Michelle Kaplan

Howie Mandel - Expect the Unexpected

Expect the unexpected when Howie Mandel performs live. No one knows what’s going to happen - not even Howie.

Mandel’s unique style of comedy touches a chord with his audience, because he gives his listeners a chance to get a little bit closer to the child inside. He brings us down that road where playfulness and pranks rein supreme, where it’s ok to laugh, even if it’s at ourselves.

“I finally found a place for this humor, this kind of behavior,” he said. “What I once got expelled for, hit for, punished for, I now get paid for.” Taking the stage for Mandel appears effortless. It is-and it isn’t.

While some performers admit to having the jitters before coming out on stage, Mandel said that it’s just part of the ride.

“I love being on stage. The spotlight is like sunshine, it’s where I’m most comfortable.”

A small touch of the stomach butterflies gives him the adrenaline to power his high-octane live performances. “Yeah I’m nervous. I equate it to people who go on rides. The closer to death you become-it makes the ride more exciting.”

And what a ride it’s been. Mandel’s beginning in show business reads like one of those true Hollywood stories. He was vacationing in L.A. in 1979 when he took a dare from friends to go on stage at the famed Comedy Store during amateur night. Yes, it is a Cinderella story. There was a producer from the game show, “Make Me Laugh,” in the audience. He hired him on the spot. Mandel’s popularity was sealed when he stared in the Emmy Award-winning show, St. Elsewhere, as the compassionate, wise-ass, Dr. Wayne Fiscus. The show was considered groundbreaking for its use of inside joke humor and for dealing with topics that most shows of that time would not even consider. In fact, St. Elsewhere was the first show brave enough to have an AIDS patient in a storyline. The controversial show aired for six seasons from 1982-1988 and was nominated for a staggering sixty-three Emmy’s-it won thirteen.

Luck might get you in the door, but talent is what keeps you in the room. Mandel has proved that he has staying power with his work on stage, in film and on television. He’s had us laughing with him for the past twenty-six years, while making us wonder what would happen next.

Today, Mandel has a lot to be excited about. Between touring and his latest project, he proudly proclaims that his dance card is full.

He just finished taping five, one-hour specials where he is set to host a new T.V. game show called, Deal or No Deal. The new show will run on consecutive nights beginning Monday, December 19 though Friday, December 25 on NBC at 8 p.m. Deal or No Deal is produced by Endemol USA, which is also responsible for two popular reality series: Fear Factor and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Mandel said that in the forty-one countries where the show is already on, it’s breaking records.

The game is played when a contestant is asked to choose one of several briefcases. Each contains varying dollar amounts from a single penny to one million dollars. The other briefcases are opened one at a time revealing the dollar amounts inside. Before a briefcase is opened; however, the player is made a cash offer by the mysterious entity known only as “the bank.” After being given the chance to sell his briefcase to the bank, he is then asked by Mandel, “Deal or No Deal?” If the format seems similar to Let’s Make a Deal, it is. But the stakes are intensified because one million dollars is up for grabs, not just household appliances. Add to this the advice factor, as contestants are allowed to ask family and friends in the audience what to do. Anything can happen-and often does.

“Recipients don’t have to exhibit any skill whatsoever,” said Mandel. “They just need to show up and have good timing.”

Playing host on a show that’s unpredictable and where emotions run high is right up his alley. Mandel is known for his antics in which he sets people up in situations and waits to see what happens next.

“It’s raw human nature on display for all to see,” he said.

From his show that aired on Bravo, Hidden Howie -The Private Life of a Public Nuisance, to his frequent appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Mandel sets the stage for unsuspecting civilians to walk into his trap. Posing as anything from counter-help to a mechanic, he offers his victims an unbelievable scenario, and, with hidden cameras rolling, captures the reaction. Allen Funt would be proud of this version of Candid Camera gone wild.

Mandel’s live performances are an extension of his zany buffoonery. More than just telling jokes, Mandel’s brand of humor lies in the awkward moment, which he considers to be funnier than standard standup.

“I like awkward silence even more than laughter,” he said.

His shows are interactive, with a lot of audience participation. Sometimes he’ll fly into a city where he is due to perform a little early and tape some hidden camera stunts. He then plays them for the audience at his live show, giving them not just a laugh at the expense of a stranger, but maybe even a neighbor.

“It’s real people…people who aren’t trying to be funny,” said Mandel “That’s why I do hidden camera stuff, I like to see people’s reactions to real life things. It’s always about people being put in awkward positions. I like to see it in reality, not tell it in a joke. My live show is interactive-a real moment.”

Mandel concedes that his live shows are not for kids but adult entertainment only. As for why? Well…they might pick up some, ideas. Howie Mandel honed his prankster skills at a young age. He must have been good at it too - the eccentric comic was thrown out of not one, but three high schools.

“As a kid my sense of humor didn’t work,” said Mandel. “I was painfully shy and didn’t speak.” It may be that he was just seeking a little attention. “I liked to create an extravaganza and see how people would react to it.”

One such extravaganza took place in high school when Mandel called a contractor and asked him to put in a bid for building an addition to his high school library.

The contractor showed up and began measuring. The bewildered principal confronted the contractor and asked him, “Who authorized this?” The contractor replied, “Howie Mandel.”

“They called my parents. That, I thought, was even funnier,” said Mandel, “They told my parents ‘we don’t’ know what to do with him,’” he said.

Mandel admits that high school was neither the time nor the place for his humor. Fortunately, this Peter Pan syndrome that he exhibits in his work doesn’t carry over to his personal life, because something that Mandel takes very seriously is being a parent.

“Parenthood…everyone looks at themselves and says, ‘Can you believe I’m somebody’s dad?’ That I could be the person who somebody else would look to… but I am.”

Mandel and his wife of thirty years, Terry, have three children: Alex, 21; Jackie, 16; and Riley, 13. “My kids, it’s going to sound corny,” he said. “You make a decision that you’re going to become a parent. It’s overwhelming, it’s crazy, it’s going to be my responsibility to teach these humans how to go on in life,” he said. “You’re a spectator in the development of a human being. Kids end up teaching you how to go on in the world, they teach you tolerance.”

One thing that dad did try to instill in his children is the importance of going for it.

“I would want them to find a passion in life and go after it.” he said. “It’s not about the money, success, or the title. It’s about looking forward to getting up each and every day.”

Mandel is an example of this, not only to his kids, but to all kids. He still has to pinch himself for having his dream job, something he said he and his wife still can’t believe they earn their living from. Even though he’s reached a goal that many only dream of, doing what you love to do, he still looks up to his children.

“I look at my kids and they’re my hero. Once you become a parent, you become a better person because these people are in your life.”

As philosophical as all that may sound, his quirky personality and quick ‘think-on-you-feet’ wit envelopes him. Again, in a conversation-anything can happen.

Ask Mandel a standard question and it is sure to yield anything but the standard answer. What was the best moment of his life?

“9:15 this morning,” he deadpans.

Another aspect of his personality, that many are unaware of, is that he has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He also suffers from a fear of the microscopic.

“I’m a germ-a-phoebe, I don’t shake hands,” he said. He is also an optimist going through life, blind to anything that might be a stumbling block to some. “I don’t see the obstacles,” Mandel said. “Optimism has been my fuel. I don’t see anything as an obstacle that I can’t overcome.”

Mandel just celebrated his fiftieth birthday, a milestone. Perhaps at this point in his life he has come full circle. He pointed out an indicator of just that when mentioning that his daughter wants to be a second grade teacher.

“She’s going to be a teacher, “Mandel says, “She’s becoming the people I tormented.”

- December 2005

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