Bio
Howie Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host and actor best known as the host of the television game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's syndicated and Canadian counterparts.
Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere. He is also well-known as creator and star of the children's cartoon Bobby's World.
Mandel received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality/Competition Host for Deal or No Deal and a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show Host for the syndicated version of the show.
In 2009, he released his frank, funny, no-holds-barred memoir, Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me, which revealed his ongoing struggle with OCD and ADHD and how it has shaped his life and career. The book made The New York Times Bestseller List on its first week of release and remained there for several weeks.
Mandel's career began on a dare during a trip to Los Angeles in 1979. He was at the legendary Comedy Store on amateur night and was coaxed by his friends to get up and try his luck. As fate would have it, there was a producer in the crowd who immediately hired him to appear on the comedy game show Make Me Laugh.
His appearance on the show led to talk show appearances, a stint as Diana Ross' opening act and eventually to the award-winning television series St. Elsewhere, where he spent six seasons as Dr. Wayne Fiscus.
His Emmy Award-nominated animated children series, Bobby's World, ran for eight seasons on FOX and now appears in syndication six days a week in 65 countries. As the series' creator and executive producer, Mandel was closely involved in the writing, and he provided the voice of Bobby, Bobby's dad and other characters. He attributes the show's success to drawing the story lines from real life.
Mandel has done countless comedy specials both on cable and network television; has hosted his own syndicated talk show, The Howie Mandel Show; and continues to be a mainstay on the talk-show circuit.
He frequently appears on The Tonight Show to perform his signature hidden-camera bits, and he is one of the first people Regis Philbin calls to fill in for him on Live with Regis and Kelly.
He also continues to perform as many as 200 concerts a year throughout the U.S. and Canada.
He was one of the hosts of the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2008, having been nominated with his co-hosts in the category Outstanding Host for a Reality Show or Reality Competition. It was the first year of the category.
He joined America's Got Talent as a judge for the fifth season in 2010, replacing David Hasselhoff. The following year he hosted the hidden camera reality series Mobbed.