Howie Mandel on stand-up ahead of LOL San Antonio show

After more than four decades working as a stand-up comedian, Howie Mandel said taking center stage today is even more fulfilling than when he first did it back in the late 1970s.

“It’s my respite,” Mandel, 67, told MySA during an interview last week. “Everything I’ve ever done – everything you know me from – was based on my stand-up comedy. Throughout these 40 years, I’ve done different things, but I’m always a stand-up comic first.”

From voicing animated characters in cartoons like Bobby’s World and The Muppet Babies to landing a gig as a judge on America’s Got Talent (AGT), Mandel considers stand-up comedy the “staple” of his career.

He’ll show off his talent behind the mic when he makes a stop at the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club in San Antonio for two shows on Monday, April 17.

During our interview, Mandel talked about going back on the road after the pandemic as someone diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and how he views his current role as a stand-up comedian. We also talked about lending his voice to Gizmo in Gremlins, cancel culture, and how he thinks he would’ve done as a contestant on AGT if it was around earlier in his career.

When was the last time you were in San Antonio?

A few years right before COVID. I go there a lot. I like it. I like the River Walk. Usually, I like to do one night of shows in a city as opposed to staying for a week. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last 40 years. Sometimes I stay in a city for a couple of days.

How has it been for you coming out of lockdown and getting back on the road?

I’m trying to make it a good feeling. But the truth is … I have OCD – mental health issues. So, as much as the world got locked down, I got locked down twice as much. Three years ago, I was doing 200 live dates a year and then I shut down completely. So, coming to San Antonio … it’s fresh for me, which makes it exciting, scary, and fun. The hardest part is just being outside amongst people.

I’m in my early 40s, so I used to hear your voice on my TV every morning as a kid when I watched Bobby’s World before school. When people share those kinds of anecdotes with you, what goes through your mind?

That I’m old. Any time I talk to somebody, that’s how they usually start the conversation, which makes me feel kind of old. When my career was just starting, people would start conversations with, “Who are you?” Then, it went to, “Oh, I just saw you in …” and now it’s, “When I was a kid …”

Nobody ever says, “Oh, it’s you again?!” since you’re doing so many different things nowadays?

(Laughs) Just my wife. That’s what marriage is.

So, with all the projects you’re involved in these days, what does stand-up comedy still give you that these other platforms do not?

More freedom. I don’t have to watch my language. I don’t have to hit a mark. You know where I stand. I just tell people who are fans of America’s Got Talent or Deal or No Deal or even Bobby’s World not to bring their kids to the club.

What do you talk about these days from the stage?

Whatever is happening in my life at the moment or in that room or on that day. Obviously, I have material, but I look to be taken off the path by anybody. It’s very interactive. I look at it like a giant party, and I’m just trying to be the center of attention.

Something you don’t do from the stage is get political and talk about things that might alienate audiences.

No, I have no interest in that. Comedy is the antithesis of that. That’s a hot point for a lot of people right now. Some people will laugh at that but just as many people will hate it. I’m there to escape all that. I just want people to have a good time. If you want to have a good time at a party, you’re not going to talk about anything serious.

What drew you to a talent show like AGT?

What I love about AGT is that it’s a variety show. If you don’t like [an act], wait three minutes and you’re going to see something completely different. If you don’t like somebody singing, wait a couple of minutes and there will be somebody hanging upside down or doing something silly.

How would Howie Mandel have done on a show like AGT if it was around in the 1980s?

I don’t know. I guess it would depend on who was judging it. If I was judging it, I would have loved me. I would have given myself a Golden Buzzer.

How did you come up with the voice of Gizmo for Gremlins?

Oh, it’s the same as Bobby [from Bobby’s World] and Skeeter [from Muppet Babies]. One day, I was choking on a piece of cake at a birthday party and that sound came out. Instead of dying, I was entertaining. So, it was an accident. Everything in my whole life and career has been an accident.

Do you like that there are so many platforms today where a comedian can get discovered?

I think of it as just more opportunity. When I started out, you either had to go to the Comedy Store or the Improv. Or you had to be on The Tonight Show. That was it. Now, you can do whatever you need to do in a plethora of different places.

Are you ever surprised about the talent you see on AGT now that you’ve been judging for more than a decade?

I am. You’d think I would be jaded and wouldn’t be, but I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been surprised. It’s crazy. You see [an act] and you think, “I can do that,” but then they do it hanging upside down. You get someone juggling, but then they light themselves on fire.

What about the stand-up comedians?

This season, we’re going to have lots of stand-up comedy. I feel there is a resurgence in stand-up comedy right now. For the last few years, I think that it was kind of a canceled culture. Now, there’s the anti-canceled culture where these [comedians] are pushing it in another direction. I’m excited about that.

When you say “pushing,” do you mean pushing back against cancel culture?

Yeah, that means the freedom of being able to say whatever you want to say. In the context of stand-up comedy, it shouldn’t be offensive because it’s comedy. It’s supposed to be funny. Nobody means anything derogatory. They’re just trying to entertain and make you laugh.