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Phillips is king of the celebrity jungle

NBC

Lou Diamond Phillips, shown with host Damien Fahey, was named winner of "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Outta Here."

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2009

Actor Lou Diamond Phillips was crowned king of the jungle on "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here" during the Wednesday night finale on NBC.

Phillips seemed like a frontrunner from the beginning of the summer reality show.

"This experience has proven to be so much greater than I expected it to be," he said. "I expected it to be a competition. I expected it to be hard. What I did not expect was the emotional bonds that we've created, the foundation of relationships that will go on from here."

The cast of celebrities who faced challenges in a Costa Rican jungle also included WWE wrestler "diva" Torrie Wilson; retired NBA player John Salley; "American Idol" finalist Sanjaya Malakar; former supermodel Janice Dickinson; Patti Blagojevich, the wife of indicted former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich; Baldwin brother actors Stephen Baldwin and Daniel Baldwin; "Frangela" comedy duo members Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton; and "The Hills" stars Spencer Pratt, his new wife Heidi Montag; and her older sister Holly Montag.

The series started out with high ratings and made headlines when Pratt and Montag walked off the show, came back and left again. But as the competition progressed the ratings continued to slide downward.

Phillips' victory was determined by home viewer voting that took place after Tuesday night's broadcast.

In addition to making an impression with viewers, Phillips was popular with the rest of the show's celebrity cast who twice voted him to be the group's leader.

However, the show's spoiled brat Spencer Pratt has knocked Phillips, saying "I think he's a great person, but Lou Diamond Phillips I'm sure nobody watching this even knows who you are. I'm sorry, wrong demographic. But you were in a movie 30 years ago that I liked, 'Young Guns.' "

He also has complained that Phillips didn't give him and Heidi a bed when Phillips was the leader and Heidi was sick.

The celebrities were paid and also were playing for charity. Phillips' charity – the Art Has Heart Foundation, which awards scholarships to lower income high school students – will receive the biggest share of the prize money.

Blagojevich was playing for the Tampa-based Children's Cancer Center.

Although Phillips, 47, has made his share of low-budget thrillers and made-for-TV movies, he starred in as Ritchie Valens in the film, "La Bamba," and was nominated for a Tony for Broadway's "The King and I."

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654

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