Who was Sean Foley on Survivor and what happened to him? Survivor 49 tribute card dedication explained

The most recently aired episode of Survivor 49 concluded with a tribute to Sean Foley, a former crew member of the reality series, who died in November.

Sean Foley was an editor on Survivor from the show’s first season to its eighth season, as per Parade. He began working on the series’ title design in 2004. The news outlet notes that Foley also served as the Director of Photography of Survivor from its 22nd to 31st seasons. Foley’s last stint at Survivor was in 2015.

Foley succumbed to brain cancer, as per his colleague, David Story.

At the end of the Survivor 49 episode, which aired on December 10, a tribute was paid to Foley and his contribution to the series:

“In memory of Sean Foley, our friend and colleague.”

BTW the dedication card at the end of tonight's #Survivor49 episode was for Sean Foley. He was an editor since the very beginning of the show, and worked specifically on the main titles for years: https://t.co/7ciiAIIjeb

— Mike Bloom (@AMikeBloomType) December 11, 2025

Apart from Survivor, Foley also worked on reality shows such as Shark Tank and The Contender. According to Entertainment Weekly, Foley served as the executive producer for the Naked and Afraid series, and also worked on its spinoff series, Naked and Afraid XL.

Mandy Horvath, one of the cast members of Naked and Afraid, shared on Facebook that while struggling with cancer, Foley underwent two craniotomies, eventually losing his driving abilities.

Heartfelt tributes have been pouring in for Sean Foley

Sean Foley’s impact on the reality TV industry is being remembered fondly by those who worked closely with him. After Foley died, his Naked and Afraid colleague, David Story, penned an emotional dedication to the executive producer on social media:

“We lost one of the good ones this weekend. Brain cancer has taken my colleague, my friend, my brother-in-arms Sean Foley away. The world is a lesser place today than it was before. I met Sean in 2014 in the break room at the production company that produced NAKED AND AFRAID. You often hear descriptions of people having a twinkle in their eye. Until I met Sean, I thought that was an exaggeration, an abstraction; nobody really has eyes that twinkle. But he did.”

Story also emphasized that Foley possessed a kind soul who could motivate those around him. He added,

“I couldn’t believe he was a showrunner at first; weren’t showrunners supposed to be egotistical, screaming jerks? Sean was the opposite of all that.  But that twinkle, that exuberance was part of his arsenal; like a world-class athlete that’s so on top of his game that he can’t help but take joy in it…But successful shows weren’t Sean’s legacy. It’s how he led and inspired everyone around him.  One of our coworkers nailed it: 'he was the perfect balance of taking the assignment of making great television seriously, without taking himself seriously at all.' That’s so true.”

Mandy Horvath, a double amputee who featured in the most recent season of Naked and Afraid, shared on social media that Foley supported her participation in the series and always pushed her to do better. While sharing the impact Foley had on her, Horvath wrote,

“He eased my fears. He challenged me. He made everything possible. He stayed true to his promise and then some. Somewhere in all of that, we became close. I learned that behind the scenes he was fighting brain cancer while still carrying the weight of being the executive producer for Naked and Afraid. He carried that battle privately.”

Over his long career in reality TV, Foley was nominated five times for an Emmy for his editing work on Survivor and once for his contributions to The Contender.