Howie Mandel

Date of Birth: 29 November 1955, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Just celebrated his fiftieth birthday.)
Birth Name: Howie Michael Mandel II
Height: 5' 9-1/2"
Spouses name: Terry
Children (March 1980 - present): 3, Daughters Jackie (born 1984) and Riley (born 1992) and son Alex (born 1989)
Trade Mark: Bald-Shaven Head

An alumnus of Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am's Hebrew School where he celebrated his bar mitzvah.
Once an opening act for Diana Ross in Las Vegas.
Suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and mysophobia (fear of germs). Will not shake hands with people.
Personal Quotes: "I'm from Canada, so Thanksgiving to me is just Thursday with more food."

Deal or No Deal host and comedian, Howie Mandel, who before getting into show business ran a small carpet business, began his career by chance while attending an amateur night gig at the Comedy Store on the L.A. Sunset Strip.

Persuaded by friends to try out, a producer spotted and hired him for an appearance on the comedy game show "Make Me Laugh," the rest is history. In 1955 Howie became a highly enjoyable performer who quickly moved on to TV talk shows and Vegas gigs. Six years hence, he obtaned another Emmy nomination for the critically-acclaimed "St. Elsewhere" (1982) medical drama.

His love for children led him to another Emmy-nominated animated kids' series "Bobby's World" (1990) serving as creator, executive producer and vocal talent.

His film carrer has been somewhat spotty, but credible with credits in movies such as A Fine Mess (1986), Walk Like a Man (1987) and Little Monsters (1989) failing to click with audiences. However, it was the Kid's who really loved him as Gizmo, in the Gremlins (1984) film series.

Following his failed talk show "The Howie Mandel Show" during the 1998-1999 season, Howie has managed a full time schedule doing concerts and comedy specials.

Howie doesn't shake hands with anyone: "Howie stated in a TV interview that he did not shave his head because he is balding but, due to his mysophobia, it helps him feel cleaner.

Where is Howie Now: (December 2005 - present) Hosting the NBC Game Show "Deal or No Deal."

Howie revealed on an episode of Rachael Ray that he still does about 280 stand up comedy performances a year as well as Deal or no Deal.

In 2008, Mandel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Howie turned down the Deal or no Deal host gig 3 times before accepting it. (edit)

While starring on Deal or No Deal, Howie filmed a public service announcement about family communication for NBC's "The More You Know" campaign.

Howie was one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive, 2006. He is found in the "Bald and Beautiful" section.

He was voted sexiest comedian amongst males through a University of Pennsylvania survey of 20,000 people.

His astrological sign is Sagittarius.

In October of 2005 it was announced that Howie would be the host of the American version of the international hit game show Deal or No Deal.

In 1988, while Howie was one of the stars, St. Elsewhere won a Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama.

St. Elsewhere, which Howie starred in, won the Peabody Award in 1985.

He has mysophobia (the fear of dirt & germs), so he does not shake hands with people.

His animated children's show Bobbie's World was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 1998.

He won a Golden Apple Award in 1998.

St. Elsewhere, which Howie starred in, was nominated for the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy every year from 1984 through 1988.

Nominated for a Gemini award in 1998 in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series category for an appearance on The Outer Limits.

He came in at #82 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.

Has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He has a fear of Germs and shaking other peoples hands. To get around this he takes to either wearing latex gloves or avoiding human contact.