Howard Michael Mandel is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film Gremlins and the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, playing rowdy ER resident Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere, and creating and starring in the Fox children's cartoon Bobby's World. He has also been a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent since 2010, and Citytv's Canada's Got Talent since 2022. He hosted the American NBC and later CNBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts.
Mandel at America's Got Talent in 2020
Mandel at the 39th Emmy Awards in 1987
Mandel in 2007
Hand prints of Mandel in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park
Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus, and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"gremlins"—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows young man Billy Peltzer, who receives a strange creature as a pet, which then spawns other creatures that transform into aggressive, imp-like monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's town during Christmas Eve.
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Chris Columbus conceived of the idea for Gremlins and wrote the initial draft as a spec script.
Zach Galligan was a relatively unknown actor when cast as the lead character Billy.
Comedian Howie Mandel provided the voice for Gizmo.