CBS premiered it’s new feel-good reality TV show Buddy Games where old friends team up to try and win $200,000 while playing summer camp games together, hosted by movie star Josh Duhamel. The six teams competed in some tough competitions the first night, getting electrically shocked, having to jump in a giant mud pit, eating disgusting food, stripping down and dragging their own body weight. At the end of the first episode, a tribute was posted, prompting viewers to ask who is Keith Sayers and the “In Memory” at the start of the credits.
A Buddy Games editor misspelled Keith’s name in the tribute at the end of the premiere (CBS).
Well, it looks like the tribute was for recently deceased Survivor and reality TV producer Keith Sayres, but the post production spelled his name wrong.
Buddy Games: Who Is Keith Sayres Paid Tribute At The End Of Premiere
Keith Sayres with a friend (Instagram).
Keith Sayres IMDb account shows he worked on many seasons of Survivor as an associate and segment producer. He also worked on reality TV dating show Married At First Sight.
Although he didn’t work on Buddy Games, entertainment news publication Distractify pieced together his colleague connection to Ronald Hysten, a co-executive producer on Buddy Games. Keith Sayres worked on Survivor from 2012 for many years, and got to travel all over the world to film the show. Earlier in 2023, a tribute at the beginning of the credits of a Survivor episode read, “In loving memory of our friend and colleague Keith Sayres.”
?Keith Sayres?was one of the brightest lights during my time on Survivor. He conducted my confessionals while on Ghost Island all alone. We laughed and laughed and he made me feel loved instead of lonely. His smile was majestic. May he rest in peace. #Survivor
— Kellyn Bechtold (@thekellynb) March 2, 2023
The cause of death of Sayres, but he certainly was loved by his colleagues, family and friends. Two GoFundMe campaigns raised $48,ooo and nearly $8,000 for his family. Many people left touching comments about the warm, funny and kind man he was.
“Keith is from my hometown as well and although I didn’t know him prior to attending Howard he became like family away from home. Always smiling and always giving great advice. Such a great soul. May he RIP,” said Tomisha Coleman.
“Growing up in the Survivor community I heard stories of how incredible of a person and coworker Keith was. When I was lucky enough to get to know him, he was always a warm ray of sunshine, kind and encouraging. I’m better for knowing him and the impact he had on the people around him will never be forgotten,” another donator to his family said. Friends and family also left tributes on Keith’s Instagram.
Keith also worked on Celebrity Apprentice and other reality TV shows productions. One of his Instagram pics is of him alongside Survivor host Jeff Probst.
