Comedian, game show host, author and voice actor Howie Mandel sports an diverse resume, but when he comes to Milwaukee to perform two stand-up shows at Potawatomi Bingo on Oct. 26, expect him to draw from all of it.
"Don't bring the kids," cautions Mandel.
In a phone interview this week, Mandel says his 30-year legacy as an entertainer comes from never saying no to opportunities.
He says his stand-up routine, which pulls from current and classic material, is still very interactive.
"I improvise a lot," he says. "It's a giant party and I'm just trying to be the center of attention."
As for his current gig as game show host and producer, Mandel says he didn't expect his life to go in that direction, "but I never saw myself as a comedian, either."
"I got up on a dare," he says. "One thing led to another. I didn't think I'd do a Saturday morning cartoon. I've liked doing it all. I have the attention span of a gnat."
Mandel says all these opportunities allow him to fly to a place like Milwaukee and continue to do stand up. "It's my primal scream. I'll never give it up."
Says Mandel, "Opportunities open up for absolutely everyone. There's a million reasons why not to take those opportunities. 99.9 percent of those make no sense, but maybe because of my ADD, I just did it."
"I'm impulsive," he admits. "My mind is so filled with other stuff that I don't think. I'm just a guy that said, 'OK.' My legacy is that I said, 'OK.'"
But game shows and comedy are just part of the Howie Mandel story.
Click here for the entire interview as a podcast, in which the entertainer talks about a specific episode of "St. Elsewhere," as well as his battle with OCD, mysophobia and more.
And enjoy this clip of Mandel (with hair) at Comic Relief in 1987:
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
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