Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955)[1] is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer.

In 1980, he won the lead role in the Canadian movie Gas, co-starring Susan Anspach and Donald Sutherland.

He also appeared on a week's worth of episodes of the short-lived NBC game show Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in March 1984.

Fox directed short "The Iceman Hummeth," which was subsequently broadcast on Late Night with David Letterman in November 1985.

He was also the creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated children's animated series Bobby's World (1990–1998) to which he supplied the voices of the title character and his father.

In 1992, his self-titled comedy show Howie was aired weekly with multiple guest stars including Gilbert Gottfried and Little Richard and Lita Ford as the in-house band guitarist.

In that episode, he booted the nighttime drama's protagonist off for "cheating" since in the show, he is a psychic medium and appeared to "know" the contents of the cases.

On a special two-hour Christmas episode, first aired on December 25, 2007, Mandel delivered one line with Bobby's voice, as requested by the contestant.

Mandel is known for his frequent appearances as a comedian and for his hidden camera segments on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Originally a presentation pilot, the ratings after American Idol prompted Fox to pick up the show for eight to ten episodes.

In a January 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Mandel expressed mild, jovial frustration over how some of his contestants hold out during the game show, even though the grand prize is many times what they would make in a year.

According to the Apple Podcasts preview: "Together, these two make prank calls, discuss pop culture, interview interesting people, say weird things, chat with listeners, get deep..."[21] On April 27, 2022, Netflix released the 10-episode debut season of Bullsh*t: The Game Show with Mandel as the host of the program.

If the contestant's answer is correct (or if it's incorrect, but they successfully convinced at least one judge that they were telling the truth), they win and move on to the question.

[29] Mandel has written and published an in-depth autobiography which details his life with OCD, ADHD, and comedy called Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me.

The lockdown during the epidemic also led to physical and mental health struggles,[33] including drug and substance abuse.

On March 24, 2006, he revealed on The Howard Stern Show that his shaved head is not related to natural hair loss but OCD.

[40] Mandel has reported a pivotal childhood experience during a family vacation in Florida that may have caused the manifestation of his mysophobia.

During this trip, a sandfly laid its eggs in him, leading to the development of larvae that could be seen moving around just beneath the surface of his skin.

The removal process was accompanied by considerable discomfort, with a dermatologist using liquid nitrogen to eliminate some of the larvae, and the rest being scrubbed out by his mother at home.

The ordeal of discovering organisms growing beneath his skin left a profound impact on Mandel, who was only seven or eight years old at the time.

Host Kelly Ripa admonished Schneider on-air, while also obtaining hand sanitizer for Mandel from an audience member.

[45] During the ninth episode of season 5 of America's Got Talent in Chicago, contestant Zach Carty attempted an act involving sneezing.

Mandel kept yelling at the other judges, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne, to press their X buttons and for the audience to turn in his direction.

In another America's Got Talent season 5 incident, Dan Sperry, a contestant on the YouTube quarterfinal depicted in episodes 21 and 22, dropped some dental floss which he had run through his neck as part of a magic act.

[episode needed] During the premiere of season 6, juggler Frank Olivier grabbed Mandel's head to balance himself during a unicycle act.

[47] During AGT's 10th-season premiere, contestant Chris Jones[48] directly utilized Mandel's fear of germs as the subject of his hypnotism act.

Under the post-hypnotic suggestion that Jones and the other judges were wearing latex gloves, Mandel shook the bare hands of all involved, which elicited shouts of amazement.

[50]Since May 2022, Mandel has partnered with NOCD, a mental healthcare company focused on increasing access to evidence-based treatment for OCD and related conditions.

[51] Mandel started his charitable foundation called Breakout the Masks, which helps provide personal protective equipment to healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

[52] He is also involved in Bell's Let's Talk Day initiatives to help people struggling with mental health issues.