Howie Mandel | "You Were Hysterical, Young Man"

Howie Mandel (0:00)

The majority of the world does not have a sense of humor. I don't believe you should ever apologize for a joke.

David Begnaud (0:06)

But you put out an apology video.

Howie Mandel (0:09)

I know.

David Begnaud (0:10)

Why did you do that? Comedian, author and television personality.

Howie Mandel (0:15)

Quintessential host. He's starring in two big series. America's Got Talent and Deal or No Deal. Very funny, my buddy, Howie Mandel.

David Begnaud (0:25)

Welcome to The Person Who Believed In Me. I'm David Begnaud.

Howie Mandel got expelled from high school in Toronto, sold carpet door to door, and did stand up on a dare at a comedy club. As a working comedian, he tried for years to get on The Tonight Show, only to be rebuffed every time.

Until a very special person saw him at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles and gave him the break of a lifetime.

A creative partnership and a deep friendship was forged that lasted more than 30 years after that and gave birth to one of standout comedy's legends. One of the greatest legends of our time. He's a man deeply committed to both his craft and his family, the creator of Bobby's World, an actor on Saint Elsewhere, best selling author, iconic host of Deal or No Deal, and the longest serving judge, I believe, on America's Got Talent. Please welcome to the show, Howie Mandel.

Howie Mandel (1:22)

Wow. Wow.

David Begnaud (1:24)

Have you been intro'd like that before?

Howie Mandel (1:25)

Never. I'm impressive.

I've just, you impressed me with me.

David Begnaud (1:29)

Well, you aren't impressive.

Howie Mandel (1:30)

I didn't realize I've had, I don't know that I'm impressive. I'm old. And as you get older, you just do more, the list just gets longer. If you hang out long enough, you do stuff. But, and I think as a judge on AGT, I don't know that's a real judge. Like you don't serve.

The longest serving judge, like it's not an elected, it's not, I'm not serving. I'm just happy to have a job.

David Begnaud (1:53)

Longest running, that's what we call it.

Howie Mandel (1:55)

I've held on the longest by the...

David Begnaud (1:58)

I've known of you and watched you for years, didn't know you were Canadian until I started researching.

Howie Mandel (2:04)

I tried to tell you. Well, I've been, yes, born and raised, my wife, born and raised. And I've been out here for almost 50 years now.

It'll be, and, well, almost 50 years now, but I still keep roots in Canada. I'm the host of The Price is Right in Canada.

And I did Canada's Got Talent. I served as a judge in Canada. My mom and my brother and my wife's whole family still live there. We go up there in the, I go up there often, but I will vacation there in the summer at the lakes in Northern Ontario. So yeah, I'm still feel very rooted in Canada.

David Begnaud (2:43)

I'm French Canadian, Cajun.

Howie Mandel (2:45)

Really?

David Begnaud (2:45)

Born and raised in Louisiana, yeah, ancestors.

Howie Mandel (2:48)

Do you speak?

David Begnaud (2:49)

My dad does, but no, I don't speak French, no. Okay, I want to start the way we always do.

Howie Mandel (2:58)

I love her.

David Begnaud (2:58)

With a photo of the described to the listening audience who may not be watching who that is.

Howie Mandel (3:05)

A beautiful, funny, brilliant pioneer in stand-up comedy, especially for ladies, Joan Rivers.

David Begnaud (3:15)

You picked her as the person who believed in you.

Howie Mandel (3:17)

Why? I come from a time, as I said, just a minute ago, I'm older and when in my time of coming of age in stand-up comedy, it was the late 70s and early 80s.

The litmus test, if there is such a thing, for being even considered a stand-up comic was The Johnny Carson Show. It's really funny because I ended up doing, like I was doing Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas, and all these shows, Comedy Shop, Evening of the Improv. I had done a lot of TV and didn't get a lot of notoriety.

If somebody came up to you in the street or you met somebody and they said, what do you do? You said, I'm a stand-up comedian. The follow-up question to anybody inside and outside of the business was, well, have you been on Johnny? If you said no, they go, well, but if you said you were on Johnny, even if they didn't see you, you were legitimately considered. How can you be a stand-up comic and not be on Johnny? Then to be on the Johnny Carson show was, before that it was the Ed Sullivan show. But to be on the Johnny Carson show and do okay, the next day was never the same. It solidified a career.