Survivor 49 Episode 1 was dedicated to a man named Vince Costello. The onscreen tribute at the end of the episode read, “In loving memory of Vince Costello, forever in our hearts.”
Costello, a Fiji native, was a longtime Survivor crew member whose family followed in his footsteps by working on the series. He was diagnosed with late-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) earlier this year, and the illness required him and his family to temporarily relocate to Australia. This was shared in a GoFundMe set up on July 21, 2025, by Survivor executive producer Jesse Jensen. The last update on that page was from Jensen on July 28, who thanked everyone who donated for their support (it raised over $86,000 AUD). The GoFundMe has since closed.
“Vince was truly touched and humbled by the amount of support he received from you all and wanted me to pass on a huge a vinaka vakalevu from him and the whole family,” Jensen wrote in the July 28 update. “He can’t thank you enough. It has meant the world to them.” Jensen noted that the fundraiser was closed at Costello’s request.
Costello and his family were one of many Survivor families profiled by People on the set of Season 50 in June. According to an editor’s note in that story, Costello died after Season 50 wrapped filming. He was 61.
Here, learn more about Costello and his family ties to Survivor.
Who is Vince Costello from Survivor?
Costello was a location manager for Survivor for about a decade. He started working on the show on Season 33, Millennials vs. Gen X. Being a location manager meant he searched for viable locations on the Mamanuca Islands to set up the tribe camp, challenges, and Tribal Council sets.
What did Vince Costello’s children do on Survivor?
Survivor is a big family. Jeff Probst’s niece works on the show as a crew member, and relationships formed between crew members have resulted in no less than 67 Survivor babies being born over the years. Some of those kids even work for the show now, and other families, like Costello’s, brought their families with them after being hired by the show.
Three of Costello’s children work for Survivor. Aline Costello, 28, started as a Dream Team member (the athletes who test out every challenge and demonstrate them onscreen) before becoming a locations assistant alongside her dad.
“We’re a very tight family, so I feel like if anyone could do it, it would be us. It’s been good,” Aline told People. Costello added, “No fights in public.”
His son, Patrick Costello, 21, is a camera operator. He spent some of his childhood years “running around” the set before returning as an adult to work on the crew.
Costello told People that he worked on around 50 productions but never imagined that Survivor was “going to change my life and my family’s lives.”
“Fiji is very much into culture and into respect, and it’s been great working for Survivor in that respect,” he says. “From every single Fijian citizen on this job and for all the citizens of our little country, we’ve been very grateful.”
Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS