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Daniel Louis "Dan" Lembo was a contestant from Survivor: Nicaragua.

Dan struggled in challenges but was well-liked by his tribemates, allowing him to survive several Tribal Councils during the pre-merge portion of the game. However, he would ultimately be voted out at the final five.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Name: Dan Lembo (63)
Tribe: Espada
Current Residence: Watermill, N.Y.
Occupation: Real Estate Executive
Personal Claim to Fame: Raising two sons & my career.
Inspiration in Life: Ronald Reagan.
Hobbies: Weight-lifting, softball, skiing.
Pet Peeves: Existing politicians.
3 Words to Describe You: Aggressive, cunning, devious.
Survivor Contestant You Are Most Like: No one.
Reason for being on Survivor: My ego (and for fun).
Why you think you will be the Sole Survivor: Because I've been a Survivor my entire life and thrive on beating everyone else.[1]

Survivor[]

Dan was put on the Espada tribe, originally consisting of players aged 40 or older. Although Dan had had a few knee surgeries prior to competing, they didn't seem to hinder him for the first few days of the game, which helped him avoid votes at the first Tribal Council. However, Yve Rojas began to notice and eventually, the rest of Espada did as well. But since Marty Piombo and Jimmy Tarantino wanted Jimmy Johnson out first, who was just as, if not weaker, than Dan, Dan was spared at Espada's next Tribal Council on Day 8. However, Dan was still a target for elimination come Episode 4, but thanks to Marty being annoyed by Jimmy T., Dan was spared again and Jimmy T. was voted off. On Night 11, Holly Hoffman (who voted for Dan that night) was concerned about her tribe's decision to keep Dan, saying that "Jimmy T. could do cartwheels over Dan".

Dan, along with Holly, Tyrone Davis, and Yve, remained on Espada after the tribe switch. Dan seemed to become friends with the new members of Espada, but he suspected that they may just need another vote. Alina Wilson referred to him in this way in a confessional, but also found him hilarious. Dan was completely ignored during the Tribal Council on Day 14, as the targets were on de facto Espada leader Tyrone and NaOnka Mixon who contemplated quitting. Holly was annoyed that Tyrone ate a lot of chicken but didn't help out in camplife. Despite Tyrone and Yve sparing him the previous vote, Dan flipped with Holly and Tyrone was voted off 6-2. On Day 15, Dan told Holly that he wanted to quit, and Holly told Yve, so Yve knew that Dan had to be the next to go. But after the challenge, for an unknown reason, Dan changed his mind and decided to continue in the game, so Holly had to make sure he was completely sure to avoid keeping someone in who doesn't want to stay in over someone who does. Yve still found him as a weak link, but since the merge was close by and Yve was a strong competitor, she was voted off, once again sparing Dan.

Dan made the merge in Episode 8. Like the other remaining members of Espada, he didn't take Alina's thoughts of an all-Espada alliance seriously. Because of this, Dan wasn't in an alliance come the merge, but also had the fortune of not being one of the targets for elimination. Despite having no alliance, Dan voted with the majority against Alina on Day 21. On Day 24, however, he, along with Benry Henry and Fabio Birza joined Marty's attempted 'all-male alliance.' Unfortunately for Marty, Sash Lenahan and Chase Rice reneged against the alliance, resulting in Marty's elimination. This put a target on Dan's back. It seemed as if Dan's days were numbered, but Dan was once again spared when Holly and NaOnka felt it more important to vote off the leader of the majority alliance, Brenda Lowe, so Dan went along and voted off Brenda as well. Dan sat out of the Reward Challenge in the next episode due to the Schoolyard Pick, but was given the opportunity to predict the winning team, who he would join on reward should they win. He chose the blue team, who eventually won, so Dan went on reward with Benry, Chase, and NaOnka to see a sneak peek of Gulliver's Travels.

With NaOnka and Kelly Shinn quitting on Day 28, Dan struggled to get Sash to align with him, Fabio, and Benry to take out Chase, Holly, and Jane Bright, and was even more nervous because of all potential swing votes, it was Sash, who had taken out Marty and Brenda, even after they tried to align with him. When efforts seemed to be failing, Dan was on board with Benry's idea of getting Sash, Chase, Holly, and Jane to vote off Fabio, in hopes of probably getting a third vote in order to stay strong. However, Benry ended up eliminated on Day 32, forcing Dan to realign with Fabio. In the Reward Challenge of Episode 13, Dan was happy to see his son again, and called Chase a scumbag for not taking him and his son on reward. Fabio, Dan, and Jane were all on the same page: they were disappointed in Chase. When Fabio won immunity, Chase wanted to vote off Dan, but Dan was once again spared by Sash and Holly, convincing Chase that this may be the last opportunity to vote off Jane. At Tribal Council, the Chase-Holly-Sash alliance was revealed, so Dan thought it would make sense to vote with Fabio and Jane against Holly, but regardless, Dan voted for Jane.

On Day 37, with Fabio immune, Dan was a target once again. Chase and Holly thought that Dan would get a lot of jury votes since he was a likable guy and friends with virtually everyone on the jury. Fabio and Dan desperately tried to get Sash to go against Holly, but it seemed up in the air. At Tribal Council, Sash seemed most likely to go against Dan, so knowing this, Fabio also voted against Dan, resulting in Dan being voted off unanimously, becoming the eighth member of the jury and finishing in fifth place. Although the plan was to vote off Holly, Dan switched his vote to Chase, saying he wanted nothing to do with him, and also insulted Holly and Sash.

At the Final Tribal Council, Dan shredded Sash and Chase, telling Sash that he should see a doctor to get his eye fixed because he hates his wink and his laugh and his smile. Dan also told Chase that beauty fades, but dumb is forever, and that Chase is the reason why the jury is where they are now, as he let Dan down, he let Jane down, and countless others. Due to his dislike of the other finalists, he voted for Fabio, who became the Sole Survivor in a 5-4-0 vote.

At the Reunion, Holly bought Dan cowboy boots and it appeared as if their conflict was resolved. Jeff Probst asked Dan why he did Survivor if he's well off, but the question remained unanswered courtesy of Dan digressing.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Espada Medallion of Power Reward No Lost
Getting Tanked Immunity No Lost
2 Hay Mate Reward/Immunity Yes Won
3 Get Barreled Reward/Immunity No Lost
4 Seers and Doers Reward/Immunity Yes Lost
5 Don't Let Your Balls Drop Reward No Won
Spit It Out Immunity No Lost
6 Kitty Litter1 Immunity Lost
Reward Yes Lost
7 Jump Shot Reward No Won
Cannon Ski-Ball Immunity No Won
Tribes Merged, Day 19
8 Libertad Push Me, Pull You Immunity Lost
9 TLP O-Course Reward No Won
Flashback Immunity Lost
10 Barrel Bridge Reward Lost
Splash Back Immunity Lost
12 Gulliver's Travels Reward Yes Shared2
13 Second Chance Reward Lost
Money Box Immunity Lost
14 Poolin' Around Reward Lost
Coat of Arms Immunity Lost
15 Donkey Dig Immunity Lost
Voted Out, Day 37
Notes:
^1 The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.
^2 By virtue of sitting out of the challenge, Dan would automatically join the winning team on the reward.

Episode Dan's
Votes
Voted Against
Dan
1 Wendy -
2 Espada Tribe Immune
3 Jimmy J. Jimmy J.
4 Jimmy T. Holly, Jane,
Jimmy T.
5 Tyrone -
6 Yve Yve
7 Espada Tribe Immune
8 Alina -
9 Jane -
10 Brenda -
12 No Vote
13 Fabio -
14 Jane -
15 Chase Chase, Fabio,
Holly, Sash
Voted Out, Day 37
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Fabio

Post-Survivor[]

Death[]

Dan succumbed to progressive supranuclear palsy on September 3, 2022. He was 75.[2][3]

Trivia[]

  • Dan is the highest-placing man from the original Espada tribe.
  • Dan lost 25 lbs. during his time in Nicaragua.[4]

References[]

Survivor: Nicaragua Castaways
 Alina
La Flor
S21 alina t
 Benry
La Flor
S21 benry t
 Brenda
La Flor
S21 brenda t
 Chase
La Flor
S21 chase t
 Dan
Espada
S21 dan t
 Fabio
La Flor
S21 fabio t
 Holly
Espada
S21 holly t
 Jane
Espada
S21 jane t
 Jill
Espada
S21 jill t
 Jimmy J.
Espada
S21 jimmyj t
 Jimmy T.
Espada
S21 jimmyt t
 Kelly B.
La Flor
S21 kellyb t
 Kelly S.
La Flor
S21 kellys t
 Marty
Espada
S21 marty t
 NaOnka
La Flor
S21 naonka t
 Sash
La Flor
S21 sash t
 Shannon
La Flor
S21 shannon t
 Tyrone
Espada
S21 tyrone t
 Wendy
Espada
S21 wendy t
 Yve
Espada
S21 yve t
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