Howie Mandel
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Image:Inside-dealornodeal.jpg Howie Michael Mandel II (born November 29, 1955 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian-born Jewish comedian and actor who came to national attention in the United States during a six-year stint on St. Elsewhere. He was also the creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated children's animated series, Bobby's World, to which he supplied the voices of the title character and his father. Bobby's World ran for eight seasons on Fox Broadcasting Company and was later syndicated. He also played the lead role of the professor in the short-lived TV series The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys, and guest-starred on a 1996 episode of the ABC TV series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as DC Comics supervillain Mister Mxyzptlk. He also hosted his own syndicated talk show, The Howie Mandel Show. The show got cancelled after one season on the air.
More recently, he is known for his frequent appearances as a stand-up comedian and for his hidden camera segments on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Also, he has appeared in many television commercials for Boston Pizza as its hired spokesperson. In April 2004, he was selected as number 82 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. In October 2005, he was named to be the host of the U.S. version of Deal or No Deal, which debuted on December 19, 2005, on NBC and became a popular program in early 2006.
Mandel is a notable alumnus of Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am's Hebrew School located in Toronto, Ontario, as well as three other Toronto high schools. [1].
Trivia
Image:HowieandtheDealorNoDealModels.jpg
- Mandel has obsessive-compulsive disorder and mysophobia (fear of germs) to the point that he does not shake hands with anyone. However, it now appears he may have slightly gotten over his mysophobia, as he can be seen on Deal or No Deal giving the contestants congratulatory gestures such as: hitting another's fist with his own fist, hugging them, and putting his hands on their shoulders. [2]
- He revealed on The Howard Stern Show that his shaved head is not related to natural hair loss, but to his mysophobia. He stated that the lack of hair makes him feel cleaner.[3]
- Mandel has a signature sign-off on Deal Or No Deal: starting with his right hand in a salute position, he waves in a circular motion away from his face while twisting his wrist, as the crane shot typically pulls out and the show fades out.
- Originally, Mandel opted not to host Deal Or No Deal, but his wife Terry talked him into hosting the show.
- Mandel was voted sexiest comedian amongst males through a University of Pennsylvania survey of 20,000 people.
- Mandel was impersonated by Fred Armisen on Saturday Night Live on April 8, 2006.
- Mandel was ranked #82 on the "100 Unsexist Male Celebs in the world." list. [4]