initial burst of publicity, particularly when the show's second cast is introduced in January, said Stacey Lynn Koerner, a TV analyst for the advertising firm TN Media in New York.
Yet they've already shown surprising staying power because so many Americans identify with and root for them, Koerner said.
"It feeds very nicely into what I call the American mythology of everyone can make it," she said.
The alphabetically inclined doctor, Sean Kenniff, has signed on as a medical correspondent for the syndicated newsmagazine Extra and will tape an appearance on the soap opera The Guiding Light. Rudy Boesch, the crusty former Navy SEAL, is taking a small guest role on the military drama JAG this fall.
"I like the program anyway," he said. "If they want to use me that's okay with me. As long as I don't have to make more than a five-word speech, I'm okay."
The survivors are logging more airtime on CBS this fall than Mike Wallace or Ray Romano, even after their 13-episode adventure is rerun during the Olympics. Most contestants have also filmed commercials promoting CBS shows.
And even the first survivor to leave the island is in demand.
Sonja Christopher will appear on an upcoming Diagnosis Murder. In fact, the CBS primetime fall line up will feature several Survivor cameos. Richard Hatch, the $1million winner, will appear on Becker.
The sole survivor is close to inking a book deal worth nearly $500,000. But not everyone from the island is cashing in. Stacey Stillman was the first castaway to do a commercial, but her interest in the fame game has waned.