Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian comedian,
television personality, screenwriter, actor, voice actor, producer,
director, entrepreneur, game show host, and author. He hosted the CNBC
(originally NBC) game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's
daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. In 1987, Mandel starred
alongside Amy Steel in the comedy film Walk Like a Man. From 1982 to
1988, Mandel played rowdy ER intern Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC
medical drama St. Elsewhere. He also created, voiced, and starred in
the FOX's children's cartoon Bobby's World, and he judges on NBC's
America's Got Talent.Mandel was born and raised in the Willowdale area
of north Toronto, Ontario. He is Jewish, and his ancestors emigrated
from Romania and Poland. Mandel is a distant cousin of Israeli
violinist Itzhak Perlman. His father was a lighting manufacturer and a
real estate agent. Mandel was expelled from his high school (Northview
Heights Secondary School) for impersonating a school official and
hiring a construction company to build an addition to his school.
Afterwards, Mandel worked as a carpet salesman. He was a stand-up
comedian at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, and by September 1978 he had a
week-long booking as a featured act, billed as "a wild and crazy
borderline psychotic". His repertoire included placing a latex glove
over his head and inflating it by blowing through his nose, the
fingers of the glove extending above his head like a cockscomb. When
the audience reacted uproariously to that and similar antics, his
trademark response was to extend his arms palms up, look incredulous,
and say, "it's you."On a trip to Los Angeles, Mandel performed a set
at The Comedy Store, which resulted in his being hired as a regular
performer. A producer for the syndicated comedy game show Make Me
Laugh saw him there and booked Mandel for several appearances during
the show's run in 1979 and 1980. He was booked to open for David
Letterman at shows in the summer of 1979. CBC-TV's head of variety
programming saw his performance in October 1979 and immediately signed
him for a TV special. In 1980, he won the lead role in the Canadian
movie Gas, co-starring Susan Anspach and Donald Sutherland. Mandel was
one of the first "VeeJays" to appear on Nickelodeon's music video
series Pop Clips.
television personality, screenwriter, actor, voice actor, producer,
director, entrepreneur, game show host, and author. He hosted the CNBC
(originally NBC) game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's
daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. In 1987, Mandel starred
alongside Amy Steel in the comedy film Walk Like a Man. From 1982 to
1988, Mandel played rowdy ER intern Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC
medical drama St. Elsewhere. He also created, voiced, and starred in
the FOX's children's cartoon Bobby's World, and he judges on NBC's
America's Got Talent.Mandel was born and raised in the Willowdale area
of north Toronto, Ontario. He is Jewish, and his ancestors emigrated
from Romania and Poland. Mandel is a distant cousin of Israeli
violinist Itzhak Perlman. His father was a lighting manufacturer and a
real estate agent. Mandel was expelled from his high school (Northview
Heights Secondary School) for impersonating a school official and
hiring a construction company to build an addition to his school.
Afterwards, Mandel worked as a carpet salesman. He was a stand-up
comedian at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, and by September 1978 he had a
week-long booking as a featured act, billed as "a wild and crazy
borderline psychotic". His repertoire included placing a latex glove
over his head and inflating it by blowing through his nose, the
fingers of the glove extending above his head like a cockscomb. When
the audience reacted uproariously to that and similar antics, his
trademark response was to extend his arms palms up, look incredulous,
and say, "it's you."On a trip to Los Angeles, Mandel performed a set
at The Comedy Store, which resulted in his being hired as a regular
performer. A producer for the syndicated comedy game show Make Me
Laugh saw him there and booked Mandel for several appearances during
the show's run in 1979 and 1980. He was booked to open for David
Letterman at shows in the summer of 1979. CBC-TV's head of variety
programming saw his performance in October 1979 and immediately signed
him for a TV special. In 1980, he won the lead role in the Canadian
movie Gas, co-starring Susan Anspach and Donald Sutherland. Mandel was
one of the first "VeeJays" to appear on Nickelodeon's music video
series Pop Clips.
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