Howie Mandel

I can remember being a fan of Howie Mandel, and quite a big fan at that. During the late 80s and early 90s I remember staying up late to catch his stuff on the premium cable channels (I think he did stuff on Showtime, but I'm not willing to put money on that). He was a funny guy, and as far as stand up goes, he was probably in my top three after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.

Then he just disappeared for a while.

Now he's back, but I didn't notice it for awhile. I liked his curly mop-top. It made him look at least semi-dorky, in a playfully self-aware way that I could appreciate and identify with. Now he's on Deal or No Deal playing the role of Mr. Clean with a soul patch, and not only did I not recognize him for months but I was terrified by him. It wasn't just the shiny head. That I could handle. Mostly, it was the soul patch. For more on my feelings on those, see my blog post on Ty Pennington. Unless you are a waiter in a beat-themed restaraunt, they is no reason in the current age to wear a soul patch. They just speak of weirdness. Come on Howie, I know you can do better than looking like a prison warden stuck in a bad 80s kung fu movie.