Howard Canadian comedian, television host, actor, and producer Michael Mandel was born on November 29, 1955.
Mandel is best known for producing and acting in the Fox children’s animated series Bobby’s World and for providing the voice of Gizmo in the 1984 film Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
Since 2010, he has also served as a judge on NBC’s America’s Got Talent and, since 2022, Citytv’s Canada’s Got Talent.
Early life and education
Howie Mandel was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up there in the Willowdale neighborhood. He is Jewish, and his forefathers fled Poland and Romania. Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman’s distant cousin is Mandel.
At Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto, he performed stand-up comedy, and by September 1978, he had a week-long booking as a featured act that was described as “a wild and crazy borderline psychotic.”
One of his tricks involved inflating a latex glove so that its fingers extended above his head like a cockscomb while placing it over his head.
When the audience erupted in laughter at these and other antics, his signature reaction was to raise his arms palms up, act shocked, and proclaim, “It’s you.”
Howie Mandel scandal
On Howie Mandel Does Stuff, Tom Sandoval made an appearance and talked openly about his relationship with Ariana Madix and his romance with Raquel Leviss.
When she discovered the affair at the beginning of March 2023, the latter started the separation. Howie Mandel witnessed shocking revelations from Sandoval.
Although Tom and Ariana had been dating since the 2013 Vanderpump Rules season 2, the former just began seeing Leviss in August 2022.
When Ariana saw a video of Raquel on Tom’s phone, the truth was revealed. She later announced their breakup on Instagram and thanked her followers for their encouragement.
Tom and Raquel have each issued expressions of regret, and they will appear together at the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion.
After divorcing Katie Maloney the previous year, Tom Schwartz’s best friend Sandoval attempted to pair him up with Raquel because she was available.
Raquel and Schwartz were even observed having an intimate moment when attending a cast member’s wedding together.
Tom claimed in his interview that Schwartz had no interest in Raquel. Given that Tom himself thought “very highly of her,” he believed that his friend was acting “dumb.”
Tom and Raquel spent two nights “hanging out and talking” during the guys’ trip to the Mondrian, as stated in the interview. After a few days, Tom was locked out of his house and talked to Raquel when they had a kiss.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
OCD, which can manifest in a variety of ways, including mysophobia, has been openly discussed by Mandel.
Mandel’s anxiety is so bad that, unless he is wearing latex gloves, he won’t shake hands with anyone, not even the Deal or No Deal contestants who are cheering him on.
Mandel frequently exchanges fist bumps with competitors, places his hands on their shoulders, or even provides a brief hug when they extend their hands.
Despite his condition, he once kissed a female competitor on the show for luck. He is currently taking medication to manage his problem, and he even makes fun of himself for it.
He revealed on The Howard Stern Show on March 24, 2006, that his head shaving was not caused by natural hair loss but rather OCD. He claimed that he feels cleaner because he has less hair.
Mandel’s home has a second, smaller house in the backyard that he built specifically for living alone when a family member is ill.
Bobby Lee and Mandel made fun of the former’s illness during his appearance on Mad TV. The Comedy Central sitcom This Is Not Happening’s Season 4, Episode 1 featured Mandel overcoming his fear of germs. It debuted on February 3, 2018.
