Howie Mandel Advises Fans: 'Leave the Kids at Home' for My Stand-Up Comedy Shows (Exclusive)

Howie Mandel has built a devoted fan following thanks to his shows like America's Got Talent, Deal or No Deal, Best Guess Live, and Bobby's World. During an exclusive Men's Journal interview, he revealed that even after years as a TV star, stand-up comedy remains the part of his career he loves most. He then warned fans who know him from family-friendly TV not to bring kids to his stand-up performances. He also offered priceless advice to anyone who might be struggling.

Why Howie Mandel Says ‘Don't Bring the Kids' to His Shows

Men's Journal: Do you have one part of your career or one thing that you have accomplished within your career that you're most proud of?

Howie Mandel: Yeah, stand-up comedy. That's my favorite thing. If I had to give everything up, I would just do stand-up. I still tour, and three or four times a week, I drop in on the clubs here. I'll go tonight because I'm not on the road. So, I'll go drop in tonight at the clubs and just do sets. I love stand-up comedy. Stand-up comedy has afforded me the ability to do everything I'm doing. I don't think I'd be hosting Best Guess Live if I weren't a stand-up comic. That put me in front of an audience. That allowed me to be limber. That allowed me to deal with the unexpected. That informs everything that I do. Whether I'm hosting, judging, or just being interviewed. Being a stand-up comic is the basis of everything.

Men's Journal: Have you interacted with a lot of people who have been surprised by your stand-up comedy? I remember growing up and seeing some footage of you doing stand-up and being blown away by how funny it was. At the time, I just thought of you as the guy from Bobby's World. Now you have people growing up who think of you as the guy from Deal or No Deal or America's Got Talent. Then they get to see your stand-up. Do you get to watch people being blown away by your stand-up?

Howie Mandel: I get that both ways. Blown away and appalled. People watch me on Best Guess Live, Deal or No Deal, or America's Got Talent, and they experience me being a responsible broadcaster. They see that, and then they'll come to a club or a concert because they're fans. I always say, "Don't bring the kids." Not because I'm filthy or inappropriate, but I don't edit myself. That's what I love about it. So, it can veer off, and they go, "Oh my god, this is the AGT guy. What is he saying? What is he doing?" I was doing that and going there long before I had any of those jobs.

People are either surprised that my stand-up is so funny, or they are surprised it's so adult. People can also be surprised that it's sometimes so obtuse and weird. That's my sensibility and my sense of humor and the beauty of what I love about stand-up. I'll do Best Guess Live tonight, which I love, and it is scripted and formatted. Stand-up comedy is not scripted or formatted.

My hero is Richard Pryor. What I love about him is that he was real, authentic, and kind of shockingly raw, especially when I was watching him from the late 70s to the early 80s. I watched him put together Live on the Sunset Strip. I'm nothing like Richard Pryor. Nor can I even try to be. I don't think I have the ability to reach those heights of brilliance that he did. But I try to be as authentic and real as I can be. It's very different than what you see on Best Guess Live, AGT, Deal or No Deal, or Bobby's World.

Men's Journal: Do you get to add some of those authentic elements to Best Guess Live when you are reacting to people?

Howie Mandel: When I'm watching the audience on Best Guess Live, I get to comment in real time on people's answers and their guesses. Now, I've gotten notes from Netflix to go, "Hey, we got a lot of kids watching." So, I do curb my responses, but those aren't scripted, and those are real. So yes, there is always an element of what I do in stand-up comedy in everything that I do. But that's not pure stand-up comedy. I'm a responsible host.

Men's Journal: After everything that you've accomplished, and you've spoken in several interviews about the things that you've overcome, do you have advice for people who are struggling?

Howie Mandel: Yeah. I think life is a struggle for everybody for different reasons. You don't have to have a mental health issue. You can have a relationship issue. You can have a self-doubt issue. You can have whatever. I think that the key is that you can stop thinking. Overthinking is not a good thing. I think thinking is stinking. I think that as humans, our instincts are great and a superpower. We all instinctually want to do something or feel like doing something, and then we don't do it because we think ourselves out of it. Because there's always a million reasons why it won't work.

If people thought themselves out of it, we wouldn't be sitting here today. Everybody knew and was educated that it was a fact that the earth was flat. But Christopher Columbus got on a boat and talked other people, who obviously didn't do a lot of thinking, into floating off the edge. Because they risked floating off the edge, we're both sitting on this continent. So, just do it. I'm a spokesperson for Skechers, but I just used Nike's catchphrase. But that is it, you just do it. The worst that can happen is you fail. Failure is a lesson.

Don't say no. I never say no. That's why I'm sitting here being part of this interview. I didn't say no. Do you know what comes from no? It is the first two letters of nothing. N-O is nothing. Something, even a bad experience, is an experience and is a lesson. So don't think, just go through it, fight through it. I mean, everything is a barrier for me, and I don't say no.

Men's Journal: After everything that you've accomplished, is there anything else that you want to do in the future? Or are you just going to keep not saying no to what comes your way?

Howie Mandel: Just keep doing. I'm in my 70s now. And I'm hosting Best Guess Live, a brand-new technical game show that is, I think, breaking barriers. You used to have to be on TV to play a game show and viewers had to be sitting on your couch at eight o'clock and buckle the strap in for at least half an hour to an hour to watch. Now, here I am in my 70s talking about something that you can download on your mobile device and maybe walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars just by looking at your phone and having some fun. I just want to keep doing that. I would have never dreamed that this was even a thing in five years, let alone a thing that I would be involved in.

I just want to keep doing. I don't know what it is. Doors are opening for everybody every day. And people are slamming them shut for safety reasons, right? I don't care about being safe. I just want to keep walking through those doors.

If one of those doors that opened up was a movie being made about you, who would you want to play you?

Howie Mandel: Me? Who would I want to play me? I think it would have to be Charlize Theron. She's a great actress. I mean, it's perfect.

Men's Journal: There doesn't seem to be anything she can't do.

Howie Mandel: I think it's the perfect answer for Men's Journal.

Men's Journal: Definitely.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 10:52 AM.