Columnist Joe Delaney: Retracing Mandel’s comedic trek from Canada

Joe Delaney

Friday, March 8, 2002 | 9:14 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears on Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at joe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4066.

Howie Mandel headlines this weekend at Paris Las Vegas' les Theatre des Arts ... Little did Canadian-born carpet salesman Mandel dream, visiting Los Angeles with friends on that fateful night in 1979, that his life would be changed forever ... They were at Mitzi Shore's Los Angeles Comedy Store, and a friend dared him to get up and perform ... It was an open-mike night.

Mandel knew he had the gift of making his friends laugh, especially at parties ... Among the Comedy Store patrons that evening was a television producer who hired Mandel on the spot to appear on the comedy game show "Make Me Laugh" ... One appearance on the show and Mandel knew that comedy would be his life's calling ... His days as a salesman in Canada were over.

The game show led to appearances on the TV talk-show circuit, several tours as an opening act for Diana Ross and, eventually, to NBC's award- winning series "St. Elsewhere," where he starred for six seasons as Dr. Wayne Fiscus ... Mandel, who had no previous acting experience and only three years on the comedy-club circuit, was cast against type.

Fiscus was a serious, dedicated doctor ... Fiscus did have one notable comedy moment on the show, having sex on a slab in the hospital's morgue ... When on hiatus from the series, Mandel kept his comedic timing intact by working comedy clubs and headlining an HBO special, "Howie From Maui -- Live."

In 1989 Mandel toured America with his "Howie Mandel Monkeyshines Tour" ... In 1990 he was given his own short-lived sitcom, "Good Grief," which was about mortuary workers ... Fox later launched his animated "Bobby's World" series, featuring a preschool alter ego ... Mandel created, produced and provided the voices of Bobby, Bobby's father and other characters.

The series ran for eight years and is in syndication ... Mandel is also the creator and producer of a series of five animated interactive CD-ROMS aimed at educating and entertaining children ... He continues to produce and perform in specials for HBO.

"The Howie Mandel Show," his syndicated TV talk and entertainment show, ran for two years in the late 1990s, was critically acclaimed, but similar to so many others, did not survive ... Mandel has made his mark in all of the entertainment media, including films, where he was the voice of Gizmo in "Gremlins I" and "Gremlins II."

Mandel lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Terry, and their three children ... A family man, his work on various children's projects reflects his experiences as both a father and a child ... Similar to Jerry Lewis, Mandel still has that "little mischievous boy" that dwells inside and manifests himself, especially when he is performing.

Weekend update

Nevada Jazz Society's "Strings Attached" concert, 2 p.m. Sunday at Charleston Heights Arts Center, spotlights the superior arranging abilities of Johnny Pate and guitar virtuoso Joe Lano with charts specially written for a core jazz band and 21 strings ... One additional highlight is the voice of Jo Belle, backed by Lano's arrangements created for this program.

Pate, a longtime Las Vegan, originally from Chicago, produced hits for Curtis Mayfield and arranged for Phil Woods, Kenny Burrell, Sam Cooke and Natalie Cole, among others, as well as conducting for Joe Williams ... Belle also once called Chicago home and has recorded more than a thousand television commercials ... Her late father, the Great Yonely, rates a future column here.

The fifth annual Las Vegas Vocal Extravaganza "In Black" will be performed at Paris Las Vegas' les Theatre Des Arts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, featuring choirs from Lemoyne-Owen College, Bennett College and Kentucky State University ... It will be taped for broadcast on PBS, hosted by journalist Tony Brown.

The program will integrate historical stories, photos and drawings with the choirs' performances to tell the history of black music and its impact on American popular music and culture ... Las Vegan Dr. William "Bob" Bailey founded this series in 1997 as a showcase for choirs and soloists of historically black colleges and universities ... General admission: $20 ... See you next Thursday.