You probably know Howie Mandel as the host for the show Deal or No Deal, but how much do you really know about him? Despite the fact that Mandel has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Howie Mandel. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: He Created Bobby’s World. Though Mandel might be most well-known for his role as a host on the show Deal or No Deal, he also created the animated series Bobby’s World! He stars in the show as well.
Number Fourteen: He Has Mysophobia. Mandel has mysophobia, or an irrational fear of germs. He refuses to shake hands with anyone, including contestants on any of the shows he is involved in, unless he is wearing latex gloves.
Number Thirteen: He Is a Jewish Canadian. Mandel was born in Toronto, Ontario, and he is of Jewish descent. Specifically, his ancestors emigrated from Poland and Romania.
Number Twelve: He Was Expelled From High School. Mandel was expelled from his high school after he impersonated a school board member and signed a construction contract to add an addition to the school.
Number Eleven: He Was a Carpet Salesman. In fact, Mandel opened his own carpet sales business! He became a carpet salesman after dropping out of high school.
Number Ten: He Was a VeeJay on Nickelodeon. Mandel was one of the very first VeeJays, or music video DJ, on Nickelodeon’s show called Pop Clips, which was a music video series. The show was a direct predecessor of MTV and ran for only one season.
Number Nine: He Is in Gremlins. Mandel began his acting career with St. Elsewhere, in which he played the role of Dr. Wayne Fiscus for six years. It was through this that he was able to get the role of Gizmo in 1984’s Gremlins and the 1990 sequel titled Gremlins 2: The New Batch.