From actor to comedian to game show host to “America’s Got Talent” judge, the always irreverent Howie Mandel says bringing his stand-up act on the road is his real home. A wide-ranging chat about shaking hands and holograms, mental health and what makes a joke funny with Nestor in advance of his show at Maryland Hall on Annapolis on Saturday, May 17th.
Howie Mandel discussed his upcoming comedy show in Annapolis, emphasizing his love for stand-up comedy. He shared his views on humor, noting that it hasn’t changed much over 40 years. Mandel also talked about his transition from comedy to hosting game shows like “Deal or No Deal” and “America’s Got Talent,” attributing his success to empathy. He expressed his passion for technology, particularly holograms, and his preference for not shaking hands due to mental health reasons. Mandel will perform at Maryland Hall on Saturday, May 17th, and encouraged the audience to attend.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Howie Mandel, stand-up comedy, Annapolis show, Maryland Hall, improvisational comedy, America’s Got Talent, Deal or No Deal, game shows, mental health, handshake avoidance, technology, hologram company, hockey, Maple Leafs, Baltimore positive.
SPEAKERS
8
Speaker 1, Howie Mandel, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, A, F, 1570 house of Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive and positively into spring, into fun, and the Orioles are on the Schneider. We got the Preakness in town this week, but there is a big show going on down in Annapolis. We love to get down on Apples. Have an oyster, have a crab cake. From time to time, our French dad RAM said, down there bringing the great Howie Mandel into a Maryland Hall on the Saturday night. Howie, how are you? I’ve waited my whole life to make jokes and laugh with you a little bit. How are you?
Howie Mandel 00:31
It’s a pleasure being here, and I’m looking forward to the to the show. Yeah, I don’t know that people know that you know my first love, regardless of what. You know me from AGT, podcasting, whatever is stand up comedy. So I cannot wait to be there and do stand up
Nestor Aparicio 00:51
well, I have been threatened at one point in my life that I will do stand getting make a case for why I should or shouldn’t do stand up. What is the delineation other than fear, and I’ve been doing this for 34 years, but getting on a stage and telling jokes even for five minutes feels like and I’ve been encouraged by lots of people like, you can do it. You can do it. Can I do it? And is it? Is something that everybody should try once or no?
8Howie Mandel 01:13
No, no, I would. I’d rather you didn’t. I would think if everybody got up and it’s stand up, then there would be a huge crowd on the stage and one or two people in the audience. I love an audience. I think you should be an audience member. I think people should sit comfortably in the theater and just watch one person on the stage try to regale you with humor. I look at it like a giant party, and I’m just trying to be the center of attention.
Nestor Aparicio 01:42
What makes funny these days, and is it the same thing that makes funny 40 years ago when you started doing this?
Howie Mandel 01:47
I don’t know. I’m not analytical about what’s funny. I just show up and it’s like a giant party that I’m trying to be the center of attention at. I’m just lucky that everything I’ve ever been punished for, expelled for hit for is what I seem to be getting paid for today. I like it because, and I should say, if they’re a fan of America’s Got Talent or deal, or No Deal, or Bobby’s world, or whatever they they have seen me on, don’t bring the kids to this. I don’t. I will edit this interview, but I don’t edit myself. And it’s not that it’s going to be not family friendly. I just don’t edit myself. I like it. It’s free, and it’s very improvisational and very, you know, interactive, and the things that happened that night probably have never happened before and won’t happen again.
Speaker 1 02:35
8Do you work blue? Is that what you’re telling me, it can happen.
Howie Mandel 02:39
It’s not like I set out to do that. Obviously, after all these years in the business, I have many hours of, you know, prepared material. But I love to be veered off of that, whether it be because of something that’s happening in the moment in that room, technical problems, somebody else, something out, or whatever. I don’t, I’m not, you know, I I don’t have an edit button. I’m just a human. Just
Nestor Aparicio 03:07
what? Howie, when I looked you up, it says that you’re because i You’re, listen, I’ve been doing this 35 years. I’ve interviewed all sorts of interesting people, famous people, all that. But I don’t know that, like my wife loves you first thing and I’m thinking, Is he an actor? Is he a game show host? Is he a comedian? You know, like you’re known for all of these different things, but I would like the comedy part of it is where it all began, right? The stand up thing. This is home for you, what you’re doing here, even
Howie Mandel 03:34
when I’m not touring, like I am now, I will drop into the clubs, you know, two or three times a week here at The Comedy Store, the Ice House or the Laugh Factory, I love that’s that’s where I’m most comfortable, is on stage, and I love meeting people live instead of like a recorded thing.
8Nestor Aparicio 03:55
Well, I looked you up on wiki, and it says, Here, genre, observational comedy, improvisational comedy. And I guess there’s two ways Look at that. You say you have all of this material that you can bring and work from stage, but it’s what happens when you get there that allows it to be really funny in an improvisational way. Absolutely improv
Howie Mandel 04:16
alone with nobody else feeding you anything just doesn’t work improv like if there’s no audience and you are just improvising alone, I think that’s known as masturbation
Nestor Aparicio 04:31
in most cases. Yes, you subject to arrest in certain places. Howie Mandel is our guest. He is doing comedy here, there, everywhere, and still doing game shows and coming to Annapolis on Saturday night the 17th, it is Preakness night. We got horses racing. You’re, uh, you’re all caught up in the hockey thing, right? Like, I mean, the Maple Leafs at one point in your life, they might win, right? I’m,
Howie Mandel 04:53
8I’m really Canadian, so it is part of our heritage. You know, hockey. Is in our blood, and the leafs were doing well, who’s doing better? Now I have some fans here from Colorado, right?
Nestor Aparicio 05:11
They’ve already won, though, Colorado,
Howie Mandel 05:14
they lost. Toronto’s good, but how did your team do? They lost? I didn’t follow Colorado. I was watching the lease
Nestor Aparicio 05:21
double overtime is a really tough way to do it in game seven. You know that?
8Howie Mandel 05:24
I know I was trying to watch the game, but somebody had it up on the shelf. I told you, don’t put it up there.
Nestor Aparicio 05:32
Okay, Americans don’t understand that part of Canada, the hockey part. Like I was up for opening day in Toronto because the Orioles opened up. And you’re only my second favorite Canadian. There’s Getty Lee, and then there’s Howie Mandel, just so we get that straight rush, just so, you know, you know. But I went up to Canada and I took Luke, our sports reporter, and I said, you’re just not going to understand the hockey thing unless you’re there. And I guess you being one of them and not one of us, or whatever it is,
Howie Mandel 05:58
you’re a lot younger than me, but I don’t know if you remember when Gretzky came to the kings and that’s that kind of lit a fire. Here I live in LA, and I remember going to a Kings game because it became the thing to do when Gretzky left the Oilers and then ended up here in LA and the four it was at the forum, and the forum was packed, and the game was going and then, you know, every time something happened, the roar of the audience going, what is icing? Or what is that like? That not understanding the game was really, really funny, having come from Canada, where it’s kind of like second nature,
Nestor Aparicio 06:37
8yeah, the puck has to go into the zone first. That’s offside, that the puck goes first, trying to teach people that’s really weird.
Howie Mandel 06:43
Yeah, it is, it is, and anyway, they’ll be. But you never know when you come see me live, I might a hockey game may break out, or
Nestor Aparicio 06:54
at least a fight maybe, who knows this
06:58
come and just puck around with me. I
8Nestor Aparicio 07:00
like that. I like that. I like that a lot. He’s always trying to work blue on my radio station here. Howie Mandel, the game show thing, and that part of your career where it came to you, I don’t know what you thought, when, or I thought if you had seen elsewhere, if you would be doing stand up or being doing game shows. And certainly the whole genre of talent and everything that you know you’re, you’re most famous in my house. We’ve got talent because that’s the show we watch these days. But did you ever think that that would be part of something you would would want to do, or be it’d be famous for? Really?
Howie Mandel 07:33
No, no, it’s, it was such a surprise. How
Nestor Aparicio 07:38
do you get your first game show gig. What’s the qualifications for that?
Howie Mandel 07:46
8Let me just it was. It’s a funny story. I I’m sorry. So surprised that. Got the giggles. I got the giggles anyway. I was just, you know, it’s funny, funny story, funny story. Um, I got a deal or no deal, and I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t want to be a game show host. And I also didn’t see the game in it. I didn’t, there’s no trivia, there’s no skill. It was just opening up cases, and my wife made me take the deal and I did the game and it was, it’s probably the most successful thing I’ve done to date. So and then I think that Steve Harvey owes me a thank you, because up until I did Deal or No Deal, no comedians were doing we’re doing game shows. And now I think every game show is hosted by a comedian. Wink Martindale,
Nestor Aparicio 08:44
be out of luck, right? I mean, we just lost him last week. But there is a there is a difference between that genre and what’s expected in the modern area, era of beyond just being a little bit funny and carrying a show. I mean, clearly you’re capable of hearing a show that the game didn’t matter all that much, if it’s fun, right? Well,
Howie Mandel 09:05
I think the game’s gotta be good too. I think there has to be a good game, and then somebody you know, who understands what the game is. You know, I didn’t even understand what the game was. I just wanted what worked for me on dealer no deal is my empathy. I just wanted to. I wanted anybody that was playing the game to leave in a better place than they had entered. I wanted them to just do well.
Nestor Aparicio 09:30
What about Got Talent? I mean, we cheer for people to do well. And I know there’s a whole sort of comedic part of people trying out that maybe shouldn’t try out and whatnot. But there are nights that I see all of you on those days, and I know it’s live, and I know these were people who are amateurs, or were amateurs and are trying hard. My wife is addicted to the whole genre, and I would like to say that I don’t sit and watch you Howie, but I do, because when it’s on and it’s good and it’s funny and it’s clever and it’s talent, you. I stopped doing what I’m doing and start watching it. I And I think that that is something over the last 20 years, certainly, that’s really gripped all sorts of cultures, not just America, Canada’s Got Talent, everybody’s got talent, but getting talent out. And when it shines on a stage, it it shows up, and everyone sees talent, right?
8Howie Mandel 10:19
But I think the key to most people, I think a lot of people have talent. And, you know, talent is subjective, but I think 99% of making it is just showing up, just showing up. And every time I think I’ve seen everything, the next person walks out and I realize I ain’t seen nothing yet.
Nestor Aparicio 10:41
Well, you are big into finding things that haven’t been invented, and investing and you’ve done all sorts of stuff. I want to give you a little bit of space to say people must come to you with inventive things, idea things, knowing you may be strange enough and interested enough to listen, but you’ve invested in some interesting things. I know you talk about it with your daughter in the podcast, the modern world is interesting to you, is it not? Howie,
Howie Mandel 11:04
I love tech. I work with a company called proto. It’s hologram company where we could have done this on a hologram. I just love tech. I love where the world’s going. I love the I love AI. This is not AI. This is actually no I there is no intelligence involved in what I’m giving you today, but that. But the truth is that, you know, this is a wild ride technology in the world we live in, and why not take advantage of it and enjoy it and use it?
Nestor Aparicio 11:35
8I never thought I’d be on a satellite zoom with Howie Mandel promoting a Saturday night show. He’s going to be at Maryland hall with our friends at RAM said, down in Annapolis, you crab cake eater? No, you eat a Maryland crab cake. I’m very
Howie Mandel 11:48
crab cake. Should I say? No, I do. You’re Canadian. You can say whatever you want. Just be honest, it’s good. I will pander to the audience. I love crab cake. No, you
Nestor Aparicio 12:01
don’t, I can tell you, don’t. You haven’t had a good one last thing for you before I go. And I want to like and I love comedy. We’re looking forward to having you come in. We need laughs in these in this day and age, especially between the Canadians and the Americans and the whole 51st state. But the handshake thing and the fist bump thing, I’ll be really frank with you. My wife had leukemia in 2014 and 15, and to keep her safe, I stopped hugging, kissing, slobbering, and I don’t know if you might be the most famous person in the world for not shaking hands or fist bumping. Now in Baltimore, Cal Ripken famously did not like shaking people’s hands because he believed it could make him sick. And I haven’t shaken anyone’s hand in probably 12 years, or try not to when I do, I’m I’m very quick to clean up. I haven’t had a cold in 12 years, so I, for me, it wasn’t like an OCD or anything psychological, as much as it’s when I shook hands with more people as a radio host in places, I touch my face, and next thing you know, I’m sick and I got a sore throat and can’t do my job. Speak about it a little bit. I know people ask you about it a lot, but I figured if I ever had you on, I’d say I’m sort of like you, and I offend people. People get their feelings hurt in the modern era when you don’t go with a firm handshake. And for me, it was always about protecting my wife, who was neutropenic and was and then after that COVID And all of the germ thing. But for you, in the modern world, everyone knows this about you, and I know it’s been made of but for somebody like me, I get called Howie Mandel, sometimes I’m not nearly as funny as you, but, but this is an interesting habit you have, and I’ve taken it on as something that’s kept me healthier. Howie,
Howie Mandel 13:42
well, I don’t think that anybody needs to shake hands anyhow. I mean, I’ve been open about my mental health issues and trying to remove the stigma about mental health, but it’s what I do. It makes me comfortable. If you’re offended by it, then I’m sorry you’re offended, but I’m not doing anything that I believe is in fence offensive just by not wanting to rub a stranger’s flesh. I don’t, I don’t, I’m not doing anything offensive. So I can’t control what other people think. I can only control myself, and I know that I’m a good person, and I know that I respect each and every person out there for whatever they’re doing. But ultimately, you know, it’s not about that, it’s about my mental health and I’m taking care of myself and, well, only about my mental health. Yeah, I hope you come
8Nestor Aparicio 14:33
in and make everybody laugh, and I hope you’re still having a great time doing this and traveling around. Uh, we love watching you on TV. We love all the shows you’re involved in and all of your work. And I don’t think I’ve ever spoken anybody’s had such a wide array of different things to talk about. Keep living your life and listen, if you live long enough that Maple Leafs are going to win the cup for you one
Howie Mandel 14:53
day. Howie, so I hope so. Thank you so much for your time. See you there.
Nestor Aparicio 14:58
I appreciate you. Howie Mandel is going. Be with us on Saturday the 17th, right here in Maryland, right in Annapolis, right down to Maryland hall with the Rams Head folks appreciate that making some time and giving us a window to chat with. Howie Mando, fist bump for you. Howie, I’m Nestor. We are W, N, S D. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive and a little bit of comedy too. Thank you.
