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Contestant-related press and rumors
| Date | Story | Source | |||
| September 10, 2005 | -
"Maysville native stars on 'Survivor' The latest potential star to come out of Maysville is Cindy Hall, one of 16 cast members who will compete in CBS' Survivor: Guatemala, debuting 8 p.m. Thursday on CBS-Channel 12. Hall, 31, a Maysville native and Mason County High School grad, has lived in Naples, Fla., for the last 10 years. Maysville, is of course, already renowned for giving us the Clooney Clan - Rosemary, Nick and George - and Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000. So, it's not surprising that small town gals of the same generation know each other. In fact, Henry counts Hall among her best friends since 4th grade. 'We did Girl scouts and everything,' said Henry. 'I experienced her Girl Scout ways of using nature back when we were in camp. This (Survivor) is right down her alley. I would be surprised if she wasn't finishing near the top. Of course, the way these shows work is sometimes they like to vote the good people out. They are a threat.' Survivor observers agree Hall is a player to watch. Those who handicap the show on various Web sites have listed heras 7-1 favorite to win the $1 million prize. The schoolgirl connection with Henry even more elaborate since Cindy has an identical twin, Mindy. In fact, Henry said she was Mindy's roommate when the two were in graduate school at the University of Cincinnati. Mindy Hall works in Cincinnati as a manager/buyer at Skeffington's Formal Wear. After attending Ohio State University, Cindy moved away from Maysville to Naples and settled in with her mom. She was an animal handler at the zoo there until she lost her job after asking for a leave of absence to do the show, according to a local newspaper. Cindy's official bio from CBS says she went to work most days in a canoe traveling the intracoastal waterways. Her mother, Bonnie, calls her a 'jungle girl' compared to her twin, according to CBS. Henry says of her old friend: 'She's a nature girl. She's perfect for this show.' CBS will not permit Cindy to talk to the media until the show airs. Filming finished last month. Friends say Cindy sent in at least four demo tapes for Survivor over the last few years, initially inspired by seeing the another Northern Kentucky native, Roger Bingham, from Crittenden, who was in the second edition of the show in 2001. 'I know it's taken her several tries to get on the show,' Henry said. 'In one of her tapes she wrestled an alligator. Totally crazy. I would have thought she would have been picked from the beginning.' The Cincinnati market has taken to the reality show almost since its inception five years ago. Channel 12 has been CBS' top rated Survivor station nationally for the past eight editions of the show dating back to 2001 and two local open casting tryouts for the show attracted thousands. The other tri-state player on the show was Loveland scout leader Lillian Morris, who finished second on the Pearl Island edition in 2003. |
- Rick Bird for the Kentucky Post | |||
| August 25, 2005 | - "Natural-born
survivor: Cindy Hall has always been a ‘jungle girl' Guatemala will be no challenge for a woman who canoes her way to work. Former Maysville resident Cindy Hall, who has just been chosen for a stint on the CBS show Survivor: Guatemala, is used to the hot humid life of the great outdoors. Hall worked for 12 years at a zoo in Naples, Fla. where she had the opportunity to canoe along the backwaters to work each day, according to her mother Bonnie Hall. 'She was always very outdoorsy,' Hall said. 'She canoed to work every day. That's pretty unique.' Hall is excited to have her daughter on a television show, not because the show is so popular, but because it has been a dream of Cindy's since the first season of Survivor. 'I knew if she could get on the show, it would be her dream come true,' Hall said. 'She has tried for five years.' The competitive spirit that Cindy has exhibited all her life, is what Bonnie Hall said will pull her daughter through any task Survivor can throw at her. Former Maysville resident Cindy Hall will be competing on the upcoming season Survivor:Guatemala. 'I look for her to give it all she's got,' Bonnie Hall said. Cindy, 31, is not allowed to have communication with anyone outside the show, according to CBS staff. Her mother hasn't talked to her for several months, not since Cindy left for Guatemala. But the small party the family threw in Cindy's honor gave Bonnie Hall a chance to express her love and hopes for Cindy. 'When she left I told her, "You are a winner before you leave here, you will be a winner when you come home,"' Bonnie Hall said. Cindy has a twin sister, Mindy, who lives in Cincinnati. The two girls were very different growing up, according to mom. 'Mindy was the girlie one, and Cindy was the jungle girl,' Bonnie Hall said. 'When they get together they blend. Mindy is less girlie, and Cindy is less jungle girl.' Since the announcement of the participants of the show, Bonnie Hall said Mindy has been swamped with people asking if she had a sixth sense about what was going with Cindy in the Guatemalan jungle. 'Mindy said she didn't feel anything,' Bonnie Hall said. When Cindy left, the sisters decided that they wouldn't try to communicate through extra sensory perception, not that they ever did, according to Bonnie Hall. They want to share Cindy's experience in person when Cindy return's home. As Survivor goes, no one knows when that will be. But Bonnie Hall said she will be glued to the television station watching. Having her daughter on the show gives Bonnie Hall a chance to connect with Maysville again. The family moved from the river town to Florida several years ago. Bonnie Hall is happy to share the experience of seeing her daughter on Survivor with Maysville. 'This is a special time for a special person,' Bonnie Hall said. 'I am glad we are able to bring something good to Maysville.' The first episode of this season's Survivor is Sept. 15, when Bonnie Hall said she, like many other fans, will have her first glimpse of her jungle daughter, in the jungle. 'I can't wait,' Bonnie Hall said. "I am going to be watching just like you all." Cindy is a graduate of Mason County High School, where she ran track according to her mother. Cindy's athletic ability and her daring spirit will be valuable assets on the show. But Bonnie Hall isn't kidding her self, she knows a lot of political strategy goes with being a Survivor. The personalities of the participants make for dramatic episodes. 'I'm just going to turn on the television and hang in there for the ride,' Bonnie Hall said." |
- Danetta Barker in the Maysville (KY) Ledger-Independent | |||
| August 14, 2005 | - "Second
Kentuckian stars on 'Survivor' Those of us here in the heart of Survivor Nation, CBS' No. 1 Survivor market, have someone to root for in the new Survivor: Guatemala premiering Sept. 15 (8 p.m., Channels 12, 7). Cindy Hall, 31, an animal trainer from Naples, Fla., grew up in Maysville, Ky. She says she became a fan of the show watching Crittenden's Rodger Bingham on Survivor: The Australian Outback four years ago. CBS says Hall has an identical twin sister, Mindy, and studied three years at Ohio State University before moving to Florida." |
- John Kiesewetter's "Local Media" column in the Cincinnati Enquirer | |||
| August 12, 2005 | - "Former Naples zookeeper
picked for next 'Survivor' Naples resident Cindy Hall recently traded the wilds of Naples, where she worked as a zookeeper at the Naples Zoo, for the wilds of a Central American jungle, where she worked at staying alive and perhaps earning a $1 million paycheck. When Survivor: Guatemala airs on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. on Sept. 15, 31-year-old Cindy Hall, a resident of River Reach Apartments, will be among the 16 castaways stranded amid the ancient Mayan ruins of northern Guatemala. The bio on the network's Web site says Hall 'is currently a zookeeper/animal trainer and has previously worked as a primate expedition cruise captain, a pet counselor and a coffee house manager.' However, the Naples Zoo says she no longer works there. The bio also identifies Hall as an Ohio State University alumna who applied to be on the show four times before being selected. The cast was announced Thursday morning on the The Early Show. Attempts to reach Hall Thursday were unsuccessful. As part of the grueling application process, Hall had to submit a three-minute video. The video reportedly stressed her adventurous side and athletic prowess. In one shot she supposedly hangs off a bridge in Tampa. According to CBS biographical data, Hall was born and raised in Maysville, Ky. It said her primary motivation for being on the show was to 'commit herself to the extraordinary challenges she would face and prove wrong anyone who has ever doubted her strength and spirit.' 'The idea of fighting for your beliefs resonates deeply with Hall,' it read in part. She described herself as 'passionate, tenacious and naturalistic' and listed fishing, camping, canoeing and co-ed softball as her hobbies. She says she's an avid animal lover — sharing her home with two cats, one dog, an African tortoise and an Indonesian blue-tongued skink. ... Before signing on, contestants must be willing to leave their jobs and commit to traveling and living in a remote location for approximately seven weeks, where they will be filmed up to 24 hours a day. Contact with the outside world is forbidden." |
- Linda Gordon in the Naples Daily News | |||
| August 11, 2005 | -
Pre-game interview transcript, taken from the CBS
News site video, entitled: "Cindy The Animal
Lover." |
-
CBSNews.com
video archive
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| August 11, 2005 | - Officially revealed as a Survivor: Guatemala contestant on the Early Show. | - CBS Early Show site |
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