Howie Mandel Biography Quotes 15 Report mistakes

Early Life and Beginnings
Howard Michael Mandel was born on November 29, 1955, in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in the Willowdale neighborhood of North York. A restless, quick-witted child who gravitated to pranks and performance, he struggled to sit still in traditional classrooms and was eventually expelled from high school after a notorious practical joke. He moved into sales, working as a carpet salesman, and found that the same quick rapport and instinct for timing that helped him make a sale could hold a crowd. Those skills drew him onto open-mic stages, and he began performing stand-up at clubs such as Yuk Yuk's in Toronto before venturing to Los Angeles to appear at The Comedy Store, where impresario Mitzi Shore gave him valuable stage time.

Breakthrough in Comedy and Television
Mandel's stand-up, built around tight observational riffs, manic energy, and inventive bits like the surgical-glove-on-the-head routine, led to television exposure on shows such as Make Me Laugh. The big pivot came with acting. In 1982 he joined the ensemble of the acclaimed medical drama St. Elsewhere, playing the idealistic Dr. Wayne Fiscus. Over six seasons he worked alongside an extraordinary cast that included Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, William Daniels, and Bonnie Bartlett, helping to define a series remembered for its realism, humor, and ambition. Even while acting, he continued touring as a comic, refining the impish persona that became his signature.

Voice Work and Film
Parallel to his live-action success, Mandel became a sought-after voice actor. He provided the voice of Gizmo, the endearing Mogwai, in Joe Dante's Gremlins and its sequel, performances that married his elastic vocal range to an iconic character. He later created and executive-produced the animated series Bobby's World, voicing Bobby Generic and his father, and drawing on family life and childhood memories for its stories. In features, he appeared in comedies such as Walk Like a Man and co-starred with Fred Savage in Little Monsters, continuing to straddle adult and family entertainment with a mix of mischief and heart.

Game Shows and Hosting
In 2005 Mandel took a career-defining turn as the host of Deal or No Deal, guiding contestants through high-stakes choices with a mix of empathy, suspense, and levity. The show became a cultural touchstone, and he hosted versions in both the United States and Canada, returning for revivals and specials years after its initial run. He later fronted hidden-camera and social-experiment programs, including Howie Do It and Mobbed, and brought his mischievous sensibility to formats that hinged on surprise and human reactions. He continued to pop up across platforms, from guest hosting to streaming-era entries like Bullsh*t The Game Show.

Americas Got Talent and Later Television
In 2010 Mandel joined Americas Got Talent as a judge, becoming a cornerstone of the long-running competition. Over successive seasons he shared the panel with Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne, later with Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, and Mel B, and eventually with Simon Cowell and Sofia Vergara, while hosts Nick Cannon, Tyra Banks, and Terry Crews steered the live broadcasts. Mandel's feedback, delivered with a comic's instincts and a mentor's warmth, helped shape the shows tone. He also served as a judge on Canadas Got Talent, maintaining ties to the country where he began. His production banner, Alevy Productions, named in tribute to his parents Al and Evy, appeared across many of these projects.

Personal Life
Mandel married his high school sweetheart, Terry, in 1980, and the couple raised three children: daughters Jackie and Riley, and son Alex. Family life has frequently informed his work, from stories told onstage to the affectionate sensibility of Bobby's World. Away from the camera, he is candid about living with ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, including a pronounced fear of germs that has shaped habits like his trademark fist-bump greeting. His memoir, Heres the Deal: Dont Touch Me, chronicles his mental health journey with humor and clarity, offering a window into the challenges behind the comedy.

Advocacy and Public Presence
By talking openly about anxiety, OCD, and the tools he uses to cope, Mandel helped normalize conversations about mental health at a time when such topics were often hidden. He speaks at events, supports awareness campaigns, and uses broadcast and digital platforms to reach audiences beyond entertainment. He has remained active as a touring stand-up, and in recent years he has collaborated with his daughter Jackie on the podcast Howie Mandel Does Stuff, extending his conversational, spontaneous style into long-form interviews and riffs.

Honors and Influence
Mandel has been recognized with honors that include stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Canadas Walk of Fame, reflecting a career that bridges his Canadian beginnings and American mainstream success. His trajectory from Toronto clubs to primetime network stages shows the durability of a performer who reinvented himself without abandoning the curiosity and childlike play that powered his earliest bits. Whether coaxing a Deal or No Deal contestant through a life-altering decision, trading jabs and insights with fellow judges like Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum, or spinning a story from a germaphobes daily life, he has remained unmistakably himself: agile, eager, and always alert to the human moment inside the joke.

Legacy
Howie Mandel stands as a rare multi-hyphenate whose resume includes landmark drama, family animation, iconic game shows, and enduring stand-up. The people around him have been central to that arc: collaborators like Denzel Washington and Ed Begley Jr. from St. Elsewhere; creative partners in animation and variety television; and family members, especially Terry, Jackie, Riley, and Alex, who form the nucleus of the personal world he often references. With decades onstage and onscreen, he continues to shape popular culture not by chasing trends but by amplifying the curiosity and empathy that have always defined his act.

Our collection contains 15 quotes who is written by Howie, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Motivational - Writing - Overcoming Obstacles - Art.

Other people realated to Howie: Simon Cowell (Entertainer), Bruce Paltrow (Producer)