The Compulsory Comedian

Howie Mandel: On The Air, In Print and Live Onstage

Howie Mandel's career in comedy probably began at the exact same moment his educational career came to an abrupt end. Mandel was expelled from his Kingston, Ontario high school because he impersonated a faculty member and contracted a full addition to his school to be constructed. After a stint as a carpet salesman, in which he ended up owning his own carpet store, Mandel took to the stage at Yuk-Yuks in Toronto where, by 1978, he was a featured act. One of his first schticks was to place a latex glove on top of his head and blow it up through with his nose. This image became became symbolically synonymous with eighties comedy as Steve Martin's arrow through the head bit was for the seventies. Mandel eventually had to give that bit up after he perforated his sinus from the exertive exhalations.

Mandel's career exploded. It seemed like there wasn't anywhere you could turn without seeing his frenetically kinetic image attached to an incessant stream of stand-up comedy tours, movies, commercials and even cartoons. With characters like Dr. Wayne Fiscus from St. Elsewhere, the fuzzy gremlin Gizmo from Gremlins 1 & 2 to the overly imaginative, squeaky voiced Bobby from the animated series, Bobby's World (a perfection of one of Howie's early stand-up characters), Mandel ingratiated himself into almost every form of media.

Then, by subtle degrees, you didn't see Mandel nearly as much anymore. He could still be heard voicing his alter-ego, Bobby Generic, or even Bunsen Honeydew for the Muppet Babies, but he didn't seem to be nearly as visible. As has been revealed in recent years, Mandel suffers from Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD), mysophobia (a fear of germs) and Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well as being color blind thrown in for good measure. I was able to speak with Mandel by phone as he stood behind the MGM Grand in Las Vegas where he was scheduled to appear for the week. One of the first questions I asked was whether or not his conditions were the impetus for his slow dissolve from the public eye.

“It helped!” Mandel said, laughing, then turning somewhat serious, he said, “No, I was doing less and less...you know. I mean, I had a talk show in the nineties...but it was a little tough for me to be out in public. I had a little bit of a rough time...mentally.”

Mandel went on to detail that, while his personal issues remained, for the most part, hidden, his ambitious work ethic kept him always moving forward.

“I've always been working, though. I've never stopped. I was always doing something...I just wasn't as prevalent.” Mandel reflected that, “I've always had something on the air. All through the eighties I was on St. Elsewhere and on HBO all the way until 1988 and then in 1989, I did a couple of pilots and then starting in 1990, I was doing Bobby's World all the way until 1999.”

Since seeking help for his OCS and ADHD, Mandel has once again become a prolific entertainer, subjecting himself to a grueling schedule that would be daunting for someone without all of these encumbrances.

“In the last twenty days, I shot one hundred and twenty episodes.” Mandel addressed a special portion of Deal or No Deal where they took the show on the road. “We went around the world in seven days on a whirlwind tour. There's that and now there's a syndicated version and I'm on the road and now I'm calling you!” As if that wasn't enough, Mandel detailed his schedule after shooting the television episodes. “Even at the end of those days, I was flying out and John (Mendoza - Mandel's opening act for the past five years) and I would be doing concerts at night. We do around two hundred and fifty live dates a year.”

The question arises that, after recognizing that these issues exist and seeking extensive treatment for them, is it still as difficult for Mandel to appear in public?

“The answer's yes! It's hard, each and every day.” Mandel said, emphatically. “I have to work through my issues, but I have an amazing support system. I have really good therapy and a psychiatrist and a loving family and good friends who help me get by each and every day. I mean, I joke about it and talk about the (mysophobia), but it is a serious issue that I think a lot of people suffer with.”

Having heard people make the statement that they have OCD I wondered if it was something that everyone suffered from to varying degrees.

“No. I think that OCD is a definite physiological issue. People come up and go, 'I've got a little bit of it.' Well, I'm like, I hope you don't.” Mandel said, with more than a little sympathy. “I don't know if people really understand that, but if you read the book, maybe you will a little bit more. I do think that that being said, everybody has issues and there isn't anybody that couldn't use a little bit of therapy and coping skills, whether it be from the pressures at work, relationships or some sort of physical illness. We can all use that and we don't do that.”

Mandel went further with this train of thought, saying, “There's a stigma attached to mental health issues. But, specifically OCD? No, you don't have a little bit of OCD. You either have OCD or you don't. People listen to me and they go, 'Oh yeah, I'm a bit of a germaphobe. I think I have a bit of OCD.' That's not OCD. Maybe you're concerned about getting sick or about germs, but OCD is going to inhibit your life. You can't get past certain thoughts and you can't function and at certain points, you can't get to work and you can't go on with your life. That's the difference between being a little bit neurotic about something and really having OCD.”

Some of the rituals and obsessions have become well known through the media, and some, even though in plain sight, slide by the casual observer. One of these is Mandel's signature shaven head. It is not, as one would think, a macho way to cheat baldness, but it is, in fact a way for Mandel to feel cleaner. With all of his obsessive rituals, it is truly amazing that Mandel can keep up such a hectic schedule.

“The fact that I'm able to function and am talking to you is a great memorial to all the people that are helping me out.” Addressing some of his own specific rituals, Mandel said, “The one that people are aware of is that I can't step on the carpets in my hotel room, so I make paths with towels and I won't touch things. I grab things with various instruments. I have a whole toolkit that I travel with...black lights, everything. I'm a regular CSI.”

Howie Mandel has a new book coming out dealing with his life, career and his subsequent battles with OCD, ADHD and mysophobia titled, Here's The Deal...Don't Touch Me (Random House) which fist bumps the shelves November 24th. Mandel can be seen on television on just about any given moment either on his syndicated series Deal or No Deal or his hidden camera show, Howie Do It (NBC – Fridays at 8pm). Howie Mandel will also be appearing with his road-dog partner, John Mendoza, at the Kuss Auditorium in Springfield, OH on November 14th at 8:00pm. Tickets for the show are $40 to $75 for adults, $30 to $65 for students. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to springfieldartscouncil.com or call (937) 328-3874.

(This article appeared in the November 11, 2009 in the Dayton City Paper. This is the article as it was originally written.)