Mike "Boogie" Malin, a scheming Concord native who sported "603" T-shirts and offered New Hampshire shout-outs throughout the show's three-month run, was voted the winner of the reality television show Big Brother All-Stars last night.
As Malin cajoled the judges and awaited news of the final vote, a large, enthusiastic crowd of relatives and supporters gathered at Cheers in Concord to, well, cheer him on.
Sheryl Cheney, clutching a homemade placard and bouncing up and down in front of the television, shouted when she learned that her husband's cousin had won. "I told you he was going to win,"she said, turning to another exultant relative. "I told you."
Before the big win of $500,000 last night, Malin had already won $15,000, a convertible (which he'd promised to his mother) and a trip for two to Aruba (which he said last night he'd probably give to his business partner). He'd also mentioned on the air that his family was watching the show at Cheers.
Malin, who left Concord about 12 years ago for California, owns a group of restaurants and bars in Los Angeles and Atlanta. This season was his second appearance on the television series. He fared less well in his first Big Brother season five years ago but was invited back, along with the winner of that season, to participate in this year's contest for the show's alumni.
A core of about a dozen family members has been meeting at Cheers to watch the season unfold. With three episodes a week, it's been a bit of a commitment. Last night, more than 30 Malin supporters filled the back of the restaurant's first floor.
Kevin Rehm, the restaurant's general manager, said the Boogie contingent has been among his biggest regular groups. To commemorate the season finale, he invited family members to decorate their area with video stills from the series, and he gave them a tray of free appetizers.
After Malin mentioned Cheers on the air, Rehm said, "my phone was ringing off the hook."
On the show, contestants were sequestered in a house filled with cameras and no access to the outside world. Each week, through a complicated procedure, one cast member was voted off the show. Last night, Malin faced only Erika Landin, a Pilates instructor from Chicago with whom he'd had a strategic, sham romance that he called a "showmance." His win was decided by votes from the seven evicted cast members who had lasted the longest. Only one voted for Landin.
As the votes were read one at a time by the show's host, Julie Chen, the Malin supporters jumped, cheered and hugged each time his name was called. Landin's lone vote drew a boo.
Still, the biggest cheer came when a live shot showed Malin's parents, who flew out to Los Angeles for the taping.
"We're all his cousins - aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and third cousins," explained Terri St. Laurent, who had made the posters and placards and was organizing the signing of a Cheers T-shirt for Malin.
But Boogie's fan base stretched beyond his family tree. His relatives were joined by a handful of strangers, who'd heard Malin mention Cheers on the show and figured they ought to watch the finale there.
"I've just been obsessed with the show since he's been on it," said Jodie Martin, who drove from Goffstown to Concord for the event. Martin and a friend came sporting homemade "603 loves Boogie" T-shirts. "We have to vote for the local."
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