Howie Michael Mandel II (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is best known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's syndicated and Canadian counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere. He is also well-known as creator and star of the children's cartoon Bobby's World.

Early life

Mandel was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, of Jewish descent. His father was a lighting manufacturer and realtor.Howie Mandel Biography (1955-) After getting expelled from his high school (Northview Heights Secondary School) for impersonating a member of the school board and signing a construction company to make an addition to his school,Howie Mandel (I) - Biography Mandel became a carpet salesman who would later open a carpet sales business of his own. He became a stand-up comedian at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto and by September 1978 had a week-long booking as the featured act, billed as "a wild and crazy borderline psychotic."Toronto Star, September 12, 1978, p. D1. His repertoire including placing a latex glove over his head and inflating it by blowing through his nose, the fingers of the glove extending above his head like a cockscomb. When the audience reacted uproariously to that and similar antics, his trademark response was to extend his arms palms up, look incredulous, and ask, "What? What?" On a trip to Los Angeles, Mandel performed a set at The Comedy Store, which led to him becoming a regular performer there. A producer for the comedic game show Make Me Laugh saw him and booked Mandel for several appearances during the show's run in 1979. He was booked to open for David Letterman at shows in the summer of 1979.Toronto Star, July 19, 1979, p. C6. CBC-TV's head of variety programming saw a Mandel performance in October 1979 and immediately signed him for a TV special. In 1980, he won the lead role in the Canadian movie Gas, co-starring Susan Anspach and Donald Sutherland.