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Jon P. Dalton (infamously known as Jonny Fairplay) is a contestant from Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Micronesia.

One of the series most recognisable and polarising villains, Dalton became notorious for the "Dead Grandma Lie" in Pearl Islands and his subsequent misdemeanours whilst competing for the million dollar prize.

Profile

Pearl Islands

Originally from Danville, Virginia, Jon Dalton attended George Washington High School followed by college at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg. After college, he moved to Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon before settling in Los Angeles. He is currently single and most recently worked as a senior art consultant for the Tamara Bane Gallery. He previously worked as a production assistant for a pro wrestler; he also worked in radio ad sales and phone sales. His three favorite hobbies are girls, music and television. He describes himself as sharp, quick and amazing. He is most proud of being the first person in his family to go to college and leave his hometown. His favorite sport is college football. His hero is Hugh Hefner. He believes he's a perfect candidate for SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS because he claims he is "smarter than the average bear" with great organizational skills, leadership ability, has a strong work ethic and doesn't leave things unfinished. His birth date is March 11, 1974.

Micronesia

Originally from Danville, Virginia, Jon Dalton attended George Washington High School followed by college at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg. After college, he moved to Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon before settling in Los Angeles.

Dalton burst onto the reality TV scene with the help of his best friend, Thunder D, and the infamous "Dead Grandma" deception on SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS, on which he was the breakout star (and rated as the #2 television moment in E!'s "101 Most Outrageous TV Moments"). He has continued to excel as one of the more memorable faces of reality TV and professional wrestling and signed a contract with TNA Wrestling, combining for the first time the reality television and wrestling genres. He went on to win an ESPY Award for best non-sports sports moment by being body slammed over the top rope by Chicago Bears All-Pro player Brian Urlacher. From Howard Stern to "Tyra Banks," Jack & Ron & Fez to "Living It Up with Allie," Dalton has made numerous memorable radio and TV appearances.

In the reality genre, Dalton has continued to deliver some of the most memorable moments on television. His MTV "True Life" is the highest-rated episode in the history of the series. On "Celebrity Poker Showdown," he "Fairplayed" his longtime friend Trishelle Canatella by eliminating her from the game. On A&E's "Inked" he was kicked out of the tattoo Parlor. On "Reality Stars Fear Factor" he ousted Jonathan Baker and Victoria Fuller and went on to become the first contestant in the history of the show to return after his eviction to serve as co-host. Dalton again shocked the world when he was on the Summer 2005 "Kill Reality," in which he supplied this show with an endless string of memorable moments. He also delivered an inspired performance as DQ in the 2005 motion picture, "The Scorned," which was spawned from "Kill Reality." All these memorable appearances have resulted in Dalton receiving The Most Memorable Reality Star in the History of Reality Television honor at the Really Awards on Fox Reality.

Dalton's birth date is March 11, 1974.

Survivor: Pearl Islands

On Survivor, Dalton constructed what host Jeff Probst called "the greatest lie in Survivor history." Before Dalton left to compete on the show, he told a friend of his that if the friend were ever invited to the Pearl Islands as part of the loved-one-related challenge to tell Dalton that his grandmother had died. There was indeed such a challenge, and Dalton's friend told him, according to plan, that his grandmother had died. Probst has also publicly said:

...then you have Jonny Fairplay, who's completely despicable. It was actually fun to work with Fairplay on the show because he's a producer's dream. When he shows up drunk or flips somebody off, he's bringing you gold every time. I wish we had a Jonny Fairplay every season. Personally, however, he's an absolute jackass whose actions at the Vanuatu finale after-party pissed me off so much that he's banned from any event that I'm at from now on. I'm done with Jonny Fairplay.

—Jeff Probst (on Jonny Fairplay)


Dalton was a member of the Drake tribe, where he was known for his frequent clashes with tribemates Shawn Cohen and Sandra Diaz-Twine. The Drake tribe ultimately threw the fourth Immunity Challenge on Day 12, causing Dalton to backstab his close friend and ally Burton Roberts. At the next Immunity Challenge, which was where both tribes had to eat blended-up delicacies of disgusting foods, Michelle Tesauro, who had no trouble eating the food, was instructed by Drake to appear as if she had trouble downing the food so that Morgan would pick her for the tie-breaker, which would help Drake win. However, Michelle did not go along with the plan, ultimately costing Drake the Immunity win after they picked Sandra in the tiebreaker. An annoyed Dalton flipped over the camera and stated that it was what he thought of Michelle's ego and Michelle was voted out. Drake lost a third straight Immunity Challenge, and Dalton, along with tribemate Trish Dunn voted for Rupert, but Trish left 4-2. An angered Rupert argued with Dalton, knowing that Dalton had voted for him. The two men, however, made amends. Both tribes learned of the Outcast twists, and were ultimately beaten by the Outcasts at the Immunity Challenge. Dalton voted out his rival Shawn, much to his glee.

Dalton then had a close alliance and friendship with Burton after his return to the game, despite Dalton backstabbing him.

At the Final 7, Dalton committed the move that he would be famous for in Survivor history. Dalton's friend Dan arrived to accompany Dalton at the Loved One's Reward Challenge and informed him that his grandma was dead, and his grandma was his original choice to come to the Island. Out of sympathy, the other members of the Balboa tribe decided to let Dalton win reward so that he could get more information on his grandmother's death. Unbeknownst to the 6 of them, it was a pre-planned move orchestrated by Dalton before his arrival to the island and his grandmother had been, in fact, alive and well.

The closeness of Burton and Jon eventually caused Burton's demise at the Final 5 after the women were able to plot against the two after Burton took Jon along after winning a Reward Challenge. Dalton, knowing he was the next to go at the Final 4, managed to save himself an additional 3 days by exposing that Darrah Johnson nor Sandra had any intentions on taking Lillian to the Final 2 and that Lillian was a jury threat due to her ability to play the "sympathy card", causing a rift between the women. At Tribal Council, Darrah was voted out 3-1.

At the Final 3, Jon once again found himself vulnerable after losing the Immunity Challenge. Ultimately, he was voted out by Lillian at the following Tribal Council due to Lillian being touched by Sandra's motivation of providing for her family.

Voting History

Jon's Voting History
Episode Jon's
Votes
Voted Against
Jon
1 Drake Tribe Immune
2 Drake Tribe Immune
3 Drake Tribe Immune
4 Burton -
5 Michelle -
6 Rupert -
7 Shawn Shawn
8 Andrew Andrew, Darrah,
Ryan O., Tijuana
9 Ryan O. -
10 Rupert Sandra
11 Tijuana -
12 Christa -
13 Lillian -
14 Darrah -
Ineligible Lillian
Voted Out, Day 38
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Sandra

Survivor: Micronesia

Dalton returned as part of Malakal, the tribe of returning contestants who would compete against Airai, the tribe of die-hard Survivor fans. At the first individual Immunity Challenge on Day 1, where tribes were to retrieve an individual Immunity Idol (which would protect its wielder the first time his/her tribe goes to Tribal Council), Jon found the other tribe's idol, which was tied at the bow of a boat. Realizing his mistake, he rushed to the other boat, only to be accidentally tackled by fellow favorite Yau-Man Chan, to his anger. During his three-day stay, Jon's support was sought by two conflicting alliances: a budding "couples" alliance consisted of Parvati Shallow, James Clement, Ozzy Lusth, and Amanda Kimmel; and another foursome consisted of Ami Cusack, Yau-Man Chan, Eliza Orlins, and Jonathan Penner.

During the first tribal Immunity Challenge, the Malakal tribe found themselves to be too confident they would win against the fans, only to lose, in which Jon pointed out during their first Tribal Council. The same night, Jon expressed he was not fully committed to the game because he was thinking about his expectant girlfriend—going as far as to ask his tribe to vote him out. Regardless of the tribe's mixed reactions due to his infamous past as a schemer (e.g. lying about his grandmother's death to win a Reward Challenge), Jonny Fairplay's request was honored by the tribe, and he was voted out after an unanimous 9-1 vote.

Voting History

Jon's Voting History
Episode Jon's
Votes
Voted Against
Jon
1 Ozzy Amanda, Ami, Cirie, Eliza, James,
Jonathan, Ozzy, Parvati, Yau-Man
Voted Out, Day 3

 Post-Survivor

  • On October 2, 2007, Dalton was involved in an altercation at the Fox Reality Really Awards with former child star Danny Bonaduce. Dalton was booed on stage while speaking to the audience and after asking the audience about this, Bonaduce responded by saying "They're booing because they hate you." Dalton jumped on Bonaduce's back, only to be thrown off over Bonaduce's head, slamming him face first onto the stage floor, resulting in a bloody face and reportedly causing a loss of teeth. The two made up at the 2008 Reality Really Awards, where they poked fun at the incident. 
  • On January 9, 2010, Jon attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.

Trivia

  • Fairplay earned the title of "Best Survivor Villain" in America's Tribal Council.
  • Fairplay is the first castaway to be the last person voted out in one season and the first person voted out in another. The other castaway was Tina Wesson.
  • Fairplay is one of two contestants to come in third place in one season and twentieth place in another, along with Sugar Kiper.
    • Coincidentally, both were voted out in 9-1 votes in their second seasons.
  • Fairplay is the first person to receive nine votes against him (excluding revotes) at one Tribal Council. This record would be broken by Erik Cardona in Survivor: Samoa.
  • Fairplay was asked to compete in Survivor: All-Stars, but declined. 6 years later, he claimed he accepted an offer for Heroes vs. Villains, but was cut when Richard Hatch could not make it.  However, Jeff Probst denied this, stating that quitters were not asked back.
  • Fairplay is the seventh contestant to win the loved ones challenge, following Greg Buis, Tina Wesson, Lex van den Berghe, Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien, Helen Glover, and Matthew von Ertfelda.
  • Fairplay is the first castaway to be voted off a 10-person tribe prior to the merge.
  • Fairplay is the only member of Malakal to originate from a pre-All-Stars season.
  • Fairplay is the first contestant to drop the F-bomb when voting against someone, which happened in the tribal council when Drake voted out Shawn Cohen.
  • Fairplay made an appearance in the TV-movie, The Scorned.
  • Fairplay is the earliest male returning player to be voted off.
  • Jon is one of fourteen Survivor contestants who has been known to participate in other reality shows besides Survivor. The others are Keith Tollefson, Amber BrkichRob Mariano, Jenna MorascaEthan ZohnJohn PalyokTwila TannerRichard HatchWhitney Duncan, Hayden Moss, Natalie Anderson, Nadiya Anderson and Michael Jefferson.
  • Fairplay was inducted into Xfinity's Survivor Hall of Fame in 2013.
  • Fairplay was the first castaway to be drunk at Tribal Council, which happened the night where Drake voted out Burton Roberts

References

Survivor: Pearl Islands Castaways
 Andrew
Morgan
S7 andrew t
 Burton
Drake
S7 burton t
 Christa
Drake
S7 christa t
 Darrah
Morgan
S7 darrah t
 Jon
Drake
S7 jon t
 Lillian
Morgan
S7 lillian t
 Michelle
Drake
S7 michelle t
 Nicole
Morgan
S7 nicole t
 Osten
Morgan
S7 osten t
 Rupert
Drake
S7 rupert t
 Ryan O.
Morgan
S7 ryano t
 Ryan S.
Morgan
S7 ryans t
 Sandra
Drake
S7 sandra t
 Shawn
Drake
S7 shawn t
 Tijuana
Morgan
S7 tijuana t
 Trish
Drake
S7 trish t
Survivor: Micronesia Castaways
 Alexis
Airai
S16 alexis t
 Amanda
Malakal
S16 amanda t
 Ami
Malakal
S16 ami t
 Chet
Airai
S16 chet t
 Cirie
Malakal
S16 cirie t
 Eliza
Malakal
S16 eliza t
 Erik
Airai
S16 erik t
 James
Malakal
S16 james t
 Jason
Airai
S16 jason t
 Joel
Airai
S16 joel t
 Jon
Malakal
S16 jon t
 Jonathan
Malakal
S16 jonathan t
 Kathy
Airai
S16 kathy t
 Mary
Airai
S16 mary t
 Mikey B.
Airai
S16 mikeyb t
 Natalie
Airai
S16 natalie t
 Ozzy
Malakal
S16 ozzy t
 Parvati
Malakal
S16 parvati t
 Tracy
Airai
S16 tracy t
 Yau-Man
Malakal
S16 yauman t

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