Howie Mandel's Real Name: Howie Michael Mandel

Quick answer: Howie Mandel was born Howie Michael Mandel on November 29, 1955, in Toronto, Ontario, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia and EBSCO Research Starters. The Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television profile on Encyclopedia.com gives the same date and city and lists his full name as Howie Michael Mandel II. In these sources Howie is his given name, not a nickname.

Real name and early life

The Canadian Encyclopedia says he was raised in Toronto and sold carpets after high school. Canada's Walk of Fame says he was expelled from William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute for impersonating a school board member and signing a construction contract for an addition to the school. He later opened his own carpet business. Encyclopedia.com says he owned carpet stores from about 1975 to 1979 and that his father was a lighting manufacturer and realtor.

On a 1979 trip to Los Angeles, friends coaxed him onstage at the Comedy Store's amateur night. A producer in the audience hired him for the comedy game show Make Me Laugh, according to Canada's Walk of Fame. That led to talk show spots and work as an opening act for Diana Ross.

Career highlights

His signature stand-up stunt was pulling a latex glove over his head and inflating it with his nose, which gave his comedy album Fits Like a Glove its title. In 1982 he joined NBC's St. Elsewhere as Dr. Wayne Fiscus and stayed six seasons. He voiced Gizmo in Gremlins (1984) and its 1990 sequel, and voiced Bunsen, Animal, and Skeeter in the first two seasons of Muppet Babies.

Starting in 1990, he created and executive-produced the animated series Bobby's World and voiced its title character. The Canadian Encyclopedia says it ran eight seasons. His talk show, The Howie Mandel Show, lasted one season in 1998–99.

Deal or No Deal premiered in December 2005 with Mandel as host and became a hit within a month. EBSCO says it brought him a 2008 Primetime Emmy nomination. In 2010 he joined America's Got Talent as a judge, replacing David Hasselhoff. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008 and entered Canada's Walk of Fame in 2009.

In his 2009 memoir, Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me, he wrote openly about obsessive-compulsive disorder and mysophobia. The Canadian Encyclopedia says he is a spokesperson for the Bell Let's Talk mental health campaign.

Name notes for searchers

Searchers sometimes ask whether Howie is short for Howard. The Canadian Encyclopedia, EBSCO, and Encyclopedia.com all give his given name as Howie. Encyclopedia.com adds the suffix II. EBSCO says he married his high school sweetheart, Terry (née Soil), in 1980; they have three children.